Here’s How Each Zodiac Sign Can Effectively Shut Down Anxiety

Aries

(March 21st to April 19th)

Some people say that the best way they combat anxiety is to just breathe, allow the mind and body to get still, and trust that things will work out. But you need to do the exact opposite. You’re a do-er, so sitting around and hoping for the best is only going to further increase the anxiety that you already have. You need to get up, lean in to your adventurous and pioneering nature, and take matters into your own hands. It’s not going to solve everything at once, but the act of actually doing will make you feel so much more in control than just ‘letting things be.’

Taurus

(April 20th to May 21st)

Don’t underestimate the power of a comfortable, calm-inducing living space when it comes to soothing your anxiety. Material pleasures and comforts are very important to a Taurus, not because you’re shallow, but because you have a deep appreciation for beautiful things. A cozy bedspread, plenty of light, lots of candles with pleasing scents, and a well-kept home can help to alleviate the intense worry or lack of control you feel in your life.

Gemini

(May 22nd to June 21st)

You’re convinced that if anyone sees the ‘other’ side of you – the one that is not lively, joy-filled, and bubbly every second of every day – that they won’t ever love you or want to spend time with you. This is causing you an intense amount of discomfort and stress for no reason at all. What you need to understand is that the people in your life who really love you and care about you don’t care if you occasionally have a bad day, or if you need to vent about something, or if you need a good cry. Stop bottling all of your feelings up and trust that you have enough good people in your life who just want you to be yourself, whoever that is today.

Cancer

(June 22nd to July 22nd)

You need to let go of your tendency to obsess over tiny, little things if you’re going to have any hope of lessening your anxiety. You’re an incredibly loving person and your relationships are very important to you, which is obviously a good thing. But you need to stop overthinking every single thing you say and stop worrying that at all hours of the day, you surely must be offending someone. Remind yourself that just as you spend so much time thinking about your own life, so does everyone else about theirs – they don’t have time to obsess over you and your supposed ‘wrongdoings’ when they’ve got their own stuff to sort through. Just remember that people aren’t waiting with bated breath for you to mess up; that’s just your brain going into overdrive.

Leo

(July 23rd to August 22nd)

It is crucial that you make peace with the fact that there is no way that you will ever be fully in control of anything. It’s great that you’re a creative, broad-minded, and hardworking person, but there’s never going to be a point in your life where you will become immune to chaos. It will always be there, because that’s life. Your intense need for control, or at least your belief that you absolutely need control, is causing you to come off as aggressive and difficult, which just increases the anxiety you already had tenfold. There’s no need to change your fiery, passionate essence, but you do need to start working through the idea that nobody will respect you more if you’re the one controlling everything – on the contrary, it will just chase them away. Once you can become self-aware of this fact, your anxiety should lessen dramatically.

Virgo

(August 23rd to September 22nd)

You’ve subconsciously convinced yourself that by constantly criticizing and speaking about yourself in a harsh matter, you’re just getting a step ahead of the ‘other people that will inevitably say the same thing about me.’ And in the process, you’ve become your own worst enemy, with no one else in sight. You need to let go of this toxic way of thinking if you’re ever going to find happiness and peace. It may feel safer to be harsh, but if you try speaking kindly to yourself just once, you might realize that those hateful and biting remarks that you were expecting to come from others don’t really end up coming. That maybe, just maybe, you were overthinking things a little bit. As simple as it sounds, just try being nicer to yourself. Talk to yourself with the same gentleness and softness that you speak to your loved ones, and see if you still feel wound up and uneasy – chances are, you’ll feel a lot better.

Libra

(September 23rd to October 22nd)

You’re used to being everyone’s favorite person – charming, funny, gets along with everyone. But as good as this can feel, it also causes you a lot of uneasiness and fear, because you’re so afraid of losing it. So you’re constantly waffling, going back and forth on decisions and commitments because you’re so desperate to please everyone. Stop trying to please everyone! This is the fastest way to subdue that panic – by rationalizing with yourself that you’re not going to be hated and detested if you have to turn down one friend’s invitation to go out to dinner because you made plans with someone else two weeks ago. Make a decision, and STICK with it. It will bring you much more peace than you were expecting.

Scorpio

(October 23rd to November 22nd)

You have to stop constantly comparing yourself and your situation to everyone else’s. You have a lot of trouble dealing with jealousy, and sometimes it sucks up so much of your energy and focus that you end up fading away from your true nature – one of passion, excited curiosity, and a determined work ethic. Your discomfort is coming from the fact that you’re letting your jealousy block you from being your true self, and instead of moving forward with your successes, you’re too busy worrying about what somebody else is doing. Put everybody else at the back of your brain and focus on you and what you want to achieve; this will make you much more comfortable and content.

Sagittarius

(November 23rd to December 21st)

You’re leaving too much up to the universe instead of grabbing your own life by the reins and deciding what you want to happen. It’s great that you’re an optimistic and freedom-loving personality, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t also make goals, have a plan, and decide that you’re going to take certain actions so that things can have a higher chance of turning out the way you want them to. Stop letting the universe decide everything, and decide for yourself.

Capricorn

(December 22nd to January 20th)

There’s a difference between being practical and being unnecessarily pessimistic. Of course you have a lot of issues with anxiety! Who wouldn’t, when you’re spending the majority of the time thinking of every worst possible scenario because you think it will give you more control? Don’t sacrifice the logical, ambitious, quick-thinking side of yourself, but remember that there are an infinite number of ways that every situation could turn out. Be aware of what you can do to positively affect your life, and then do it, and then let go and stop making room in your brain for fears, worries, and complicated scenarios of how everything could go wrong.

Aquarius

(January 21st to February 18th)

Stop telling yourself that in order to be independent, you can’t invest too deeply in your relationships. In reality, this emotional detachment you’re attempting to maintain in your life is actually giving you more anxiety and less of a chance to be successful and independent. Because in order to feel independent and accomplished, we must also know that we have people who will have our backs when we take risks, people who will stand by us and support us when we attempt to try something we’d normally be too scared to try. When you’re not trying your hardest to spread your wings, you’re unhappy and unfulfilled and uneasy, so work on being open with those you love, because they’re the ones who will cheer you on from the ground, without ever holding you back.

Pisces

(February 19th to March 20th)

Because you have escapist tendencies, you think the easiest way to combat your anxiety is just to avoid it all together – to keep an idealistic view of your worries and concerns without ever truly trying to tackle them head one. What you need to do is look your fears in the face, refuse to let them hold you back, and to keep going after what you want in spite of how afraid you may feel. As scary as that seems, it’s way less scary than sitting around and realized you’ve let your whole life pass you by because you were too afraid to do anything.