Anxiety is an emotional state that produces fear and worry. It creates a lot of stress and can sometimes lead to panic attacks, which leave a person feeling psychologically overwhelmed. During a panic attack you can experience chest pains, sweating, hot flashes and nausea. Even if you aren’t having a panic attack, you may find yourself experiencing these symptoms if you let your anxiety get out of control.
Anxiety doesn’t have to be a part of your life if you follow a few simple steps. Obviously if you feel that anxiety is interrupting your daily life or otherwise putting you in danger, you should contact a health professional. Certain types of anxiety like post traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder and panic anxiety disorder should be handled with your doctor or nurse practitioner.
If you find yourself feeling general anxiety frequently, you need to break the cycle now before your condition gets any wore. When anxiety remains unchecked, it can become a big problem that needs medical intervention. The first thing you need to do when you feel yourself becoming anxious is to employ relaxation techniques. These techniques allow you to relax your body and mind, which can reduce stress and help your natural anti-anxiety systems kick in.
When you start to become anxious, start taking deep, slow, even breaths. Getting oxygen into your system will naturally calm you down and provide extra oxygen to your brain. The oxygen will help you think more clearly and get your heart rate normalized. This will help you feel less stressed instantly.
In addition to relaxation techniques, you can also use exercise for a general purpose anxiety-reliever. If you incorporate regular exercise into your daily routine, you will provide your body with the oxygen it needs. Also, exercise helps release serotonin and other “feel good” hormones into your blood stream that reduce your stress and make you feel at peace.
Another important part of reducing anxiety in your life is eating a balanced diet. You may wonder what eating has to do with anxiety, but your body can only work with the building blocks that you give it. If you’ve got your body running on stimulants like caffeine, sugar and cigarettes, you are setting yourself up for problems with anxiety. Remove these substances along with processed foods and alcohol and you’ll be giving your body exactly what it needs.
When you start to feel anxious, you need to develop patterns of behavior that you automatically use to help yourself de-stress. These behaviors need to become as natural to you so you can rely on them consistently. Some people use walking to de-stress, others find comfort in writing in a journal or talking with someone about their anxiety. Find something that helps you feel better and rely on it when you start to feel anxious.
Although anxiety is a part of everyday life, it doesn’t have to be. When you start to feel anxious and stressed, try one of the stress relieving activities mentioned above. To combat overall stress, incorporate the lifestyle changes in your diet and exercise program. With time, you’ll learn to conquer stress and eliminate anxiety.