Just about everyone understands the severity of the problems anxiety can cause in someone’s life. The most effective way to manage the symptoms of anxiety is to develop a complete understanding of its root causes, as well as, potentially effective treatment methods. Read the tips in this article, in order to formulate your own strategy for handling anxiety in your daily life.
If your anxiety is triggered by external events like crime and war stories, then reduce your exposure to the media. Catch up on world events for a small period of time each day, but don’t dwell on external issues you are unable to control.
There are certain foods that should be avoided, if you are trying to cut down on the symptoms of anxiety. Foods that are sweetened with sugar, those with processed white flour and caffeinated beverages should not be consumed very often. They will only serve to make your condition worse, than it already is.
Learn to say no. Overextending yourself can quickly drain your reserves and leave your mind racing as you try to live up to your commitments. Your refusal to put more on your plate than you can manage may cause disappointment for someone, but your mental health and well-being are most important.
If you have a small snack that is high in protein right before you go to bed, you will help your body keep steady blood sugar in the night. Many times your panic attacks and anxiety will happen in the middle of the night. The cause of this is often low blood sugar, so a snack will help you stay asleep.
Regular daily exercise not only keeps you healthy, it can also protect your body from anxiety. It increases blood flow to your brain and allows you to make better decisions throughout the day. When you make good decisions, you avoid placing yourself in anxiety producing situations. It only takes a few minutes a day to achieve results.
If you suffer from anxiety, make sure you eat a healthy diet and get plenty of sleep and exercise. The better shape your body is in, the more resistant to stress and other forms of anxiety it will be! Sleep deprivation, hunger and ill-health, will leave you much more vulnerable to the affects of anxiety.
Try staying active. Exercise is a great way to let out some of your tensions and worries that have been plaguing you. It can put any negative thoughts far away from you and it naturally creates positive thoughts for you to dwell on, instead! Make sure that you go to the gym!
Avoid things that could raise your blood pressure. This includes high levels of salt and sodium, caffeine and even alcohol. These substances can raise your heart rate and your blood pressure, making your anxiety symptoms worse. While avoiding these items might not eliminate your anxiety, it will keep it from feeling so out of control.
Reduce your level of anxiety by asking others for help when you need it. Many people feel that asking for help is a sign of weakness, but it is actually a very intelligent thing to do when a task is more than you can handle. Delegating appropriate tasks to others will keep anxiety under control.
Staying away from alcohol, foods and drinks that contain caffeine, may be wise if you suffer from anxiety. Both of these items contain ingredients that can set off and make anxiety much worse. Try drinking more water, instead and try out decaffeinated versions of your favorite beverages, such as, coffee.
If you suffer from anxiety frequently, try exercising. Regularly exercising helps to keep your mind and body fit. As a result, your anxieties can be kept at bay. Try walking, swimming, aerobics or some other type of sport. You will be surprised by how much exercising can help minimize your anxiety.
If you are having anxiety about one particular thing, ask a friend to exaggerate the issue to epic proportions. Although this may seem counter productive, after a few times of making up crazy stories about what may happen, it starts to sound really silly to anyone who is listening to it.
When you are starting to let anxiety get on top of you, use visual anchors. This means when you are feeling anxiety creep in to your thoughts look up to the clouds, or try to find some water to look at to calm you down. You could even use a stress ball.
A great tip to help reduce the amount of anxiety you feel is to cut back on your caffeine intake. Caffeine is a stimulant which only increases the anxiousness or nervousness you are already feeling. Reducing the amount of caffeine you take will help reduce the amount of anxiety you feel.
If anxiety is getting the best of you, consider joining a support group or online forum. It really helps to talk with others who are going through the same thing that you are feeling and they can often offer you ways of coping you may not have thought of before. It can also be a great way to meet people you can relate to, and vice-versa.
Cut back on the caffeine you are consuming. Caffeine can be a big factor in making anxiety a mountain, rather than a mole hill. If you feel like you want that cup of coffee in the morning, drink just one cup, instead of three or four.
Learn how to change your breathing to stop anxiety. Instead of breathing with your chest, use your belly to take deeper breaths with your diaphragm. This type of breathing slows down your heart rate, relaxes your body, and helps you feel less anxious. This is effective when you feel an anxiety attack coming on, and it can also help you unwind and fall asleep at night.
It is hard to ignore the harm that anxiety can do in the everyday lives of people who are afflicted by it. The key to developing an effective approach to handling anxiety is by acquiring a solid body of knowledge on the subject. Utilize the ideas and suggestions included in this piece and you will soon be on the road to a calmer, healthier mindset.