Many of those who deal with anxiety have accepted it as part of their daily lives.
After all, when it has been a component of your lived experience for so long, it can be hard to picture a life without it. However, there are plenty of steps that you can take to minimise the hold this has over you, allowing you to live a life (almost) free from worry and stress.
Read on to find out more.
Put your worries into context. When you feel your anxiety climbing, try to identify what you are worrying about, and put it into the context of your wider life. This helps you to determine whether or not it is worth worrying about, or whether you simply need to try and let whatever is troubling you go.
Find effective ways to relax and unwind. Dealing with anxiety can make it incredibly difficult to relax and unwind. This is because you may feel as though you simply have too many thoughts racing through your head to properly sit back and relax. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways in which you can combat this, providing you with a sense of inner peace and calm. For example, this could include trying alternative remedies, such as CBD Hash.
Exercise when you feel particularly pent up. While regular exercise can go a long way toward improving your mental health, it can be particularly beneficial when you are feeling pent-up. This is because it can help to minimise the physical symptoms of anxiety, providing you with a sense of relief. It can also trigger the release of endorphins, which also brighten your mood.
As such, while exercising may be the last thing on your mind when dealing with anxiety, try to get moving as much as you can. For example, while you may not feel up to a 5k run, you could instead go for a quick jog.
You may also find it useful to go to exercise classes. This is because the instructor will be able to provide you with the motivation you need to keep pushing, even when you do not necessarily feel like working out. In addition to this, it gives you the chance to make new friends while building up a sweat.
Consider going to therapy. If anxiety is a daily occurrence in your life, then you may need some outside help to get your mental health back on track. While this may sound daunting, going to therapy can transform both your mindset and your life at large, which means you should not dismiss it in a hurry.
Not only that, but you may feel it easier to open up to a therapist than someone else in your life. This is because they are removed from your social circle. In addition to this, they will be able to provide you with guidance on what you can do to start feeling better. For example, they may introduce you to coping mechanisms such as the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise.
If one-on-one therapy isn’t your thing, then look into group sessions instead. This can sometimes feel a little less nerve-wracking, as you are not the only person contributing to conversations and people in a similar situation surround you on your own.
Get into the habit of talking to others. While going to therapy can be incredibly beneficial when it comes to reducing your anxiety, so too can talking to those around you about how you are feeling. While they may not be able to provide you with actionable solutions in the same way a therapist can, this does not mean that they will be unable to support you during this time. For example, talking about what we are struggling with often means that we feel less alone and isolated.
Try to get more sleep. Anxiety often stands in the way of getting enough sleep. However, this can then become something of a double-edged sword, as poor sleeping habits mean that you are more prone to anxiety.
As such, you should also work on improving your sleeping habits during this time. One way in which you can achieve this goal is by meditating or practising mindfulness in the run-up to getting into bed, as this will help you to calm your mind somewhat.
Avoid caffeine. While caffeine can be useful when it comes to giving you a much-needed boost of energy, it can make some of the physical symptoms of anxiety worsen. For example, it could make your heart race or leave you feeling dizzy. As such, you should avoid caffeine when you are feeling particularly anxious. If you miss the taste, you could always switch to the decaffeinated versions of your favorite drinks, whether that is soda or coffee.
Try to spend more time outdoors. Spending more time outdoors, whether that means going for a walk or sitting and reading in your garden, can also help to reduce anxiety. This is because being amongst nature can “reduce cortisol levels, muscle tension, and our heart rates.” It also means that we can gain access to as much natural light as possible, which can also improve our mood and mindset.
Remember that anxiety can sometimes be useful. While you should not feel anxious on a daily basis, it is worth noting that anxiety can sometimes be useful. For example, it means that we are more likely to pay attention to what we are doing, which is why it can be particularly helpful when interviewing for a new job or heading out on a first date. For this reason, you should not try to look for a way to eliminate anxiety in its entirety, but simply to better manage it.
Final thoughts. I’m short, there are many steps that you can take to reduce the hold that anxiety has over you, no matter how unlikely this may seem right now. In doing so, you’re enabling yourself to live a life that you feel in control of, instead of letting anxiety control you.
Photo by SHINE TANG on Unsplash
