How do i calm my anxiety
How to Ease Your Anxiety
Everyone feels anxious from time to time. Occasional anxiety is a normal reaction to uncertainty about what’s going to happen next, whether that’s in the next few minutes, days, or months.
Mental health experts define anxiety as worry over a threat that’s still in your future. Thinking about a conversation you dread, for example, could twist your stomach into knots days before it happens. Your heart may race before an exam or presentation. You might lie awake at night worried about whether you’ll catch COVID-19 at the grocery store.
It’s also normal to want to get rid of those uncomfortable, pit-of-the-stomach feelings as quickly as possible. But that approach can make you more anxious, says David H. Rosmarin, PhD, associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
“When you worry about getting rid of your anxiety, you’re signaling your nervous system that you have even more to be anxious about. And that makes your anxiety worse,” he says.
Keep in mind that if your anxiety is long-lasting and interferes with your daily life, you could have an anxiety disorder. In that case, you may need treatment to overcome it.
Calm Anxiety by Accepting It
It’s not what people expect to hear. But one of the most effective ways to ease occasional anxiety is to accept it, says Rosmarin, who is also founder of the Center for Anxiety in New York City.
“When we let anxiety run its course in the moment without fighting it, ironically, that makes it less. On the other hand, fighting anxiety is what typically [triggers] a panic attack,” he says.
“And, if your only strategy is to distract yourself from your anxiety or to avoid things that cause it, you’ll always be afraid of it. It’s always going to be the bully in the schoolyard because you’ve never learned to deal with it.”
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America puts it this way: “The thoughts you resist persist.”
Try these steps instead:
Recognize and understand your anxiety: Tell yourself, “My nervous system is kicking into high gear because I’m worried about [thing X].
”
Don’t criticize yourself for those feelings: Instead, say, “This is a normal, healthy response by my body to these circumstances, which are complicated, stressful, or difficult. It’s OK to feel this way.”
Know that you can have anxiety and still function well: “You can perform very well with anxiety, and probably have done so before,” Rosmarin says.
Think back to a time when you were anxious but did what you needed to do anyway. Maybe you were filled with anxiety before an event or a meeting. But later, someone said you did a great job.
How to Stop Anxiety
When your anxiety feels overwhelming, these techniques can give you quick, short-term relief.
Do a reality check: Ask yourself these questions:
- On scale of 1 to 100, how likely is it that the thing I’m anxious about will happen?
- Do I have good reasons to think something will go wrong?
- Is there a chance I’m overly worried?
Share your anxiety with someone you trust: Don’t avoid your anxious thoughts, which can make them worse.
Talk them over with a friend or family member, who can help you put them in perspective.
Remind yourself that you’re safe: “When anxiety kicks in you may feel scared or out of control, with your mind racing to all these uncertain future catastrophes,” says clinical psychologist Debra Kissen, PhD, chief executive officer of Light On Anxiety CBT Treatment Centers in the Chicago area.
“Ask yourself, ‘Is there a real danger in front of me, or am I actually safe at home and worried about something that’s no threat to me right now?’” she says. “This thinking can ground you in the moment and reboot your brain and body so you feel less anxious.”
Redirect nervous energy: Anxiety can be like a motor revving, says licensed professional counselor Lisa Henderson. “Take control of that energy and put it somewhere else,” says Henderson, co-founder and chief executive officer of Synchronous Health in Nashville.
“If you’re sitting there worried, for example, get up and walk or pace,” she says.
“Take a few minutes to clean something. Go outside for 5 minutes. Shorts bursts of activity can release that anxious energy.”
Take a mental break: “Use a guided imagery app or simply daydream on your own,” Henderson says. “A brief mental vacation can break the cycle of anxious thoughts.”
To try this on your own, set a timer for a few minutes, close your eyes, and picture yourself somewhere you feel peaceful or happy.
“Just letting your mind wander can work well if your anxiety comes from feeling controlled or managed,” Henderson says. “If your mind returns to its anxious thoughts, notice -- without judgment -- that it’s happened and mentally tell your anxiety ‘I’ll be with you in a moment.’ Then go back to your daydream.”
