

4 Unconventional Ways To Relieve Anxiety
Phone a friend or Google for help and you'll see that the most popular recommendations for soothing anxiety revolve around expensive and inexpensive self-care tips, exercise, and diet habit changes. Of course, those are all great suggestions but those options can be costly and take more energy than you have at the moment.
While you're working toward becoming that soul-cycling vegan queen with the 7-step skincare routine, an instant low-effort pick-me-up is possible in the meantime. If the thought of yoga and breathing exercises gives you the anxiety it's supposed to eradicate, try some of the ideas below:
Get Into A Good Horror Flick
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This may seem counterintuitive, but hear me out. Watching a quality horror or thriller movie will keep your mind away from your issues and make them seem minuscule in comparison.
In one of my favorite films, Insidious Chapter 3, a character is followed around by a frail corpse-like demon in a hospital gown who's trying to possess her. It may seem silly but once the credits flashed and I came out of the trance-like state good films put you in, I let out a sigh of relief that my day to day life isn't even half as stressful.
Trying A Little Stress Relief With Kinetic Sand
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Kinetic sand is an enhanced version of a stress ball. It's regular sand mixed with silicone oil which makes it feel incredibly soft and silky. Molding or squeezing the sand has a similar effect to watching "Oddly Satisfying" videos on YouTube. Even therapists recommend it because of its proven ability to soothe and calm. At under $10, it's affordable and almost impossible to make a mess, so it's worth a try.
Hit The Road For A Day Trip
Traveling cross-country or out of the country isn't necessary to clear your mind. If you find yourself yearning for a change of scenery, sometimes what you need is right next door. Hundreds of people have explored even the most seemingly mundane locations. There are definitely parts of your city and state that you haven't explored that will leave you pleasantly surprised.
Journal Your Deepest, Darkest Thoughts
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No matter how close you are to your family, friends, or spouse there are still some things you're probably keeping to yourself. But problems can arise when you become consumed by unresolved issues you're too afraid to share with others. Instead of suppressing your emotions or dealing with incessant inner dialogue, you can try your hand at self-therapy. Getting your thoughts down on paper can help you see things clearly and ultimately resolve your dilemma.
Journaling can also help you figure out other things about yourself that you weren't aware of. The daily practice of free-writing and looking over what you've written will reveal areas of your life that need improvement. You might also find hidden interests and ways to self-soothe that you can add to your own list.
Featured Photo by Shutterstock
Want more stories like this? Sign up for our newsletter here and check out the related reads below:
I'm Caught Between My Anxiety Disorder & Religion, Here's How I Cope
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Chantel Turner is a Los Angeles based writer who's passionate about mental health, philosophy, and pop culture. You can reach me by email at CTTWrites[at]gmail.com or https://chantelturner.contently.com.
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The Return Of The Supper Club Served With A Side Of Black Girl Magic
When Winter Baxter and Kelsey Beckford, co-founders of BeckzBax Supper Club, step into a restaurant, heads turn. It's impossible to miss Winter’s close crop cut and Kelsey’s flowing braids, both with glowing smiles that radiate genuine warmth and confidence. But, it’s not just the two that cause eyes to redirect from glasses of wine and exotic dishes, it's their entire party. The Spelman sisters turned best friends are also flanked by 10 to 15 Black women when they are all escorted to their table.
To many, the concept seems simple- a group of friends out to dinner- but the experiences of the BeckzBax Supper Club are anything but ordinary. This supper club delivers everything from private dining rooms to specialty curated menus with incredible dishes prepared just for them and table visits from the chefs, all in some of New York’s most exclusive and hottest eateries. The New York-based supper club has set its sight on delivering a dining experience that seeks to thrill with its adventurous palette and return to the social aspect of dining. Crafting unabashed moments of sincerity and candidacy with the people seated right beside you and social media posting saved for later.
The founders of the supper club designed by and for Black women dished to xoNecole about the courses they serve before the waiter even places the first dish down.
xoNecole: You are both native New Yorkers, the crossroads of the globe that’s home to a diverse array of cultures and with that, a dining scene that’s unparalleled. How did your childhood fuel your passion for food?
BeckzBax: When you're a city kid in New York, you really learn that going out to dinner or lunch is the thing to do. It's our culture to try out new food in restaurants. So since we were children, we saw how the restaurants and many neighborhoods were changed due to gentrification and how we lost a lot of authentic New York folks, whether they were Senegalese, Italian, Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, [or] African-American. Now a lot of the neighborhoods are just whitewashed and toned down.
