Thank you so much for sharing your experience with Anxiety and how you were able to some-what find relief. I too suffer from anxiety for over 20 years now. Covid has also impacted me and my kids. I lost my best friend in 2023 when she caught covid at work and after 3 weeks she passed away.. Since then, nothing has ever been the same for me. Even my daughter misses her so much because when i would meet with my best friend, my daughter would often be with me too. My best friend taught me beading. I work with small shiny, colorful beads and make bracelets, earrings, pen holders, bookmarks and more. It is a new skill I learned and even my daughter started beading as well. I find it helps calm my anxiety and I really enjoy it. However, each time I bead, I am reminded that I used to bead with my best friend which is no longer here, I remember that she taught me this amazing skill.
I'm so sorry for the loss of your best friend. I can imagine how hard that must be and how grief and anxiety reinforce each other at times. Being creative, in your case with beading, is an excellent idea. Although it reminds you of the loss, it also keeps your friend alive in your mind, and I hope that the memories you have of her will eventually warm you more than that they cause you to hurt.
Great tips. I'm on a 50 day streak on Duolingo with German, but I'm going to look into the other suggestions you've made. Singing in a choir is another great way to stay focused on something meaningful!
I found this to be such an inspirational post! I too love languages, but living in Thailand and struggling with Thai for years has led me to feeling like I will never fully grasp it. But you're totally right, when you have fun with it, and when you play with your curiosity around it, it is so much more enjoyable. Thank you for encouraging me to get back into it!
As you’ve probably heard before, confidence comes from competence. So whenever i study a language it makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something. This may also work to help calm anxiety. Wonderful article, thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this personal story, your struggles and into better ways to cope. I live in Portugal and learning this language is making my brain “young”. So despite the many frustrations, there are small daily victories that strengthen my resolve and lesson my fears.
Lovely article! I will share it with my adult child (is there a noun for an adult child who is non-binary? I’d love to know!). They are highly anxious and have taken my advice that cooking is a great tool in managing anxiety. That has worked well for them, it’s so concrete (and you get to enjoy the result!) Though I have been studying Italian the last 20 years and recently started learning French (using Busuu, which I prefer to Duolingo), I’d never thought of language learning in this way. Brilliant! By the way, check out Italki too when you are ready for live online conversation. Also News in Slow Italian, plus there are some great Italian podcasters (my favorite is Podcast Italiano).
Thanks for this...there's something else that has helped me wrt learning languages. I want to do a better job of "keeping my word" (that helps me deal with anxiety)--so rather than repeatedly saying I wanted to "start learning Spanish again" (that was too vague) I instead said--I will spend 3 minutes a day on Duolingo. (That's an intention that's easy to keep!) Plus, it's amazing how much you can improve by consistently committing to 3 minutes a day.
Your article is very important! Learning languages has been essential to my life for the past few years. Every morning, I begin my day by studying Japanese while enjoying a cup of coffee—this has become my daily ritual.
I live in Germany and am still struggling with the German language, which has heightened my interest in languages more than ever before.
The connection between anxiety and language learning resonated with me because German has been a source of stress for me. I truly understand what you're saying. In your case, Japanese is a tranquilizer.
Because of this, I am considering changing my job to language coaching.
Thank you! I know learning a new language can be stressful, too, but if we approach it from another angle, it might take some of our daily stress away. The key lies in forgiving ourselves the many mistakes we will no doubt make and finding joy in our discoveries. Being a language coach sounds like a great job!
A few days ago, a woman I follow on Threads posted about her happiness in having decided to study Thai many years ago. She shared that learning the language during a challenging time in her life helped her overcome her difficulties. Now, she feels grateful to the Thai language for improving her mental well-being.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with Anxiety and how you were able to some-what find relief. I too suffer from anxiety for over 20 years now. Covid has also impacted me and my kids. I lost my best friend in 2023 when she caught covid at work and after 3 weeks she passed away.. Since then, nothing has ever been the same for me. Even my daughter misses her so much because when i would meet with my best friend, my daughter would often be with me too. My best friend taught me beading. I work with small shiny, colorful beads and make bracelets, earrings, pen holders, bookmarks and more. It is a new skill I learned and even my daughter started beading as well. I find it helps calm my anxiety and I really enjoy it. However, each time I bead, I am reminded that I used to bead with my best friend which is no longer here, I remember that she taught me this amazing skill.