You may prefer an app that guides you through your thoughts to help you release anxiety. Find relaxation or meditation apps that appeal to you and give them try.
Just breathe: Inhale and exhale slowly, evenly, and deeply for several breaths.
Change your position: “Whatever you’re doing, do the opposite,” Kissen says. “If you’re hunched over with worry, stand up and take a Wonder Woman pose. If you’re under a blanket, go wash your face with cold water. Changing your sensory experience can ‘change the channel’ from anxiety.”
Use a mantra: A mantra can shift your mind away from anxious thoughts that play over and over in your head, Kissen says.
Two she likes are: “These thoughts are uncomfortable, but not dangerous,” and “This, too, will pass.”
Put your anxiety on a schedule: Pick a 15-minute window during the day to think about your anxieties. “During that time, tell your brain to just go for it and let the anxious thoughts come,” Kissen says. “But when they arise outside that time, tell them ‘I’m willing to hear you, but come back tomorrow at 3 p.m.’”
If anxiety keeps you awake, get up: “If you’re lying in bed worrying about things for more than 5 minutes, get up and go to another room and write down your anxieties,” Kissen says.
“Go back to bed when you’re tired, but get up again if you feel anxious. It might take a few nights of going back and forth, but this exercise can train your brain that your bed is for sleep, not for anxiety.”
Do I Need Treatment for Anxiety?
There’s a lot you can do on your own to relieve anxiety, but sometimes you need help. Psychotherapy and medication are the two main treatments for anxiety disorders.
Signs that it’s time to talk to a mental health professional include:
- Constant or nearly constant anxiety
- Anxiety that gets in the way of your daily activities, like work or social life
- Anxiety about things that don’t actually threaten you
- Panic attacks
Check your health insurance policy to see what mental health services your plan covers. Then, review a list of your in-network providers to find one to connect with.
“You don’t want to add to your anxiety by paying big out-of-pocket fees,” Kissen says.
Your primary care doctor may also be able to recommend a mental health professional with experience treating anxiety and anxiety disorders.
Rosmarin notes that it’s important to find a provider you click with and trust. He also says therapy doesn’t need to go on indefinitely to be effective.
“A course of cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety may be eight to 10 sessions,” he says. “There’s also data to suggest that people feel substantially better after just one therapy session for panic disorder.”
12 Ways to Calm Anxiety Naturally
I wasn’t always an anxious person, but after a depression diagnosis six years ago, I was quickly overwhelmed with symptoms that became hard to ignore.
As if depression wasn’t enough, my doctor diagnosed me with generalized anxiety disorder. Soon, it seeped into every aspect of my life, making it impossible to function normally.
I lived in fear of having to talk to strangers. I started to experience anxiety attacks, a racing heart, and feelings of nausea so intense that I avoided socializing in public places like bars and restaurants. For an entire year, I was unable to work at all.
When I decided to try working again, I took on a part-time role with zero responsibility and as little stress as possible to accommodate my anxiety disorder.
It took years of medication, therapy, and finding new healthy habits, but I can now say that I’m symptom-free almost every day.
Now I run my own freelance writing business. After being so afraid of public spaces, I now have the confidence to network with complete strangers, interview others live on the internet, and share my own personal video content on a daily basis.
I regularly speak on podcasts and Instagram Live broadcasts, and attend events in places I’ve never been before because I’ve finally got my anxiety under control.
Being held back for so long has made me even more determined to test my boundaries and reach my goals in spite of my anxiety.
It wasn’t easy, but by working with my doctor and learning some tricks, I’ve been able to manage my anxiety. I still have feelings of anxiety, and I doubt they’ll ever leave me permanently — I’ve just honed my skills and learned how to react more positively.
Here are my tips for taking action when anxiety strikes.
1. Avoid caffeine
Caffeine is well-known as an anxiety inducer. But for me, drinking coffee has become such a habit that I often forget how sensitive I am to it.
