Whether you call it stress, excessive worrying, or overthinking — anxiety at its best can be bothersome, and at its worst can be debilitating. I’ll be honest, I’ve had both experiences.

There are plenty of ways to combat anxiety ranging from meditation to therapy and beyond, but here are three easy-ish things I do that keep me feeling chill from the inside out that you may not have tried yet.

1. Mindset Walks

On TikTok some people call this a “Hot Girl Walk,” but I prefer the more inclusive term, “Mindset Walk.” This is my time where I go on a walk for about 2 hours, listening to content that will help me grow in any area of life that I feel like cultivating that day. Some days I listen to self development podcasts/YouTube videos, other days I listen to my company’s webinars, and sometimes I just listen to music that makes me feel good. (NO SAD SONGS. PERIOD.) What I do NOT try to do during this time is worry, ruminate, or work to actively solve problems. I try to grow, and let the problems solve themselves as a better me emerges.

**Note: I tend not to get on calls during this time because I want to keep the focus on myself and finishing the walk feeling happy, full, and stress-free. I suggest you hit decline as well.

2. Decaf Coffee Tuesday through Thursday

That panicked, heart-racing, “Oh shit, everything’s going wrong and I have to fix it now” feeling you get when you have too much caffeine? Yep, same physical feeling as anxiety. But listen, I get it, coffee is hard to give up, and personally I love the taste. So I let myself drink it on Mondays to kickstart the week, and Fridays for a treat. The rest of the week I get decaf if I have any coffee at all. Weaning yourself off your beloved latte or cold brew can be tough, but I promise it will make a huge difference in your ability to chill and take each moment at a time without getting jittery or anxious.

3. The No Hangover Rule

This is a rule I have made for myself (by accident) in 2021, and I actually kind of love it. The rule is: I can drink, but not enough to get a hangover. Most millennials in the working world know the feeling of the Sunday Scaries — when you’re laying on the couch, head aching, mulling over that stupid (or was it hilarious? 🤔) thing you did last night when you were drunk, and hoping that nobody posted it on their IG Story. It doesn’t feel good to get “hangxiety,” but the only way to guarantee you won’t experience it is to not get a hangover. By drinking only to the point that I know I can go to sleep nearly sober and wake up without a hangover, I can set myself up for a productive, happy Sunday — free of the scaries. I will definitely break this for special occasions (I plan to drink no less than 15 margaritas on my birthday), but for any normal weekend, the no hangover rule can be a game changer.

What I love about these three things is that if I put them in my routine weekly, I can actually prevent anxiety before it starts, rather than trying to fight it once it shows up. And yes, they do take a little bit of willpower, but I promise that will only add to how good you feel when you realize that you took control of something that previously felt beyond your control.

I also HIGHLY recommend therapy if you’re battling any sort of negative thinking patterns. Your brain and heart are so much stronger than you think, and you deserve to have proper guidance to make them work FOR you, not against you.