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| Photo by Natalie Bond |
People who’ve been living with anxiety know firsthand how debilitating having sudden anxious thoughts can be. Having a sudden panic attack, heart pounding nonstop, and fear of dying or going crazy. A constant feeling of fight or flight can be quite exhausting mentally.
Anxiety disorders (such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, panic disorder, and OCD) have become so common these days, affecting over 40 million Americans. Unfortunately, a lot more people are suffering in silence.
When you feel like anxiety is interfering with your daily life, you should always seek the help of a mental health professional and remember that you’re not alone and you will get through this. In the mean time, here are 50 uplifting, comforting anxiety quotes to calm the mind.
Disclaimer: I am not a mental health professional. The information shared on this blog is based on personal experiences and general knowledge. For personalized advice, please consult a qualified mental health professional. If you’re facing severe anxiety or mental health issues, seek professional help. Visit our disclaimer page for more details.
Worry Doesn’t Have the Final Say
This first batch is for the spiraling. When my mind starts running through every worst-case version of something, these are the kind of lines that pull me back to the actual size of the problem, which is usually a lot smaller than it feels at 2am.
1. “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will..”
Epictetus
2. “When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which has never happened..”
Winston Churchill
3. “P.S. You’re not going to die. Here’s the white-hot truth: if you go bankrupt, you’ll still be okay. If you lose the gig, the lover, the house, you’ll still be okay. If you sing off-key, get beat by the competition, have your heart shattered, get fired…it’s not going to kill you. Ask anyone who’s been through it..”
Danielle LaPorte
4. “Life is 10% if what you experience and 90% of how you respond to it..”
Dorothy M. Neddermeyer
5. “Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor..”
Thich Nhat Hanh
6. “People tend to dwell more on negative things than on good things. So the mind then becomes obsessed with negative things, with judgements, guilt and anxiety produced by thoughts about the future and so on..”
Eckhart Tolle
7. “If you feel like you’re losing everything, remember trees lose their leaves every year and they stand tall and wait for better days to come..”
Unknown
8. “I will breathe. I will think of solutions. I will not let my worry control me. I will not let my stress level break me. I will simply breathe. And it will be okay. Because I don’t quit..”
Shayne McClendon
9. “It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about..”
Dale Carnegie
10. “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it..”
Henry Ford
You Don’t Have to Carry It All at Once
This next set is for the days everything feels like too much at the same time. I remind myself often that I don’t have to solve everything today, just the next small piece of it.
11. “I just give myself permission to suck. I find this hugely liberating..”
John Green
12. “People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them..”
George Bernard Shaw
13. “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the one who goes with you. He will not forsake you..”
Deuteronomy 31:6
14. “More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgement. More blessed, less stressed. More love, less hate..”
Roy T. Bennett
15. “Rule number one: Don’t sweat the small stuff. Rule number two: It’s all small stuff..”
Robert S. Eliot
16. “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop..”
Mother Teresa
17. “Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have..”
Norman Vincent Peale
18. “Don’t believe every worried thought you have. Worried thoughts are notoriously inaccurate..”
Renee Jain
19. “Your mountain may be harder to climb, but oh the view is divine..”
Jenna’s Cecelia
20. “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand..”
Isaiah 41:10
Come Back to Your Breath
When a panic attack actually hits, thoughts don’t help nearly as much as just getting through the physical part of it first. This next batch leans more on breathing and the present moment, the kind of thing I reach for when my chest feels tight and I need to come back down to earth before I can think straight.
21. “Anxiety happens when you think you have to figure out everything all at once. Breathe. You’re strong. You got this. Take it day by day..”
Karen Salmansohn
22. “True happiness is to enjoy the present without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied, for that he so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not..”
Seneca
23. “Slow breathing is like an anchor in the midst of an emotional storm: The anchor won’t make the storm go away, but it will hold you steady until it passes..”
Russ Harris
24. “Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow..”
Swedish proverb
25. “Your calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges..”
Bryant McGill
26. “Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health..”
Dalai Lama
27. “Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles..”
Charlie Chaplin
28. “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are..”
Theodore Roosevelt
29. “Actually spending ten minutes clearing off one shelf is better than fantasizing about spending a weekend cleaning out the basement..”
Gretchen Rubin
30. “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones..”
Confucius
31. “Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward..”
Victor Kiam
Related: Little Joys: 10 Tiny Things That Brought Me Peace This Week
You’re Not the Only One Feeling This
It helps me to remember how many people have felt exactly this before, even when it feels completely isolating in the moment. None of us are actually going through this alone, even if it feels that way at 3am.
32. “Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the most wonderful things that will ever happen to us..”
Nicole Reed
33. “There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul..”
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
34. “Don’t let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries..”
Astrid Alauda
35. “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf..”
Jon Kabat Zinn
36. “I promise you nothing is as chaotic as it seems. Nothing is worth poisoning yourself into stress, anxiety, and fear..”
Steve Maraboli
37. “She was brave and strong and broken all at once..”
Anna Funder
38. “Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight..”
Benjamin Franklin
39. “Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything..”
Ernest Hemingway
40. “Not everything that weighs you down is yours to carry..”
Unknown
41. “Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained..”
Arthur Somers Roche
Keep Going Anyway
This last set is what I come back to once the worst of it has passed, and I’m just trying to keep moving instead of shrinking back into old habits. Not big, dramatic breakthroughs, just the quiet decision to keep going.
42. “Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact..”
William James
43. “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud..”
Maya Angelou
44. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus..”
Philippians 4:6-7
45. “Anxiety is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you very far..”
Jodi Picoult
46. “Breathe darling. This is just a chapter. It’s not your whole story..”
S C Lourie
47. “The fear of being laughed at makes cowards of us all..”
Mignon McLaughlin
48. “The elimination diet: Remove anger, regret, resentment, guilt, blame, and worry. Then watch your health, and life, improve..”
Charles Glassman
49. “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do..”
Eleanor Roosevelt
50. “Anxiety is when the butterflies in your stomach turn into bees..”
Bridget Devoue
Whichever line you found yourself rereading twice, hold onto that one. That’s usually a sign it’s the thing you needed today.