5 Things To Do When Doubt Creeps In

Adonis Richards
3 min readNov 1, 2021
image credit to Photosforyou on pixabay

Doubt can be our worst enemy. In fact, it can swallow us whole, especially when it comes to us who have suffered from anxiety and depression. When doubt creeps in, oftentimes it's relentlessly poisoning our minds for hours, even days.

Speaking for myself, doubt can consume me for months on end. Stopping me from performing even simple tasks like putting away clothes. Just imagine what it can do for my creativity or even speaking to people. Normally when doubt creeps in I have some channels to funnel it out of my system. It’s not easy, but it works. And it helps me return to my best self. Here are some suggestions I’ve come up with to defeat doubt.

  1. Breathe
    Breathing is always my go-to. In most of my posts, I talk about breathing and how great it is for me especially when my anxiety is off the scale. Breathing can be a great way to pause. To check your surroundings and to ground you when doubt is permeating in your space. We oftentimes take for granted breathing, yet it is the simplest of tasks that we do effortlessly. When we focus on it, imagine how powerful and energized we feel after.
  2. Exercise
    Something simple as going for a run or even trying some zoomba classes can truly ease the mind and help alleviate doubt. Making the body work. Making the body sweat. All these things can remove stress and doubt from the body and help you think straight. I don’t know the science behind it but I do know that when I’m playing a sport or running, my head clears and doubt goes away.
  3. Call a friend you can trust
    Call someone that will listen. Call someone that will hear you, and be present. Someone you can trust to be there and give you advice or just hear your story. Sometimes you just need a friend, or friends to help you feel and be there for you. This works for me, I’m confident it will work for everyone.
  4. Remember the best things you've done
    For those that haven’t there's this old African tale of everyone coming together in a village when one child does something bad. Everyone surrounds the child and reminds them of all the good they’ve done. It’s a restorative practice that heals the harmed and reminds the one that caused the harm that their mistakes are not the entirety of them. Imagine doing that to yourself when doubt falls into your psyche. Sitting down, thinking of all…
Adonis Richards

Writer and poet aspiring to write and create content. Website: adonisinquiry.com