When I’m feeling anxious or I’m anticipating those feelings — like before I use public transportation — I always make a conscious decision to stop drinking caffeine. This goes for caffeinated soft drinks too.
2. Avoid alcohol
Feelings of anxiety can be so overwhelming that you might feel the urge to have a cocktail to help you relax.
Although this may work in the short term, alcohol actually changes the levels of serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the brain, making your symptoms worse. In fact, you may feel more anxious after the alcohol wears off.
3. Write it out
One of the worst aspects of anxiety is not knowing why you feel nervous in the first place. You could be lying on an idyllic beach with the ocean waves lapping in the distance and still feel worried for absolutely no reason.
That’s when writing can help. It can be an effective way to explore how you feel, especially if talking out loud feels impossible.
Studies show that keeping a journal is actually a healthy way to deal with negative feelings and can help reduce stress.
Another study found that anxious test participants who wrote a few notes before the test about how they were feeling and what they were thinking performed better than those who didn’t.
4. Use fragrance
Lavender is well known for its calming properties. Keep a small bottle of lavender oil on hand for the scent, for when you feel anxious thoughts brewing.
If you practice mindfulness or meditation, try smelling lavender during your practice. Over time, you’ll associate the feeling of relaxation with that scent, making it even more effective.
Shop for lavender oil.
5. Talk to someone who gets it
If your feelings of anxiety are making it hard to function, you should speak to a health professional.
But talking to friends can also help. I have friends who have an anxiety disorder too. When I’m feeling really bad, I send them a message telling them how I’m feeling.
They might have a new hack I can try, or they can point out something that might have acted as a trigger. But sometimes it’s just nice to vent to someone who knows how it feels to be in my shoes.
6. Find a mantra
I use positive affirmations every day to help manage my mood. I also have a different mantra that I repeat to myself when I’m feeling anxious.
I’ll tell myself, “This feeling is only temporary.” This helps me feel calm, especially if I’m on the verge of a panic attack. I also remind myself that I’ve survived panic attacks in the past and acknowledge that it’s all going to be okay as long as I’m patient with myself.
7. Walk it off
Sometimes, when you’re experiencing anxiety, it’s because of a buildup of adrenaline. Exercise — even if it’s just a walk — can help use up that extra adrenaline.
I often feel anxious when I haven’t moved around enough during the day, so walking is an excellent way for me to use up excess energy.
Walking outside in the fresh air can also improve your well-being. One study found that people who took a walking trip in a wooded area had lowered production of stress hormones than when they remained in the city.
8. Drink water
You may not realize it, but not drinking enough water can make your anxiety symptoms worse. Dehydration can actually cause heart palpitations. This can lead to feelings of panic, which may trigger an anxiety attack.
Take a few moments to relax and drink a large glass of water and see if you feel any better.
9. Have some alone time
Having alone time is essential for me, and it helps me recharge my batteries and relax. If you’re feeling anxious, then find a reason to be alone. You could take a walk to the shop for some groceries, go to the gym, or clean the bathroom.
These are all clever little ways to find alone time without seeming rude.
It’s also an opportunity to practice mindfulness, which can reduce symptoms of anxiety and panic.
10. Turn off your phone
Being constantly plugged in is a modern-day curse that we all need to learn to live with.
Don’t be afraid to turn off your phone once in a while. Use it as a chance to practice mindfulness, go for a bath, or write down why you’re feeling anxious.
11. Have a bath
Do you find that your anxious thoughts are taking a toll on you both physically and mentally? This is common, and it can be a vicious cycle, making it hard to relax if your body is tense.
A hot bath with Epsom salts is great for relaxing your muscles, which can also help relax your mind.
Shop for Epsom salts.
I find a bath is also good for encouraging meditation, because external distractions like TV are gone.
12. Eat something
I can get so wrapped up in my day at work that I forget to eat anything until two in the afternoon.
It’s an easy mistake to make, and I often only remember to eat because I start to experience feelings of fear or worry.
Low blood sugar can make you feel nervous, irritable, and anxious. Try eating something easy to digest like a banana. Then follow it up with a well-balanced meal with protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables.
