How do you deal with stress? If your anxiety is keeping you from living a happy life, you should look for an efficient way to deal with stressful situations. Read this article to find out more about stress management techniques and make sure that you apply what you have learned here, the next time you feel stressed.

Proper breathing is essential to reducing sudden feelings of anxiety. Using a count to control your breathing can be an effective way to reduce anxious feelings. Pick a count, such as 3 in, and 3 out. Repeat this pattern, until the feelings of anxiety have resolved, and passed.

If you are suffering from anxiety, one of the best things that you can do is to drink a lot of water during the day. Eight glasses of water can help to reduce the toxins in your body and put you in the best position to stay positive during the day.

If you do not put some type of positive interaction in between you and your anxiety, it will continue to grow. No matter what you decide to do, when an anxiety attack occurs, try remaining positive about everything that goes through your mind. When something negative occurs, turn it into something positive.

Laughter is one of the very best ways to circumvent anxiety since it changes your focus and lightens your mood. As a tension-breaker it cannot be beat, and the best part is that its effects can be shared with those around you. Try to cultivate an appreciation for the silly and absurd side of life. Embrace the funny and witty people in your life. Bring them closer so their resilience becomes a model for you.

When you are on anxiety medication, never stop taking it without talking to your doctor. Even if you feel like you are better, you still cannot just stop. Some of these medications can make you very ill and can even be deadly if you just stop all of a sudden.

Gain control of your thoughts and you will find that your anxiety issues will affect you less. The more that your mind is filled with negative thoughts, the more anxiety attacks you will experience. Once you find a way to manage your thoughts, you will find anxiety issues are decreased, as well.

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!

Don’t look at yourself in the mirror. This does not help at all when you are suffering a panic attack. It can really be detrimental, and you are trying to keep everything positive. During a panic attack, your vision can distort itself, and this is not helpful to your perception of self-image.

What is something that you can think of that should help you get rid of anxiety? Something as simple as a smile can really make a difference when you are dealing with anxiety. Take a look around and find all those things that you can be thankful and cheerful to have in your life. If you feel an anxiety attack coming on, try to think of something funny that you can laugh about like a movie or a song.

Perhaps the most important step with dealing with anxiety is admitting that you have a problem. Once you admit to yourself that you have an issue with anxiety, you can put yourself in a mindset where you are prepared to deal with it. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.

Start writing in a gratitude journal. At the end of each day, write down at least five things you were grateful for. Become aware of all the wonderful positive things in your life and shift your focus away from dwelling on things that trigger worry, stress or negativity.

Be sure that you get enough sleep every night if you have anxiety. Not getting enough sleep can contribute to anxiety. Also, anxiety may cause physical discomfort if sleep is inadequate. You should attempt to get around seven to nine hours of rest a night.

Keep an ongoing anxiety journal. As you progress through your day, and you feel anxiety over certain issues, console yourself with the knowledge that you will be expressing your anxiety through writing. When you take the time to write your worries and fears out, you release them and allow for clearer thinking of the issue. Consider keeping the journal with you for those most difficult times.

Anxiety, like many other emotions, is actually based on a good thing. Without any level of anxiety, humans would become lethargic or lazy. It is essential to know how to properly bottle up your anxiety, so that you can use it in a positive, as well as, productive manner.

Try to determine the roots of your anxiety by keeping an anxiety journal. Look for triggers, or reasons that you start to feel especially anxious. When you think about what causes your anxiety, you might be able to take steps to combat it before the feelings become too overwhelming for you.

Anxiety, like so many other things, is neither good or bad. The real problem is when anxiety begins to have other impacts on your life. If you feel as though your anxiety is reaching dangerous levels, then you know it is time to talk to a medical professional about your options.

Watch your posture. People that slouch and breathe in a shallow manner can actually trigger their own anxiety. Slouching prevents you from taking in enough oxygen because it compacts your abdomen. Proper breathing uses your diaphragm to expand your lungs, which doesn’t happen if you slouch. Learn to sit or stand straight and breathe, using your belly.

The next time you feel like you are going to have a panic attack, take a deep breath and try one of the stress management techniques from this article. You should also look for a long term solution, such as, therapy or finding a job that does not cause you as much stress.