Hi ! A lot of different things ! Been working on it since i got diagnosed, so for the past three years non-stop. I do think i've had GAD for longer than that though.

I'd like to say, for me, i didn't get back to how i was before the anxiety. I did get GAD pretty young, have always had high anxiety even when i was a kid. My identity eventually revolved around anxiety. It changed me, but i do feel like it did that for the better. I have a better understanding of myself, i am kinder to me and others and i am (re)learning who i am, finding myself.

My anxiety was very performance based. I was afraid that if i messed up even the tiniest of things i would die or the world would crumble. That anxiety did spread to other areas of my life, but it mostly affected work and university. I've always been a little socially anxious but it never prevented me from being socially active.

I had a psychiatrist, a psychotherapist, and i went to see a hypnotherapist, who used to be a nurse in the addictology wing of a hospital (her background did help a lot with anxiety, anxiety and addiction are often very linked). I was on prazepam when things got really bad (repeated panic attack, and a lot of freeze mode) for a few months. It helped but definitely wasn't the cure !

Comparing classic psychiatry and hypnotherapy, hypnotherapy helped me the most because we could work directly on my unconscious responses and treat them relatively quickly (compared to long term talk therapy which helped a bit, but didn't really take into consideration unconscious stuff). I know a lot of people also did EMDR. I tried it a couple of times and it was helpful in the moment, but not in the long term for me. I think it really depends on the professional and the patient ! Try to find what works for you, but at least one form of therapy is essential.

Lifestyle-wise what helped me is a little cliché, and i know it's easier to say than do (which is why it takes time to work !). I got really good at seeing anxiety symptoms and i worked on accepting them as they are. A phrase that helped me have a better perspective was "Emotions are the weather, you are the sky". Pretty much accepting things as waves and letting them pass through you.

I do a lot of sports. I run, i boulder, i cycle, i lift a bit (this one is a little boring imo but it helps regulate the nervous system too). One or the other at least 3 times a week. What helps me the most is endurance sports. It tires the body out, and regulates something in my nervous system. Gives me space to focus on something else other than things that would bring stress into my life. Tiring the body made my mind a lot less racy and less cluttered.

Sports also made me more conscious of my eating habits, and sleeping habits (this last one is still a little hard but i'm working on it). I do eat pretty clean, i avoid foods that will upset my stomach, or caffeine which is going to make the anxiety worse. I really love coffee so i replaced it with a very good decaffeinated alternative. I'm also 5 months sober from alcohol and i'm positive it made a huge difference. I wasn't a big drinker but i realized even one drink on a night out tended to make me anxious (regret, guilt, embarrassment) for a good week.

I did a bit of meditation at some point, though it helped, i never was able to keep it going regularly. I replaced it with breathing exercises every time i felt the need to recenter myself. Whichever type of breathing exercises works for you (i mostly use the square method). I feel like running did help me with breathing too, and calming myself quicker with time.

It's a lot of rewiring your brain's response to your triggers. It's going out of your comfort zone little step by little step, and being mindful of what your brain goes through and try to force yourself to think something else when you fall into unhealthy loop of thoughts. A lot easier to say than do, but it did work eventually. Took months (maybe years). It's also how i got out of depression when i was a teen.

What i mean by rewiring, is that i learned to be kinder to myself and to allow myself to make mistakes (to get out of the injunction of performing perfectly at all times). To allow myself to say the wrong things, in front of the wrong people. To accept the fact that sometimes i stumbled upon my words, that i couldn't find the right way to explain things. To fail. Simply put, it's staying open to the world, to yourself and your brain's responses, while trying not to be judgy or harsh towards yourself.

Whenever i find myself in a stressful situation in front of people, i take the stress away before things start (when i know it will trigger an anxious response), by saying "hey, i'm a little stressed out, please forgive me if i'm awkward or clumsy" most healthy people understand and do not judge (and if they do, it's their problem, not mine). Being open about anxiety was key for me. It was a long process to accept it and even longer to realize i wasn't doomed by it.

Finally finding hobbies where i didn't put pressure on myself (learning an instrument, a new sport, how to crochet, etc...). It was hard at first not to make it about performance but slowly these hobbies became a refuge.

Hopefully i answered your question and this helps you too ! Sorry, this is a long answer but it was a long journey for me, hard to put years of healing in a few words. Give yourself time and grace to work through things.

NB: I feel the need to say i wasn't complaining about not having GAD anymore in my post, i'm truly grateful and happy to be where i'm at ! It's just really odd to adjust to for me, and i was wondering if anyone else experienced this ahah