Tips for reducing anxiety

Anxiety

Modernlife is all about rush and haste, deadlines and terms, obligations and tasks. Such, a hectic lifestyle causes stress and tension in just about everybody, and this can lead to episodes of anxiety. It is not a lasting or debilitating condition for most people, but some people suffer from anxiety regularly, and feel its effects much more.

Dealingwith anxiety

Weoffer you seven tips that have been tried and tested and are known to work well for the reduction of anxiety. If you are not sure how to apply these strategies, seek advice from a professional therapist, who will help you to put them into action.

Focus on the thing that you are doing, and do one thing at a time, do not rush. Put some effort in slowing down. This is known as 'mindfulness'. Focus all your attention to the thing you are doing right now. Focus on what you see and hear, or what you feel. This way it will be hard to leave extra room in your mind for anxiety.

Whenfacing some potentially troublesome situation, do not react to it. Reaction is typically a reflex response, a pattern of inadequate, negative thought and behavior. Primary drive of reaction is emotion. Instead of reacting to your emotion, respond to the situation. Engage your mind, and think about what you will do and how you will act. This is a conscious choice and a deliberate decision, not an emotional failsafe. That way, you will decide about your attitude, about what you will say and how you will act.

Breathefrom the diaphragm, as this is a very effective way to reduce anxiety. Breathe in through the nose but try to push your stomach out as you breathe in, and breathe out through the mouth. This should be done slowly and each breath should be taken slowly and with maximum concentration, as if you were sipping wine and savoring the taste of each sip. Count to four while you breathe in, and count to four while you exhale. You might also try to hold your breath while you count to four. Repeat this for ten times.

Learn to say no, to protect yourself from overcommitment. You know how much time and energy you have and will you push yourself your physical and emotional limits too hard if you accept to do something.

Avoidcaffeine and alcohol as these can cause or worsen anxiety. When you consume alcohol or caffeine, pay attention to how you feel afterwards, and if your anxiety increases, reduce the amount of caffeine or alcohol that you will consume next time, or skip thesealtogether.

Geta perspective by thinking about the future. Thing that makes you anxious now will very likely be irrelevant soon after, right? So, whenever something makes you anxious, stop and think if you are overreacting and wasting your energy on something that is of no importance.

Exercise regularly, as this will relieve stress, increase your stamina and, willpower and determination (it takes a certain amount of these to make you do something that you don't have to) and help you to sleep better as exercise will tire you.