As someone who deals with a lot of anxiety related stuff, I feel like my life is falling apart pretty regularly. Now, that may not actually be the case, but that doesn't exactly stop you from feeling that way - that's kind of how anxiety works.

The current state of my life, unfortunately, has had me feeling especially untethered recently, as I'm in between day jobs and none of the auditions I've gone on have turned into anything yet. It leaves me feeling down, and especially unproductive. However, I feel like I've found a few things that are really helping me cope with these feelings, and definitely stop me from feeling like I'm failing. I'm sure there are more, but these are the five things that have been working to keep my anxieties at bay.

1. Doing that chore you've been putting off. Whether it's cleaning your room or vacuuming the floor or washing those dishes, just getting off your ass and forcing yourself to do it can really lift your mood and make you feel productive. I've found that it also has the added benefit of clearing your mind as you clear your space, making you feel like you can move on to other tasks you may or may not have been putting off.

2. Picking up a new, or revisiting an old, hobby. I went to Michael's with one of my roommates because she needed to pick up some scrapbooking materials and I needed paint for my Halloween costume, and on a whim, I decided to also buy some yarn and a new set of circular knitting needles. It had been a while since I'd knit something, and I felt like I needed something at least somewhat productive to do when I was at home. Within a month of knitting on and off, I finished what was probably the largest, warmest, most cozy scarf I've ever worn.

3. Finding ways to fine-tune your skills at home. As an actor/singer/dancer, I really should be doing this all the time, but I had, until recently, become pretty lax about it. As far as keeping up with these things outside of my home, I have started doing voice lessons again, and I plan on trying to get to one ballet class a week, but I have found a couple ways to keep myself working on my skills for those days when I can't bring myself to leave my apartment. One of those is practicing guitar. As a singer, and someone who is in an industry that is increasingly more creative with their actors also playing the music in shows, I really should have some kind of instrumental skill. I played the flute for nine years, and about three ago, I asked for a used acoustic guitar for my holiday present from my parents, thinking I'd teach myself. I was really good about practicing for basically my whole senior year of college, but when I started at AMDA, I really got out of the habit. About a month ago, I finally told myself to take it out and practice again, and I did. I try to practice for about half an hour every day. Some days I miss, and others I play for about two hours (ouch), so it all evens out in the end, and I ultimately feel really creatively productive. The other thing is more of a goal I have for myself before the end of the year, but I'm going to do my best to learn three new audition monologues before I leave for Colorado on December 24th. I'll keep you updated.

4. Planning something fun. Maybe you really love Hanukkah and decide you're going to throw a ballin' Hanukkah party. Or a friend's birthday is coming up and they like surprises, so you put together a surprise party. Or you're an overachiever like me and you decide to organize, direct, and sort of music direct an entire Christmas cabaret. Any way you spin it, it gives you something to do to fill your time (do you know how hard it is wrangle a group of eight really strong personalities??), and the payoff is that a fantastic, and hopefully boozy, time is had by many. Which incidentally can also relieve stress.

5. Writing about it. Now this one definitely deals more with the emotional aspect of this problem, but it can be a really productive way of dealing with your feelings. There are about four things I was reminded that I need to do while writing this post, and I've already done two of them. You can also write about other things that interest you, if writing about yourself isn't your style, and create something similar to this blog. That's half the reason why I started writing posts again, and I already feel like I'm doing something cool with my time. I even have another post that's in the draft stages right now. Even when I first started this blog two and a half years ago and was regular about posting, I never was working on more than one post at a time. And if writing isn't your thing at all, then talking to someone about how you're feeling, whether it's a friend, parent, or therapist, is honestly one of the most cathartic things you can do.

I hope one or more of these things help you when your anxiety about life has you in a funk. I know they help me.

Until next time!