Have you ever experienced your heart beating faster when you’ve faced stressful situations? When out of the blue, your hands become clammy and you break out in sweats? There are many reasons why this happens. Sometimes you need to deal with a tight work deadline or are overwhelmed by something in your personal life. Whatever that is, your body’s natural response to stress is what’s called anxiety. Below you will find some super simple tips to help with managing anxiety no matter where you are or what is going on in your life.
Everyone becomes anxious at some point in their lives. Different instances could trigger it, and identifying these triggers is one of the top ways to cope with managing anxiety attacks. During the Covid situation, it’s been suggested that an increasing number of people are suffering from anxiety and depression. The constant change of external factors that surround them may cause instability and unfamiliarity, which triggers fear.
Seeking mental health treatment and talking to an expert about your mental condition may be imperative in dealing with anxiety. Read along to find some recommended tips for managing stress.
1. Pause And Breathe Deep
Anxiety can flare at any time without you anticipating it. When it does happen, it may be wise to take some time to pause. Give yourself a break to think about what is currently happening and why it’s making you feel nervous. Anxiety often corresponds to situations that make you worry, either in the future or from the past.
If you’re an overthinker, you might worry a lot about what will happen in the future or feel upset about something that already happened and couldn’t be changed in the past. Regardless of these conditions, a primary dilemma may be that you’re not being mindful of your current moment. Many suggest that focusing on today is more beneficial than dwelling too much on what will be or could have been.
This is the first, and easiest step in managing anxiety. Regaining your peace and pulling yourself out of an anxious trance may potentially be achieved by sitting down calmly and taking a few deep breaths. Allowing your breath to be controlled is important, as it may help restore a sense of balance within you. It may also make you hyperaware of the present moment. Deep breathing is recommended for calming nerves, as well as pep talks if you’re willing to give them a go.
2. Look For Triggers that Cause Anxiety
Before anxiety can get the best of you, it’s important to look for what’s causing it. Think of the times and situations when you’re most feeling anxious. Carefully assess and dissect these happenings in your life. You can write them down too, if you want, for future reference’s sake. While evaluating, it’s wise to check out some patterns and think of potential solutions to avoid or confront feelings that will cause you to panic or worry.
Knowing the causes and triggers of your anxiety may support you in putting your worries into perspective. You may also be prepared when it happens again. Ask yourself what’s bothering you and why it does. Don’t be afraid, to be honest about how you feel. Sometimes, denying things and not confronting your emotions will only lead to further cases of anxiety.
Put some time aside to check into your inner well-being. Explore your thoughts and feelings can help with managing anxiety. You could write gratitude journals and have them ready by your bedside if you need to write some things down before you sleep. If you’re uncomfortable talking to someone about what’s bothering you, writing is a means of easing the discomfort and expressing and relieving the tension inside you. However, if you do have a close friend or family member, talking to them about your anxious feelings may be very effective in making you feel better.
3. Focus On What You Can Improve
Some of the potential primary roots of anxiety surround ideas of what may happen in the future or what you’re unable to change in the past. Even when things are gradually improving for you, you may still continue to worry about the possibilities of bad things happening in the future like accidents or the loss of a job.
Life is often considered unpredictable, and what’s going to happen in the future may never be within your control. To help with managing anxiety, it’s recommended to accept this context and let go of things you don’t have control over. To handle these uncontrollable situations, you may choose to focus on being grateful for what you have today. A little positivity can go a long way.
You can potentially ease your fears by changing your reaction to them. For instance, when you become anxious that you might lose your job in the future, focus more on how grateful you are that you’re employed and have a good job now. With a little more practice of changing your train of thoughts, you may be able to turn your anxious thoughts into a more positive life outlook.
Some people experienced anxiety based on their previous circumstances in life. It could be a real situation that you might be afraid of experiencing again. When this situation happens, one of the better ways to potentially resolve anxiety is to take action. When you think of ways to prevent something from happening again, your determination and motivation may become more substantial than fear or worry.
4. Tame Tense Muscles
Because of anxiety, your muscles will usually tense up. You can relax them by doing some simple exercises. One thing to do is select a muscle group, tighten the muscles for a few seconds, and eventually ease them up.
Focus on one section at a time as you shuffle and tame all the other muscle groups in your body. This method is called progressive muscle relaxation, and it may work well for dealing with muscle tension caused by anxiety.
5. Exercise Helps with Managing Anxiety
Exercise is often suggested to help manage different ailments, whether it’s physical or mental. It may be an essential step towards easing your feelings of anxiety. As you exercise, you may also boost your sense of well-being and self-care.
Having 30-minute workouts at least five times a week is enough to refresh your mind from all the stress accumulated every day. However, one key point when doing a workout is to ensure that the exercise is appropriate for your body. Otherwise, it might lead to more feelings of anxiety if you worry that you may not perform the exercise.
6. Reduce Anxiety by Sleeping Appropriately
One crucial integral part of your health is to get enough sleep. It’s recommended to have the correct quantity and quality of sleep. Many doctors suggest an average total of eight hours of sleep every night.
There are many potentially ways for you to follow through with this sleeping pattern:
- You could schedule a fixed sleeping time and waking up time
- Avoid using your gadgets at least 30 minutes before you hit the hay
- Sleep in a comfortable and soft bed and linens.
- Ensure your room’s temperature is comfortable enough to have a sound sleep.
7. Divert Your Thoughts
Being the boss of your thoughts can be difficult. If you find it hard to divert your ideas into more positive notes, you could try doing other activities that require your mind to change perspectives and/or focus.
You could reach out to others and spend time with them. You could also do house chores or invest in a home project plan if you’re feeling up to it. You may even engage in an enjoyable activity or a new hobby. Going for a walk every day may also help clear your thoughts.
There are countless other ways to keep your mind side-tracked with better thoughts like music, praying, going to nature, reading a book, or watching a good movie. All these and more may be helpful in keeping your mind positively busy.
However, it is also crucial to understand that some thoughts may need to be unpacked whether with a close friend or a professional, rather than diverted. If you find yourself in this situation, you may want to consider checking out mental health services such as those provided by Jackson House.
8. Participate In Community Services
Another tip for managing your anxiety is to help out in the community. Spending time doing good deeds for other people may improve your overall sense of connection with others and reveal to you a different life perspective. According to a study, doing good deeds also leads to lower hypertension and higher levels of psychological well-being. While you’re busy helping someone out, it may also allow you to get out of your head and focus the “now”. Thus, try volunteering or doing other community work. Besides practically helping others, you may also be forming a great support system around you.
9. Decrease Coffee And Alcohol Consumption
Minimizing your daily dose of coffee and alcohol can be an upper and a downer. Consumption of the latter may trigger your anxiety and kick it into overdrive. If you can, try to minimize the volume of consumption at first and eventually eliminate it from your diet. Try to avoid other foods that contain coffee and alcohol like chocolate, tea, and other food components.
10. Use Aromatherapy to Calm the Nerves
Aromatherapy may gradually improve your senses and get you into a relaxed state of mind. You can use aromatherapy oils, incense, and candles. Scents like eucalyptus, lavender, chamomile, peppermint, and sandalwood could be very calming and refreshing.
Conclusion
Anxiety is something that you may be able to ease with the above recommendations. The main points to consider are to know what triggers your anxiety, shift your thoughts if beneficial and create many ways of helping yourself think more positively. You may preoccupy yourself with new hobbies, meet new people, engage in community service, meditate, or change your diet.