Controlling anxiety takes time
There’s no quick fix for anxiety, and it may often feel like an uphill struggle. But by gaining awareness of what causes your symptoms, and getting help from your doctor, you can manage your symptoms.
You may find some of these hacks work for you straight away and others may have no effect at all, but the important thing is to keep trying.
Giving in to feelings of anxiety by retreating from the world only served to make my life more difficult in the long run. Continuing to search for solutions that work for me has been key to my recovery. Practice makes perfect, so don’t stop trying to find ways that work for you.
Fiona Thomas is a lifestyle and mental health writer who lives with depression and anxiety. Visit her website or connect with her on Twitter.
How to cope with anxiety: 7 ways to help ‹ GO Blog
Anxiety is an emotional state caused by the expectation of danger or threat. While fear is a basic human emotion associated with the instinct of self-preservation, and appears directly at the moment of danger.
The terms "fear" and "anxiety" are not synonymous, but they can be used interchangeably when it comes to situational anxiety (state at a given moment in time).
In the normal state, the self-preservation function encourages action, but there are also moments of apathy when anxiety intensifies.
We will tell you how to cope with anxiety on your own and determine its level in yourself.
Read more: "9 Proven Ways to Beat Procrastination"
How to Measure Anxiety
American psychologist Charles Spielberger studied more than 117 signs of human anxiety and created a scale to determine its level.
His "assessment of the level of anxiety" is divided into situational and personal. Situational is responsible for the state at a given moment in time and the influence of external circumstances - for example, self-isolation. Personal - character of a person.
To determine “your level” of anxiety, you can take a test of 40 short questions.
What causes anxiety
The main factors that provoke increased anxiety in us are loneliness, problems at work, problems in relationships, health, environment and all sorts of conflicts.
Our way of life also has a great influence. For example, we are more likely to experience anxiety states if we are constantly on the phone or watching the news on TV. Digital progress has certainly made our life faster and better, but we pay for this comfort with an additional level of stress, new fears and complexes due to the large flow of news.
Try to minimize the number of hours spent on the Internet. Go outdoors, read, do yoga, cook, cross-stitch, build LEGOs – there are so many more options than you might think.
Stages of anxiety
– Waiting alarm. People who foresee the most unfavorable of all possible situations suffer. Such anxiety can appear at certain moments or haunt a person constantly.
– Anxiety in the form of phobias is associated with certain situations and objects. For example, fear of loneliness, spiders or darkness. May be a clinical case if expressed in the form of panic attacks.
- Neurotic anxiety. This form of anxiety is the most serious and is found in many psychological diseases: hysterical, schizoid. There is a pathological level of fear here that destroys a person's mental health.
The whole planet is now in fear of waiting due to the incessant flow of news and uncertainty. "Fear of waiting" or "free fear" is formed due to the information flow in which we are constantly immersed. The tools that help to cope with situational anxiety, which has no connection with clinical cases, will be described below.
False alarm
Feelings of fear are easily confused, so before we talk about how to get rid of anxiety, we will learn how to identify it.
There are situations when we do not distinguish between emotions, so the so-called "false alarm" is formed. In this case, the first thing psychologists can advise is to learn how to isolate anxiety from a large stream of other emotions. Observe for yourself - in what situations you are overcome by anxiety. Divide these situations into those in which anxiety is justified and those where it is not.
For example, you are on a bus and as you approach the bus stop, you are overtaken by a feeling of anxiety. On the one hand, this may be due to fear that you will miss your stop, or a sense of shame, as it is embarrassing to ask the driver to stop the car.
Another example is when you want to ask the teacher in class, but you are afraid to raise your hand. This fear may arise from self-doubt and the expectation that classmates will laugh at you.
Sometimes anxiety is born from some other feelings, such as shame or insecurity. Realizing this and overcoming it, you no longer have a reason for concern, and with it the state of anxiety disappears.
