Did you know that anxiety is extremely common? In fact, everyone has anxiety to some extent.
When it gets to be too much to handle, you may feel like you’re at a dead-end in life. Anxiety can be a vicious beast to tackle on your own, but it is possible to find healthy ways to cope with it.
Do you want to find out about some actions you can take to lessen your anxious thoughts and increase your quality of life?
Learn about why you experience anxiety and some tips for dealing with anxiety below.
Why Do You Get Anxious?
Anxiety is the feeling that people have when they are worried, scared, or uneasy. This could be related to something specific, or it could be a general feeling about everything in your life.
Some anxiety is good because it can help you stay safe. You also perform better if you have a little bit of anxiety, so being anxious for a test or an audition is completely normal.
Too much anxiety, however, can be a huge deterrent in leading a healthy life. If you find yourself focusing on your anxiety and ruminating about the things making you anxious, this is not a healthy way to handle those feelings.
While it could be an anxiety disorder, it could also just be an extreme bout of anxiety. Remember that everyone gets anxious to some extent.
However, if you feel like your anxiety isn’t going away, even after trying our tips below, you may want to seek help from a professional. They have the experience, training, skills, and tools available to help you feel better.
With that being said, you can always try to help yourself first. Anxiety is something that everyone experiences at some point, so knowing what works for you is important for overall mental health.
1. Try Reading a Book
If you want to learn more about how to handle anxiety in general, you can check out a resource that is specifically about anxiety. Many books are available on the topic, and they can teach you specific coping skills that you can take with you into your life.
Are you not interested in reading those types of books? You can also pick up a good book that you know you love or one that you’ve been wanting to try.
Using your anxious energy and putting it toward reading helps to relax your mind and distract you from the anxious thoughts at the same time.
2. Take a Second to Yourself
It can be hard to notice when we are wearing ourselves down. There are so many things happening around us all the time, and many people feel like they have to go, go, go every day.
Plan some time to disconnect from the world, and be silent by yourself. You don’t have to do this for long periods of time, especially at first, but do what feels manageable for you.
Shut off your phone, don’t watch TV, and don’t have anyone join you. Just be alone and let your mind do its thing. If you start to feel more anxious from being left to think on your own, you can think about a specific topic or idea instead.
3. Challenge Your Negative Beliefs
When dealing with anxiety, you likely have negative beliefs. These could be about yourself, about your life, or about the future.
Know that your thoughts come before your feelings. If you’re feeling anxious, it’s likely because you’ve had anxious thoughts. Bad thoughts will lead you to bad emotions and those, in turn, lead to bad behaviors.
If you wake up in the morning and think to yourself “I’m not going to do well at my audition today. I just know it”, you’re more likely to feel anxious about that audition. Those anxious feelings can cause you to react poorly to anything or anyone around you.
To challenge this, you need to record your thoughts. Look at the specific emotions you have when you experience stress or anxiety.
Write down those feelings next to the thoughts as a single word. You could put, for example, angry, sad, hopeless, or frustrated.
Challenge what you’ve written. Try to be objective about what you’re experiencing.
Why are you so angry that your daughter failed her exam? Is it because you’re worried about her future?
Test your version of reality by looking at it from a new perspective. Doing this often will help it form into a habit, and you can control those negative emotions better.
4. Get Extra Sleep
The medial prefrontal cortex does not activate in the brain if you don’t get any sleep. This is the part of the brain that directly diminishes stress and anxiety! It also affects your decision-making skills and your memory.
Do you struggle to remember things after a bad night’s sleep? You also may have experienced more impulsive decisions when you aren’t rested because you aren’t thinking things through.
Sleep is like magic for the brain. It does wonderful things for almost all of your brain processes, and if you want to reduce your anxious thoughts, you need to get enough sleep.
5. Try Using THC
THC has a natural calming effect on the body and mind, so if you’re suffering from extreme anxiety, it may be a way to temporarily curb it.
Be wary, however, if you’ve never used THC before. Some of the side effects for beginner users may include paranoia or dizziness.
You also want to make sure that you’re using high-quality THC. Avoid synthetic marijuana or any other alternatives. If you’d like to look at some of the best Delta 8 products, check out this website for more information.
THC isn’t for everyone, and for some people, it may make your anxiety worse if you’re not sure about it. For this reason, if you’re not comfortable with the thought of using it, you may want to skip this tip.
6. Take Some Deep Breaths
Breathing is a natural function our body does involuntarily, but deep breathing is intentional and meaningful. It seems simple, and it is, but deep breaths can help calm your body and mind.
Belly breathing is one type of deep breathing that you may want to try. You sit with your eyes closed, and you focus on your breath. Breathe through your nostrils without trying to control your breath – just pay attention to it.
Think about how it feels when the breath enters your body and then leaves it through your nostrils.
Place one hand on your stomach and one hand on your chest. Take a deep breath for four counts, hold it for three counts, and exhale for four counts. Your stomach hand should move up and down as you breathe in and out.
While doing this, you need to concentrate and try to eliminate unrelated thoughts from your mind. It can take some practice, but it is worth it once you get the hang of it.
This isn’t the only type of deep breathing exercise out there, so find the one that feels most comfortable for you.
7. Exercise More Often
Everyone is always talking about how exercise is good for the body, but did you know it also is good for your mind? If you want to start combating anxiety proactively, exercise is the way to go.
Exercise leads to endorphins being released in the body. These endorphins work with the receptors in your brain to reduce pain and create a positive feeling in your body and mind.
Not only that, but exercise can also help you with our fourth tip of getting more sleep. When you work your body harder during the day, you sleep better at night.
It can be hard to develop a routine on your own. Consider getting support from a personal trainer or even a close friend with an active lifestyle.
Exercise is nature’s anti-anxiety remedy. Besides clearing the mind, firing up the endorphins, and helping you sleep soundly at night, researchers have found that individuals who exercise vigorously and regularly were 25 percent less likely to develop an anxiety disorder within five years.
8. Rid Your Home of Clutter
Getting rid of things you don’t need can be liberating, especially if you have a lot of stuff. Coming up with a simple system of “keep, toss, or donate” can help you narrow down what you actually want to hold onto.
While going through your things, you may also take the time to tidy up a little bit. You can put things away and make your space feel cleaner.
This will help your brain feel like there is one less task to complete, which is something that can help anxiety.
If your anxiety is caused by a lack of motivation or feeling like you’ve been procrastinating too much, this is a great way to get out of that rut.
9. Do Something Mindlessly Fun
You will probably feel ridiculous, but taking a moment to just do something silly can make you feel better. It’s usually easier to do this type of thing in private, so when you’ve got a moment alone, take advantage of it!
Do a crazy dance to your own rhythm or make funny faces to yourself in the mirror. Come up with your own ideas!
It doesn’t have to be for long, but taking a moment to feed the child within you can improve your mood. It may be just the thing to distract your mind away from the anxiety you’re experiencing as well.
10. Reduce Bad Things in Your Diet
There are many things that we eat and drink regularly that impact more than just our bodies. Some things that you will want to limit or avoid entirely if you’re experiencing anxiety include:
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Sugar
- Processed white flour
- Aspartame
- Partially hydrogenated oils
Be mindful when you’re eating and think about what you’re putting into your body. If you truly want to improve your anxiety, starting with your diet could be a great way to make lasting changes.
11. Encourage Yourself
Sometimes when you are experiencing a lot of anxiety, you may feel down on yourself. It can be hard to not know how to help yourself or make yourself feel better.
It’s important to remember that you’re not the only one that feels this way. If you have a lot of pride or feel embarrassed about mental health concerns, you shouldn’t let that stop you from trying to feel better.
One simple thing that you can do for yourself that might help put things into perspective is creating accurate, uplifting statements.
Some examples of statements you can try include:
- “Anxiety is just a feeling”
- “This feels bad, but I can get through it”
- “I’m strong, and I control my life”
- “Things will always get better”
- “My anxiety doesn’t control me”
If none of these resonate with you, come up with one that you think could help. It might be something that you tell yourself every morning, or it could be something you write on a sticky note you put on your bathroom mirror.
12. Visit a Therapist or Doctor
When you want to start managing anxiety most effectively, you may need to get some extra social support. This could include talking to a licensed mental health professional about what is going on.
If your anxiety is causing you to have a lower quality of life or is inhibiting you from performing daily tasks, discussing the situation with a professional is a good idea.
It is intimidating at first if you’ve never gone. However, these are skilled professionals that know what they are doing and have likely helped people just like you before.
You can ask a friend for a referral, or search for a provider online in your area.
Do you think your anxiety may be caused by a medical problem? If so, make an appointment with your general doctor. You may need a blood panel done to rule out medical conditions.
Use These Tips for Dealing With Anxiety
With these tips on how to combat anxiety, you’re well on your way toward a happier life.
Anxiety can get us all down at some point, but using these tips for dealing with anxiety will help you get back up.
Do you want to learn more about improving your health? If so, check out our Health section under “Lifestyle” for more information like this.