At this point, you’d think we’d ask a therapist for some tips on what you can do to manage stress and anxiety, but instead, we’ve asked the most Viennese people we know to offer some tips in their own unique way.
Here’s a uniquely Viennese guide of what you can do in Vienna to calm your anxiety right now:
1. Heast leg dei Handy weg, du Wappler!
Meaning … do the digital detox. Cut out any unnecessary updates and push notifications from your phone. Resist the urge to scroll through your social media feeds and just give your head some well earned space.
2. Kaf ane Paradeiser und schau, das se ned eingehn
Meaning… buy some house plants and look after them and they’ll look after you. Well, not physically – they’ll just sit there looking pretty and green, but this alone does wonders.
3. Hau die über d’Heiser
Meaning… go for a (or many) winter walks (yep, even if you don’t wanna’). The cold temperatures may have your nipples dangerously sharp along the walk, but simply moving does your head a lot of good. Well, so we’ve heard. Here’s a list of winter walks you should give a go.
4. Moch amal was gscheits
Meaning… learn something new that makes you happy. Even if it’s a simple as learning how to sing, learning how to play an instrument, bake banana bread, or do some wild bendy move while yogi-ing (this is not a word) it up like everybody else in lockdown – simply stimulate and inspire your brain with new tasks.
5. Schau, dasd ned wampert wirst
Meaning… in a less rude way, take up running or some other sport. Go to lesser known parks to run so you don’t have to share sweat with anybody else, or try out one of our running paths. Or you can watch from your bedroom window all the other people going for early morning runs…before closing the curtains and climbing back into bed. Whatever level of exercise seems right for you.
6. Koch a guads Papi
Meaning… keep a balanced diet and don’t order from your favourite pizza place every second day, no matter how good it is. Anybody that cooks, knows it can be really meditative (that is, if everything goes according to plan and you don’t burn the muffins).
Due to popular demand, we’ve even started our own recipe content series called the Käsetoast cook – simple AF recipes that you can make even if you’re the worst cook. You can check out the Käsetoast cook’s Paprika Hendl and Stuffed eggplant recipes if this sounds like you.
7. Hände falten, Goschn halten
Meaning… settle into some silence for a while and enjoy it. Meditate if you can manage it. Meditation apps like Calm and Headspace help. Also, there’s a pandemic of meditation videos on Youtube that you can use (sorry, too soon?).
8. Corona is bei mir im oasch daham
Meaning… while you should take all the precautions recommended by the WHO and the Austrian government to stay healthy and avoid contributing to the spread of the virus, just forget the virus exists for a while. Just blank it out of your life whenever it gets too overwhelming. Don’t look at the latest infection numbers, or the drama the media keeps vomiting out there about the subject.
There’s a lot of other beautiful things happening in the world at the same time, so try to redirect your thoughts in their direction.
9. Heast, scheiss di ned au
Meaning… similar to tip number 9 – don’t sweat it. We’re living in historical times, so there has to be some disruption to our lives, however, don’t let this whole situation stress you out and swallow you whole.
10. Bessa ois a Stan am Schädl
Meaning… it could be worse. While it doesn’t seem 2020 could be any worse than it has been, we’re pretty sure it could have been. Try to re-engineer your whole perspective by making this your mantra when things seem so hopeless in that vicious and furious spinning carousel of thoughts you have going on up in your head – ‘It could be worse,’ or ‘Bessa ois a Stan am Schädl.’
11. Ois hoib so wüd
Meaning… don’t take things too seriously. While we’re not suggesting you shouldn’t take Corona seriously (We assume that’s obvious), we are suggesting that you laugh more than you gather those frown marks above those pretty little eyes of yours.
Watch plenty of comedies, consume lots of memes, and talk absolute Blödsinn with your friends as often as you can in awkward video calls.
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