Read more: “How to stop being shy and get rid of the language barrier”
How to cope with anxiety
Detail
Alarm often occurs due to uncertainty in actions and feelings. First, try to find out what causes anxiety. For example, you are worried about being fired from your job. Before you panic, look at the facts: look at the state of the market and the area in which your company operates, evaluate the workload at work now and predict the task plan for the next month. And this applies not only to work, but to any area in which you feel anxiety.
Usually such an exercise helps to see the true picture. If you understand that while everything is under control, you can exhale, if not, proceed to your detailing. Write out a detailed plan of action that will help you avoid uncertainty and tell you how to act in any situation:
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Write down what skills you have and where they can be useful. For example, being an illustrator or photoshop, having a driver's license and owning a car, copywriting skills, etc.
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Edit your resume and prepare some cover letters to the employer about yourself.
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Build your own range of services, from the most preferred activities to the least interesting.
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Leave a list of potential employers to whom you can offer your services. The bigger, the better.
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Write to them!
The work done will help you feel more confident and have a plan to get out of a crisis situation.
Sometimes anxiety arises from the conviction that we will not cope with this or that action. A visual picture of your skills will always help to believe in yourself. When you read your list, you will realize that you can achieve a lot, despite the circumstances.
Read more: “4 things on your resume that will help the employer to choose you”
Use exposure therapy
A complex combination of words with a simple meaning - a meeting with your problem "on the forehead.
" It is important to understand that this is NOT a fight against a problem. The point is to acknowledge the existence of anxiety, not to get rid of it completely.
Don't ignore things that make you feel anxious. For example, to move up the career ladder, you need to learn English, but you haven’t opened your textbook for three days and you constantly scold yourself for it. This lowers your self-esteem and increases your anxiety about your success at work and in life.
Give yourself a full day of rest without worries or self-criticism. Imagine that this is an official vacation or vacation. And then gradually get down to business: you can start with one page of English text per day or a five-minute video. Gradually, you will accustom your body to the load and develop a habit.
Keep a sleep schedule
It is during sleep that growth hormone is produced, which is responsible for the restoration of our body, including the nervous system. Especially if we go to bed before 12 o'clock at night.
The BBC TV show Trust Me I'm a Doctor, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, did a little experiment on how sleep affects our psychological state. The study involved people who are distinguished by "strong sleep". During the experiment, the participants were given conditions: in the first three nights they had to sleep for 8 hours, which is the norm, and the next three nights - for 4 hours. Every day, the subjects answered questions that helped determine changes in their psychological state, behavior and emotions. The results showed that after two nights of sleep deprivation, negative emotions began to predominate in the subjects, as well as an increase in distrust of others and aggression.
The study also shows that insomnia is not always the result of mental disorders, sometimes it is lack of sleep that provokes the appearance of psychological problems.
Switch
It is important to periodically switch from one activity to another - for example, from physical activity to mental activity.
So, when you go in for sports, there is a restoration of brain functions due to the supply of oxygen. And with mental stress, the muscular system is restored by improving blood flow in the muscles.
A simple alternation of work and study with a little physical activity will improve the functioning of the body's metabolic processes, and at the same time speed up the restoration of the nervous system, contributing to its strengthening.
Meditate and breathe
Meditation and breathing are sure helpers in overcoming psychological instability. A Johns Hopkins University study found a relationship between meditation practice and reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. The team of researchers found that the effect of meditation is comparable to the effect of depressants - in this case, being a more useful solution to the problem, as it does not cause side effects. Meditation also helps to switch the work of the brain and focus on yourself, and not on the "noise" around.
Breathing techniques are equally beneficial: they improve blood circulation and help to speed up the overall metabolism. Also, the deep breathing technique, combined with relaxation exercises, reduces nervous tension well.
Abstract
Routine helps reduce anxiety. Engage in hobbies, watch movies, clean up, play sports - try to periodically disconnect from the news flow and take time for yourself and your body.
Read more: "What to do with a child at home at any age"
If your anxiety does not go away, consult a doctor - this way, you can quickly understand yourself and solve internal problems! Do not forget that your health is the most valuable thing and going to a specialist is an act that you do primarily for yourself.
How to get rid of increased anxiety
Now we are everywhere faced with anxiety, impotence, fear and panic - these feelings paralyze and make it impossible to breathe.
