How to Manage Anxiety: Finding Calm, Control and Peace

Anxiety is something I know very well. I've suffered with anxiety attacks for decades, and I understand just how frightening and overwhelming they can feel. Your heart starts racing, your breathing changes, your thoughts spiral, and suddenly it feels as though you've lost control of your own body. Over the years, I've learnt that managing anxiety isn't necessarily about removing everything that causes us stress. Life will always present challenges, uncertainty and difficult situations. Instead, it's about learning how to respond when anxiety takes hold.

Today, I approach anxiety differently. I've learnt to recognise what's happening, calm my body, take control of my emotions and, perhaps most importantly, surrender my worries to God.

Here are the steps that have helped me.

1. Stop What You're Doing

When anxiety begins to take over, the first thing I do is stop. Whatever I'm doing can wait. Whatever problem I'm trying to solve doesn't need to be solved in that moment. Anxiety often makes us feel as though everything is urgent, but it usually isn't.

Give yourself permission to stop, even if it's only for a few minutes.

2. Sit Down and Focus on Your Breathing

Find somewhere comfortable to sit, or lie down if you need to. Now concentrate entirely on your breathing. Breathe in gently and slowly. Feel your lungs filling with air and notice your chest rising. Then breathe out naturally, paying attention to your chest falling and the air leaving your body. Don't force your breathing or try to take enormous breaths. Just allow it to become gentle and steady. Keep your attention on each breath rather than the thoughts racing through your mind. If your thoughts wander, bring your attention back to breathing. Repeat this until you begin to feel calmer.

3. Remind Yourself That You Are Safe

An anxiety attack can convince your brain that something terrible is happening, even when there is no immediate danger. Once my breathing begins to settle, I remind myself:

I am safe. I am here. I am in this moment.

I don't need to solve tomorrow's problems today. I don't need to revisit yesterday's difficulties. All I need to do is be present. Sometimes we spend so much time worrying about what might happen that we forget to appreciate the moment we're actually living in. Peace begins when we stop allowing our thoughts to drag us everywhere except the present.

4. Give Your Worries to Jesus

This is where my faith has completely changed how I manage anxiety. I've surrendered my life to Jesus. That means I no longer believe I have to carry every worry, solve every problem or control every outcome myself. I give my worries to Him. The Bible tells us:

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." — 1 Peter 5:7 (KJV)

When something troubles me, I consciously hand it over to God. Sometimes I simply pray:

Lord Jesus, I'm giving this worry to You. I cannot control everything, but I trust You with my life. Please help me find peace in this moment.

Surrendering isn't always easy. Our human instinct is to control situations, particularly when we're frightened. But faith requires trust. I believe God's plans are greater than my own, even when I don't understand what's happening around me. That doesn't mean everything that happens is good, or that difficulties magically disappear. It means trusting that God is with me through those difficulties and can guide me through them.

For me, that understanding brings tremendous peace.

5. Don't Allow Your Emotions to Steal Your Peace

Anxiety doesn't always arrive alone. Sometimes it brings frustration, anger, fear or an overwhelming sense of helplessness. I've learnt that I cannot control everything happening around me, but I can work on how I respond. When we're anxious, our emotions can become louder than our reasoning. That's why it's important not to react immediately. Don't send that angry message. Don't make an important decision while overwhelmed. Don't allow a difficult situation to dictate your entire day. Instead, return to the present. Ask yourself whether this situation deserves the peace you're about to sacrifice. We cannot always choose our circumstances, but we can practise responding to them with patience, wisdom and self-control.

6. Repeat Until You Feel Calm Again

Sometimes one round of breathing is enough. Other times, I need to repeat the process several times. And that's perfectly fine. Stop. Sit down. Breathe. Remind yourself that you're safe. Give your worries to God. Then repeat whenever necessary.

The aim isn't to fight anxiety or become frustrated with yourself for experiencing it. It's to allow your body and mind the time they need to settle.

7. Use AI to Help You Find a Different Perspective

Something else I've started doing is using AI to help me make sense of situations that are causing me anxiety. Sometimes our thoughts become so tangled that we struggle to see a situation clearly. We imagine the worst, overthink conversations or worry about things that haven't even happened. This is where an AI assistant can be surprisingly helpful. You can open an AI agent, such as ChatGPT, and simply explain what's troubling you. Tell it how you're feeling, what's happened and why you're worried. Then ask it to help you look at the situation from a different perspective. You might say:

"I'm feeling anxious about something that's happening in my life. Can you help me make sense of the situation, separate my worries from the facts and suggest a calmer way to approach it?" Sometimes, just putting your thoughts into words helps. AI can ask useful questions, help you challenge assumptions and suggest practical next steps you might not have considered. It doesn't replace prayer, human connection or professional support, and you should avoid sharing highly sensitive personal information unnecessarily. But I've found that using technology wisely can help us step away from emotional thinking and approach life's challenges with greater clarity.

AI doesn't have to add to the noise in our lives. Used thoughtfully, it can actually help us find a little more peace.

Finding Peace in a Chaotic World

After decades of experiencing anxiety, I've come to understand something important: peace isn't necessarily the absence of problems. It's learning not to let those problems consume you. My faith has helped me enormously, but so have simple, practical changes in how I respond when anxiety begins. If you're struggling, please know that anxiety can be managed, and you don't have to face it alone. Professional support can also make an enormous difference, particularly if anxiety attacks are frequent or affecting everyday life. For me, learning to breathe, remain present and surrender my worries to Jesus has changed the way I experience difficult moments.

I cannot control everything life throws at me. But I can choose how I respond, who I turn to and where I place my trust.

And increasingly, I'm choosing peace.