I'm so sorry for the loss of your best friend. I can imagine how hard that must be and how grief and anxiety reinforce each other at times. Being creative, in your case with beading, is an excellent idea. Although it reminds you of the loss, it also keeps your friend alive in your mind, and I hope that the memories you have of her will eventually warm you more than that they cause you to hurt.
Thankyou so much Claire 🧡
Great tips. I'm on a 50 day streak on Duolingo with German, but I'm going to look into the other suggestions you've made. Singing in a choir is another great way to stay focused on something meaningful!
I can imagine singing can keep anxiety down! Germans is a tough language but I hope you will find the joy in all its namfalle.
I found this to be such an inspirational post! I too love languages, but living in Thailand and struggling with Thai for years has led me to feeling like I will never fully grasp it. But you're totally right, when you have fun with it, and when you play with your curiosity around it, it is so much more enjoyable. Thank you for encouraging me to get back into it!
Thank you, Kaila! Thai is really hard to learn, but I hope you find the joy in learning it regardless.
As you’ve probably heard before, confidence comes from competence. So whenever i study a language it makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something. This may also work to help calm anxiety. Wonderful article, thank you for sharing.
Yes, that’s another good way to approach it. Learning does feel like accomplishment and makes us feel better.
Learning languages is so humbling and so fun!
I agree!
Thank you for sharing this personal story, your struggles and into better ways to cope. I live in Portugal and learning this language is making my brain “young”. So despite the many frustrations, there are small daily victories that strengthen my resolve and lesson my fears.
I love how you put that, "learning this language is making my brain young!"
I love your playful approach!
Thanks, Liza!
Lovely article! I will share it with my adult child (is there a noun for an adult child who is non-binary? I’d love to know!). They are highly anxious and have taken my advice that cooking is a great tool in managing anxiety. That has worked well for them, it’s so concrete (and you get to enjoy the result!) Though I have been studying Italian the last 20 years and recently started learning French (using Busuu, which I prefer to Duolingo), I’d never thought of language learning in this way. Brilliant! By the way, check out Italki too when you are ready for live online conversation. Also News in Slow Italian, plus there are some great Italian podcasters (my favorite is Podcast Italiano).
Thank you for your comments! I hope more people like your child will pick up learning a new language and see how it helps them cope with anxiety.
Thanks for this...there's something else that has helped me wrt learning languages. I want to do a better job of "keeping my word" (that helps me deal with anxiety)--so rather than repeatedly saying I wanted to "start learning Spanish again" (that was too vague) I instead said--I will spend 3 minutes a day on Duolingo. (That's an intention that's easy to keep!) Plus, it's amazing how much you can improve by consistently committing to 3 minutes a day.
Yes, this is the reason why I mentioned Duolingo. It's so easy to incorporate in your day. The regularity of learning really helped calm my anxiety.
Your article is very important! Learning languages has been essential to my life for the past few years. Every morning, I begin my day by studying Japanese while enjoying a cup of coffee—this has become my daily ritual.
I live in Germany and am still struggling with the German language, which has heightened my interest in languages more than ever before.
The connection between anxiety and language learning resonated with me because German has been a source of stress for me. I truly understand what you're saying. In your case, Japanese is a tranquilizer.
Because of this, I am considering changing my job to language coaching.
Thank you! I know learning a new language can be stressful, too, but if we approach it from another angle, it might take some of our daily stress away. The key lies in forgiving ourselves the many mistakes we will no doubt make and finding joy in our discoveries. Being a language coach sounds like a great job!
A few days ago, a woman I follow on Threads posted about her happiness in having decided to study Thai many years ago. She shared that learning the language during a challenging time in her life helped her overcome her difficulties. Now, she feels grateful to the Thai language for improving her mental well-being.
That’s a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing.