Anxiety is a common emotion that everyone feels from time to time. It’s only a problem when it gets in the way of living life. When anxiety becomes a disorder, there is a constant feeling of fear that follows those who suffer from it. However, it is not an incurable illness. There are a multitude of professional and self-help measures that assist in coping with anxiety. It helps to learn and implement them in order to manage anxiety and reduce it to a healthy degree. This article will discuss twenty such methods.
- Acknowledge negative feelings and beliefs. Take a step back and analyze it with logic and a lack of judgment. Self-doubt and a harmful account of how people perceive themselves are significant contributors to anxiety disorders. Anxiety increases perceived threat levels, making them seem greater than they are. Breaking down damaging beliefs and feelings and replacing them with positivity is one way of coping with anxiety until it is at a level that is less complicated to deal with.
- Practice relaxation. Retrain the body’s response to dealing with stressful situations by being slow to react. This offers a moment of clarity in judging what is occurring. It is also good to find ways to add joy to daily life and build on its quality as well. A long walk, exercise, meditation, yoga, music, and art are a few ways to decompress and experience enjoyment.
- Which leads to the third method: exercise and an active lifestyle. History proves that exercise increases endorphins in the body, a chemical released in the brain that directly improves mood. It also improves energy levels. An added benefit is the pride and confidence garnered by being proactive and becoming increasingly healthy.
- Eat a balanced meal plan rich in vitamins and minerals. A lot of people take caffeine for a quick boost of adrenaline. It is not uncommon for it to give that desired boost in the same way alcohol does. However, coming down is never easy. There is a heavy sluggishness in the muscles that will very quickly drain the overall mood. Alternately, fruit and vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals. Meat and beans are high in protein. Healthy eating habits strengthen both the mind and physique.
- Get an adequate amount of sleep every day. Complete wellbeing is dependent on getting enough rest. It keeps the mind and body regulated. Sleep and relaxation restore the energy expenditure lost during the day. The brain will also be less cloudy and unsure after sharpening up through sleep. Without it, anxiety levels rise, emotions become unsteady, and it becomes increasingly harder to think. Although it differs from person to person, 6–8 hours of sleep each day helps with coping with anxiety by maintaining a healthy state of being.
- Seek the help of a professional. If the symptoms of anxiety are so severe that they are making it impossible to live life, it is time for a psychologist or therapist to intervene. They possess the benefit of knowledge and experience in working through emotions and trauma. Psychiatrists use prescription medications to reduce the severity of the symptoms, so they are not effectively hindering efforts to manage anxiety.
- Establish a support circle. We all need to surround ourselves with positive people who have a positive mindset. This may include family and friends who will listen and provide an extra push forward. People who will be advocates and inspirations make the most ideal supporters. Coworkers can also fall into this group. A support circle is anyone who encourages healing without fueling the emotions and beliefs associated with anxiety.
- Do not fall into the habit of avoiding people, places, events, or activities that will lead to anxiety. The easiest thing to do is to walk away from things that trigger anxiety. But anxiety is a chemical imbalance in the brain that can slowly affect all areas of life if left untreated. Exposure therapy is the confrontation of negative beliefs and emotions using coping mechanisms learned in advance. Gradually facing those moments of fear and negating false assumptions with sound logic is the catalyst for finding bravery in even more circumstances.
- Take a step back. Having the drive to cope with anxiety is terrific, but not when reaching that goals turns into an obsession. At the end of the day, the main objective is not to overcome anxiety. It is to find happiness, confidence, and security by removing everything that causes sadness, stress, and depression. When it is time to return to managing anxiety, there is renewed vigor in those efforts. The mind needs periods of decompression to relax and strengthen itself.
- Do not suppress your feelings. Be forthcoming about what emotions are felt and the triggers for them. Without judgment or blame, voice those feelings and allow them to strengthen your resolve to beat anxiety. It is vital to always, in every situation, treat yourself with kindness. To do otherwise is not self-love, and it will only increase the symptoms of anxiety. Which leads to the next tip.
- Be gentle and compassionate. Feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness are consequences of anxiety. They lead the individual to judge themselves harshly and unfairly. Healing is a process that requires patience and faith in oneself. There are many times when we treat others better than we treat ourselves. There is nothing wrong with that, except that we deserve the same grace. Rejoice in your achievements. Forgive failures. Support and encourage the determination to keep fighting. That is self-love.
- Consider group counseling. Anxiety can be an isolating feeling. A support group helps mitigate loneliness, but it can also act as a sounding board where members encourage and offer advice to one another. It is soothing to be around people who understand the struggles of coping with anxiety. Group counseling is also an opportunity to gain new perspectives and coping mechanisms to practice outside of meetings.
- Become more assertive. An excess of obligations and responsibilities also adds to anxiety. Sometimes, it is necessary to simply say ‘no’. Firmly decide between what is important and which tasks will only place undue stress on the mind and body’s wellbeing. Be wary of people who view a willingness to help as a convenience.
- Take risks. Remember to step beyond what is comfortable. Prepare measured challenges to the constraints that anxiety places on living life. Be armed with all the coping mechanisms you’ve learned in advance. When it is done, view success beyond whether the short-term goal was met. Acknowledge the courage it took to try and the skills used in coping with anxiety. Celebrate every accomplishment and forgive every lapse. Use that experience toward the next challenge. The repetition comes with the reward of increased resilience.
- Make a conscious decision to be happy. Fill your life with people, things, places, and events that make you laugh and smile. Joy heals as surely as the other components of treatment for anxiety. Take advantage of every chance to lighten the mood a little. It not only counters anxiety, but it also helps prevent the effects long term stress places on the healthy state of one’s body.
- Practice gratitude. Take time to give thanks for everything good in life. Put aside negative emotions and problems that can wait for tomorrow. Adopt a positive mindset in order to stave off bitterness and anger over struggles and limitations. These emotions only compound anxiety, which can then lead to other mental illnesses like depression.
- Practice mindfulness. One of the most dominant traits of anxiety is for the mind to jump ahead to all the things that could go wrong. The more thoughts dwell on perceived dangers, the higher the anxiety becomes. Consequently, that person enters what is known as the fight or flight response. Mindfulness maintains a sense of awareness that observes and accepts events as they happen.
- Use positive affirmations to uplift and encourage. Positive affirmations are statements, facts, or encouragement that focus on character traits or an optimistic outcome. Where anxiety places the focus on all the ways things can go horribly wrong and cause pain, positive words are different. They directly combat negativity with logic and self-esteem to avoid heightened emotions. A calm state of mind promotes rational thought.
- Plan ahead. It is impossible to control every aspect of life. It is unpredictable, even at the best of times. However, knowledge is power in more ways than one. Tip number one mentions being conscious of things that trigger anxiety. Knowing provides the opportunity to prepare in advance, armed with positive affirmations, logic, relaxation methods, and mindfulness.
- Don’t hesitate to ask for help when needed, whether from tools like books, podcasts, and websites or from a counselor or life coach. Anxiety disorders are complicated and hard to deal with alone. It is natural to occasionally require guidance and information. If knowledge is indeed power, it helps to build on it as much as possible. The internet holds a wealth of information, and using the experiences of other people offers new ways to view old problems.
When anxiety starts to affect multiple areas of life, it is time to get the symptoms under control. These twenty tips on coping with anxiety offer a few ideas on where to start. Counseling and possible medication are simply the starting points. The key is to acquire as many coping strategies as possible to utilize in everyday life. Healing is a process. It takes effort, time, and patience. But in the meantime, find happiness along that journey.
