Anxiety disorders are skyrocketing in our society. The situation has accelerated by the pandemic. Learn what you can do to combat anxiety to feel better today.
Many people get nervous when they face an important event in life or are going through a life-altering situation. This feeling is normal. It starts to become a concern if the anxieties are chronic and seem to be consuming our lives. What is very alarming is that about 4 million Americans live with anxiety disorders. People with anxiety disorders regularly feel the following symptoms: panic disorder, episodes of fear that engulf you suddenly, trembling, sweating, shaking, and heart palpitations, intense worrying. This condition is also known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
The good news is that some therapies and strategies can help reduce or manage anxiety for people in the long term. For the most part, some lifestyle changes can benefit most people in combatting anxiety.
Some basic lifestyle changes like reducing alcohol and caffeine intake, taking some time to destress, and eating a healthy balanced diet can go a long way in reducing anxieties.
There are also some supplements you can take to reduce anxieties. Recent studies have shown that taking CBD oil for anxiety can effectively help you destress and feel less anxious.
We have put together these expert-recommended tips to control your thoughts and put your mind at ease.
Don’t Attach A Threatening Label To Your State.
Many of you can feel like you are about to have a heart attack or that you cannot breathe when you have panic attacks. At this point, you need to try to remain calm and remind yourself that you are having a harmless panic attack and that it’s temporary, so you don’t need to do anything about it. This conditioning of your mind is going to help your body to activate its fight-or-flight response. This response is the system that is going to save you.
Check The Authenticity of Your Thoughts
It’s normal for anxious people to fixate on the worst-case scenario. They tend to think of the very worst possible outcome in any given situation. If you want to combat this condition, you need to evaluate if your thoughts are realistic.
You can acknowledge that you are nervous, but you also need to reason with yourself that no matter what, you have prepared yourself for the best possible outcome, and although some things might not go the way you anticipated, most things will work out just fine.
Conditioning your thoughts in this manner before any given situation will develop a pattern and will train your brain to produce rational and practical solutions on how to address the problem and deal with any anxiety you might be experiencing.
Try Breathing To Relax
A very effective way to calm yourself down is to try deep breathing. There are a few breathing exercises that you may have heard of, but it’s not required for you to count out a certain number of breaths per minute. Instead, your focus should be on equally inhaling and exhaling deeply. This technique helps to relax and bring your mind to a central form. You will feel calmer and less anxious once you try deep breathing for a few minutes.
Remain In Your Time Zone
Most people get anxious thinking of events that are going to take place in the future. A great way to keep anxiety at bay is not to worry about the future and focus on the present. Assess your current situation. Are you safe? Is there something that needs to be taken care of instantly? If there are no instant worries, then check in with yourself later in the day to reassess what your current concerns are. This way, you can keep your mind off worrying about things that will happen in the future.
Keep Yourself Occupied
When you feel that you are getting anxious about something, just distract yourself from that train of thought. You can just get up and take a walk, switch on and watch TV, or pretty much anything just to interrupt the train of thought that was potentially making you anxious. This way, you can regain control of your emotions quickly.
Don’t Take Sugar
Most of you are tempted to try something sweet when you are stressed out or anxious. But going for that candy bar will cause you more harm. Research has shown that your anxiety feelings are worsened by consuming too much sugar. So limit the amount of sugar by drinking a glass of water or eating some protein-rich food, instead of sugary foods and soft drinks.
Ask For Some Advice
When an impending decision stresses you out too much, text or call a family member or friend and take advice on how to handle that situation. Sharing your concerns and your worries will instantly make you feel lighter. By communicating your concerns verbally to somebody, you will also see the problems clearly for what they actually are. The other person may also provide some insight or thoughts on the matter that will make it easier for you to reach a solution and ultimately not be stressed out about it anymore.
Watch A Light-Hearted Video
This is a rather easy tactic. You can cue up some clips on the TV of your all-time favorite comedy show and watch them if you feel anxious. Laughing is always good medicine to treat anxiety. There is plenty of research suggesting that laughter has many benefits for our well-being and overall mental health. Some studies suggest a good laugh can help to lower anxiety almost as much as any exercise can.
Try Out The 3-3-3 Rule.
To try this out, you need to name three things that you see when you look around you. After that, you need to name any three sounds that you can hear. After that, the final step would be to move any three parts of your body. They could most likely be your arm, ankle, or fingers. If you see that your mind is going on an anxiety trip, you can use this trick to bring your mind back to a central zone. This is an excellent way to keep your mind focused on the present and not worry about the future.
Wrapping Up
Living with anxiety is a tough ordeal that many of us are having to go through. But by now, you know that there are a few simple things that you can do to fight anxiety. So don’t wait any longer. Whenever you feel that you will be engulfed in a wave of anxiety, try out the tips mentioned above to calm your mind.
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