Anxiety can be a normal human reaction in certain situations but it is not normal to experience anxiety that rules your life. Anxiety that is out of control can severely impact your life. Use the recommendations and the techniques in the article below to get your anxiety under control and get back in charge of your life.

Anxiety is damaging to your health and your regular health routine should always include ways to reduce your daily dose of anxious feelings. Set aside a few minutes each day that can be used to take care of your own well-being. The focus of this time should be doing something that gives you joy.

Workplace anxiety can often be reduced or eliminated by taking a simple walk. As deadlines approach and employers pile on more work, many people forget the power of taking a short break. Going outside and walking around the building gives you a chance to refresh your mind and body.

When you’re having a stressful time, pay attention to how you breathe. Your breath is shorter, varies in speeds at times, and becomes erratic. Breathing properly is very easily forgotten when someone feels anxious. Your brain needs to be properly oxygenated so it can calm down. When you’re suffering from an anxiety attack, try your best to focus all your attention on your breathing.

Avoid stress by avoiding people who you know will complicate your life. If you have friends who are negative in ways that cause you continual stress, figure out how to lessen your time with them. Spending time with these people is going to make your stress much worse and keeps you from focusing on the positive things in your life.

Reduce your nicotine and alcohol intake. Many people unwittingly turn to these substances for relief, but they are not relaxants at all. Actually, they can have the opposite effect, increasing your anxiety. Try things that are better for you like eating right, effective relaxation methods and enjoyable social interaction.

Set aside a specific time to focus on your worries and doubts. Only allow yourself to think about these things at the specific allotted time, the rest of the day you must avoid focusing on your problems. Give yourself an hour to address your problems. Once you reach your time limit, put your mental focus elsewhere, and do not allow yourself to continue worrying. Structure your time to gain control.

If you suffer from anxiety, you may want to consider seeing a therapist, particularly if your anxiety is serious enough to impact large aspects of your life. Therapists are trained to help you deal with your problems and together, the two of you can begin fighting back your anxiety.

When excessive worry, and anxiety takes control of your mind, stop, and write down the things that are bothering you. Putting your worries in writing, allows you to see, and evaluate the source of your anxiety. Take action on the things that you can resolve. Release the items that are beyond your control.

Some people who have been diagnosed with anxiety disorder are prescribed medication by their mental health professional. If your physician has determined that you need medication to aid in the treatment of your anxiety disorder, it is important that you take it as directed. Never abruptly stop taking it. If you are having some side effects from your medication, discuss these issues with your doctor. It is also important to remember that some medications will cause a bad reaction, if they are not tapered off gradually while under a doctor’s care.

To help you overcome social anxiety, it is important that you are not too hard on yourself. Everyone has insecurities and odd things about them. Everyone has problems. You do not have to execute a perfect social performance, in order to be accepted by most people. In fact, some people are turned completely off by this behavior.

Keep an eye on the types of foods that you eat. Certain food and drink, such as sugary treats, caffeine and alcohol, can increase your symptoms of anxiety. On the other hand, other foods such as nuts, orange veggies, berries and yogurt can actually alleviate anxious feelings. Try keeping track of what you eat, and write down how bad your stress is after you eat to find out which foods are affecting you in a negative way. Focus on making your diet better.

If you enjoy animals and live in a place where you can have a pet, then get a dog or a cat. A daily walk, enjoying nature with your dog is very relaxing and the exercise will do you good. Also, nothing is more calming than hearing your cat purr with contentment, while enjoying your company.

If you suffer from anxiety and can’t get out that much, consider getting yourself a pet. They are shown to have numerous benefits, like lowering blood pressure and stress. The companionship an animal can offer is that they are unequivocally loyal, pleasant and will not get you all stressed out like other people can make you.

Have a set time each day when you are allowed to worry about events in your life. If you only let yourself to worry at certain times of the day, you will be freer of stress, even during your “worry” time when you are trying to figure things out.

Get a pet. Research has shown that animals are extremely relaxing. The act of simply petting a cat, or a dog has been proven to bring about feelings of calm; just give it a try. You might find that having a pet around will help soothe your anxiety in a number of ways.

As previously noted, anxiety can be a normal human reaction to stressful or unfamiliar situations but it should never be so severe that it impairs your ability to function. There are ways to deal with anxiety and get it back in check. Use the recommendations and techniques from above to help you gain control over your anxiety.