How to distinguish anxiety from increased anxiety, to react sensibly to circumstances and get rid of constant anxiety?
The feeling of anxiety itself is natural for a person: experiencing it, our body suggests an approaching danger or a possible risk to life or health. Anxiety, tension, fear - these emotions are absolutely normal in a stressful situation, but at the same time, they, experienced regularly, can talk about more serious mental problems, including mental disorders.
Finished reading here
Anxiety — this word can describe a complex of negative emotions, including stress, panic, fear, anxiety and more — is normal and not dangerous for a person. These emotions can go into a state of anxiety disorder with their regularity and constancy: anxiety itself becomes, as it were, “chronic” due to genetic factors or environmental conditions and can be expressed in several forms.
A form of “chronic” anxiety is adaptive anxiety disorder, in which a person experiences stress and tension while trying to adjust to a stressful situation. Here we are talking about adaptation to a new, unfamiliar environment or living conditions: the slightest changes cause feelings of panic, confusion, anxiety. Generalized anxiety disorder often accompanies diagnosed depression: a constant feeling of anxiety is inevitably associated with an irrational fear for one's life, work, and future. Finally, experts single out an anxiety-phonic disorder accompanied by panic attacks: fear of a large crowd of people, fear of death, fear of a serious illness, the threat of which in reality may not even exist - only part of the anamnesis of people suffering from this form of disorder.
According to the American Anxiety and Depression Association, about 40 million American adults suffer from an anxiety disorder.
In Russia, there are 9 million such people. These are only diagnosed cases: the number of people who regularly experience anxiety, but do not turn to specialists, can be much higher not only in Russia, but throughout the world.
Increased Anxiety: Checklist and Problem Markers
American anxiety specialist Jill Weber in her book Be Calm divides the signs of anxiety into several criteria. They can be related to feelings, behavior or even thoughts of a person. The easiest way to define your own anxiety is precisely on the first point: emotions such as anger, irritability, sadness, feelings of hopelessness or despair can signal that you will experience anxiety. Feelings can be not only mental, but also physical: palpitations or indigestion, as well as dizziness are additional markers of anxiety that a person may experience.
Anxiety can also manifest itself in a person's behavior and negatively affect the quality of his life.
Giving up favorite activities that used to bring pleasure, avoiding meeting people or important work events are just some of the examples of how anxiety can affect the daily routine of a person. Because of anxiety, a person feels that he is no longer able to perform daily activities - go to groceries or drive a car, and even do things that are unusual for him, says Weber. For example, in a stressful situation, he may refuse to communicate with friends, even if he is in the same room with them.
Thoughts are also an important set of signals that a person is experiencing anxiety. They can manifest themselves in irrational attitudes - for example, the conviction that if you don’t return home now and don’t check the iron, then the apartment will certainly burn down, winding yourself up (constant concentration on the negative aspects of the probable future), self-abasement (diffidence in yourself and your own abilities) .
Accompanied by stress and fear, the listed symptoms directly indicate that a person experiences precisely an increased feeling of anxiety - this condition can be dangerous, because it directly affects many areas of everyday life.
A sign of excessive anxiety can also be regular modeling of situations like “What if ...”: a person tries to predict the worst scenario for the development of events, which may not even be related to reality, and, therefore, worsen his condition, because thoughts in this case are constantly focus only on a supposedly inevitable and bad future.
However, the mere fact that there is a feeling of anxiety does not indicate any problem: it is important that it is not only compatible with the criteria described by Weber, but that it is in itself distinguishable from fear. It, unlike anxiety, comes from “real threats from the outside world” and is rather momentary: a person understands what caused it, and realizes that, having found a way out of a stressful situation, fear will come to naught. Anxiety, on the other hand, is based on possible events, it is irrational and may have nothing to do with the surrounding reality, but it risks becoming a problem if a person overestimates the likely threats.
“Anxiety is natural and is an adequate response if provoked by fear of a real danger. But if anxiety negatively affects your life and health: it develops into constant tension, anxiety, or avoidance of certain contacts or situations, then it ceases to be justified, ”the psychologist writes.