So now there are restaurants that are bringing back culture, and we want to experience that.
xoN: How did BeckzBax make it from the group chat to a now highly sought-after event?
BeckzBax: Last summer in 2022, we were out at Moko, which is our favorite Omakase restaurant in the city. We had a 15-course meal, and we loved it. It was such a cool experience. But we looked around and realized we were the only two Black women in the space. We thought it would be more fun and a more fulfilling experience if we can dine in bigger groups.
I feel like a lot of people are trying to rediscover how they want to be social, definitely because of lockdown and just getting older. We have friends who are now sober, friends who don't like going out to clubs, and everybody is doing brunch. So we asked ourselves, “What else is there to do?” We came up with the supper club and focused on dinner because you always need to eat!
xoN: In just a year you have carved out a very unique identity for your supper club. Why do you think so many Black women gravitate toward your events?
BeckzBax: This is not a girl-boss event. This is really just, 'Hey, it's Tuesday night. Are you alone in the city? Do you need company? Do you need a sister? Do you need a friend, even if it’s just for a couple of hours?' We have seen how it really helps people feel like they are safe and supported.
We really appreciate that people give us that honor and privilege of coming to our events by themselves because they feel safe enough that they'll be received and treated with honesty and respect.
xoN: What is it like being a group of Black women occupying restaurant spaces that typically caters to a different crowd?
BeckzBax: We are here to disrupt the hospitality industry in the way that it operates because right now, there are a lot of things that people are not talking about. People are not being transparent about when it comes to having a good time out at dinner at some of these fine dining restaurants.
The treatment from the door is very different. If they don't know that we are the supper club that's booked for the private dinner, they assume that it's not us.
xoN: What ideas are you trying to dismantle with your supper club?
BeckzBax: The gatekeeping! There’s no gatekeeping food. It's food, it's an ingredient whether it's a tomato or a truffle. Everyone deserves to try and have new things.
xoN: What has surprised you the most about the restaurants since you’ve started?
BeckzBax: Our attendees are really shocked to find out that a Black woman is behind the menu and has curated this entire experience in a number of upscale restaurants.
That's what we want to highlight: we are the ones behind the success of a lot of these restaurants. Whether or not we are in the room… we are in the kitchen, and nobody talks about that. We're in the kitchen, so we deserve to be in this space just as much as everybody else does.
xoN: Wow! So how do the chefs react when they see your group in their restaurants, especially when you both don’t reflect the makeup of the restaurants you attend?
BeckzBax: We’ve been told it's liberating for the chefs. They don't often get to flex their own muscles very much. They're restricted to their menu and what their clients want. BeckzBax Supper Club allows them the space and freedom to really show what they're capable of.
Instead of repeatedly making the same ten dishes, they can offer seasonal options, and the chef is really allowed to show the fullness of what they can do.
xoN: What about the people that say, “Hey, I can go out to dinner with friends on my own.” What is it that BeckzBax brings to the table… literally?
BeckzBax: You are not going to have the same experience solo that we are able to curate for you. It’s impossible because we take the time to build relationships with chefs, owners, and general managers to provide a very specific experience for our members.
What sets BeckzBax apart is the point of breaking bread together. We've lost the art of socializing without it being for a reason like a birthday or networking. We’re not about a certain aesthetic. Everyone is there because they actually want to come, sit down, have dinner, and have real conversations. They want to get candid and share their life. Whatever you need, and it happens over food.
xoN: How can xoNecole readers join the supper club? Are you all accepting new members?
BeckzBax: Yes! If you’re interested in joining, email us at beckzbaz@gmail.com. We’ll send you a welcome email and explain the full process of joining, including how the club works and membership fees and dues. If you want to do a trial run before joining, we also have mini-series events that are usually cocktail hours so you can get to know us and meet current members.
xoN: Do you have any plans to expand BeckzBaz outside of New York?
BeckzBax: We’re going international! Japan is at the top of the list, and our goal is to do world tours, with the food being the basis of it all. This summer we’re also expanding domestically, if you’re in D.C., Philly, California, or Atlanta, keep your eyes open!
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Featured image courtesy of BeckzBax Supper Club