It’s happening again. Your mind is racing, your hands shaking, your heart rate quickening, and sweat is pouring down your brow. You’re having a panic attack and can’t seem to calm yourself down. If you’ve experienced similar symptoms you likely suffer from an anxiety disorder. Your body is in fight or flight mode as a response to extreme stress. The sheer fear of past, current, or future events has got your entire body in knots.
Though being anxious is a natural response to stress when it is consistent or extreme it can have adverse effects on your health. The constant fear and worry about everyday events drain every bit of your energy and it’s no way to live. While seeking treatment from a therapist or doctor is recommended to get to the core cause of your anxiety, here are some solutions to reduce symptoms.
Take a Deep Breath
When experiencing an anxiety attack the first thing you want to do is try and calm your body down. The best way to accomplish this is to take some deep breaths. Take slow, deep breaths in through the nose filling up your belly and out through the mouth several times. As you’re breathing try to focus your mind on the breaths and nothing else as this also helps to reduce the stress causing anxiety.
Ditch the Soda
You might enjoy having that Pepsi with your lunch in the afternoon to get you through the rest of a workday, but the sugar, caffeine, and other ingredients in soda are no good if you suffer from anxiety. They stimulate the nervous system and deplete the body of key vitamins and nutrients it needs. So, say good-bye to soda and opt for sparkling or seltzer water instead.
Get a New Mattress
Though one of the symptoms of anxiety is insomnia, not getting enough sleep can also exacerbate your anxiety symptoms. Therefore, it is essential to eliminate other factors that could be impacting your sleep such as your sleeping environment. And old mattress, for example, would be cumbersome to sleep on, therefore, causing you to toss and turn. Opt for a quality bed like a memory foam mattress for increased comfort.
Handle Your Finances
Money is a huge stressor, especially when you’re dealing with a lot of problems. Lots of debt, unpaid bills, or even the inability to make ends meet can cause your stress levels to rise which then triggers your anxiety. Though it may take a while to completely resolve your financial problems completely gaining control of your finances can provide some relief. Create a budget, work on a solution to pay down debt, and also work on building a nest egg or emergency savings.
Get Organized
A cluttered household or workstation creates a cluttered mind. Not being able to find what you need right away can drive you crazy. It’s time to get organized. Clear off countertops, reorganize drawers, get labels, and develop a system so it stays that way.
Question Your Thoughts
Doubting yourself isn’t ideal in all circumstances, however, when you’re feeling anxious questioning your thoughts can help calm you down. For instance, if you’re afraid that you’re going to get overlooked for a promotion, ask yourself how you know this to be true? If you’ve been performing well, have been with the company for a while, and have the necessary training to take on the position, why do you assume you won’t get it? When you break your thoughts down this way it helps to calm your emotions.
Work Out
Exercising is essential for keeping stress at bay. Regular exercise releases endorphins and reduces cortisol levels which are responsible for stress. Not to mention, exercise is beneficial for helping you to get a good night’s sleep. Start working out at least 5 days a week for an hour to see improvements with your anxiety.
Suffering from anxiety can be crippling. It not only has a negative impact on your physical and mental well-being but it can have an impact on every area of your life. If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, consider the above-mentioned solutions, along with traditional treatment methods to cope.
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