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Causes of anxiety and ways to deal with it
Stanislav Raevsky, a psychoanalyst and creator of the Anti-Panic therapy app, shares feelings of anxiety and anxiety. So, according to him, anxiety informs a person about a danger or threat to life, health or property that must be avoided. Anxiety is more likely a character trait of people in whom this anxiety is more often manifested and more pronounced. “Anxiety can be stimulated by situations that only in fantasy are a danger, but in reality they do not carry such a threat,” Raevsky says.
It is useless to drive away anxiety from yourself: if you close the door to your consciousness, it will come through the window, in your dreams or other symptoms and will only develop relatives, health and property. “Anxiety triggers can be different, the fact of the threat of war and the fear of it can be very strong - this is how it is in all of us,” the psychoanalyst emphasizes.The media not only increase anxiety, but also exploit it. “Our psyche is so arranged that it is something terrible, disturbing that attracts us most of all. We are automatically included in this stronger than in some kind of sexual stimulus or food. We are interested in what can scare, so people cannot take their eyes off the conditional accident, the modern news feed consists of what exploits anxiety, what makes your anxiety turn on, ”says Raevsky.
“It is useless to drive anxiety away from yourself: if you close the door to your consciousness, it will come through the window, in your dreams or other symptoms, and will only develop.
It’s just pointless to drive her away - it’s best to go to a psychologist, ”the specialist notes. However, in some cases, a person can overcome anxiety on their own, and Raevsky offers some tips for those who want to cope with this feeling on their own.
- When dealing with anxiety, you do not need to calm yourself down. This rarely works out, so it's better, on the contrary, to imagine the worst thing that can happen, understand the consequences of this and accept them. If you are afraid that the current situation will hit your well-being, you need to think about how you can cope with this blow. By imagining a terrible situation and living it, we do not chase away anxiety, but, on the contrary, we accept it.
- We worry not only with the head, but also with the body, so it is important to learn to relax and be aware of your breathing. It determines how much we worry.
We breathe often - anxiety is present, we breathe evenly and calmly - it becomes less.
Raevsky and his fellow psychologists posted detailed instructions to help cope with anxiety in the Anti-Panic app. Breathwork will help you deal with panic, anxiety, and emotional stress, and experts suggest the following ways:0003
- through holding the breath: slow inhalation - delay for 7 seconds - slow exit;
— by counting: while inhaling, count to yourself from one to four, repeat the same count while holding your breath and exhaling;
- through slow breathing: inhale slowly, exhale slowly, then hold for 7 seconds and repeat the steps.
Panic attack during anxiety is an absolutely normal and safe reaction of the body: you should not be afraid of it.
It is important to remind yourself of this during such an attack: you need to say to yourself that the onset attack is not dangerous for your health, it will not last forever and will end in 20-30 minutes. When panicking, a person begins to breathe rapidly, so it will be effective to try to slow down breathing so that the blood is not oversaturated with oxygen and this does not lead to dizziness or numbness of the skin. After the attack, the psychologist recommends trying to analyze your emotions, trying to understand what exactly causes your fear, how rational it is, whether it can be realized right now - this will help you understand that what a person is afraid of will not happen at this very moment. It is important to write down the thoughts that are spinning in the victim’s head at this moment in order to analyze them again later.
Experts from the American psychological resource Mayo Clinic Health System also give their advice to those who suffer from anxiety.
So, in order to defeat the regular feeling of anxiety, or at least reduce its severity, experts suggest:
- increase physical activity - create a new habit of doing sports on a daily basis;
- avoid cigarettes or caffeinated drinks, as they increase anxiety together with nicotine;
- identify triggers - study what situations and events become the starting point of experiences, and write them down along with the emotions that the person experienced. It is best to deal with stress itself together with a psychologist who will select an individual way for the client to deal with anxiety.
The American Depression and Anxiety Association has similar recommendations. So, psychologists suggest openly expressing your emotions to relatives and friends, and not hiding them.
