Anxiety can be a debilitating condition, and dealing with it is not always a case of mind over matter. Living in a state of perpetual fear is exhausting and overwhelming. It is normal to experience short bouts of anxiety during a stressful situation. However, some people feel anxious even when nothing is wrong per se.
Understanding and managing anxiety is complex and might require medication and therapy. However, it is a treatable condition, and here are some things you can do to build on overcoming it:
Find your triggers
When undergoing counselling Vernon residents can turn to Interactive Counselling for help with anxiety. Among the first things therapists do is work with you to identify your anxiety triggers. These are thoughts and situations that raise your anxiety levels. Once you know what they are, it is easier to start managing them.
Some people have few problems determining what causes them to become anxious. It could be work, school, and interpersonal relationships with peers, friends, colleagues, and family members.
For others, getting to the root of their anxiety is a more complicated process. It can go back to a bad childhood experience. People who underwent trauma as children often block it out, and it might take time to work through those memories. For them, something as simple as a smell or sound can induce anxiety, although they might not know why.
Adapt your lifestyle
Some lifestyle choices can lead to increased anxiety levels. Insufficient sleep can trigger anxiety, and anxiety can cause inadequate sleep. You need the right interventions to ensure that you get a good night’s sleep.
This might include medication, although maintaining a regular sleep pattern, creating an environment conducive to sleep, and staying away from screens for at least two hours before bed will also help.
Eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise will help you get better sleep. Eliminate caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol as these may affect sleep quality. Avoid processed foods rich in sugar, starch, and salt.
Get some perspective
Anxiety can be about your perception of a situation. Instead of giving in to panic, learn to evaluate the situation rationally. This includes letting go of things that you cannot control, such as bad traffic. While such events might make you anxious, feeling that way will not make the situation disappear.
Breathing techniques that you can learn in therapy can help lower your anxiety levels. Diaphragmatic breathing reduces stress and anxiety as it helps your body avoid the fight or flight response that causes feelings of anxiousness.
Journaling
Study your anxiety by keeping a journal. Record how frequently you experience anxious feelings each day and what triggered them. Write about what your anxiety feels like and what techniques you have tried to calm it.
Rate each day according to your anxiety levels using a scale of 1-10, where one is minimal, and ten is constant anxiousness. These records help you devise ways to manage your anxiety.
Share the burden
You can release plenty of anxiety by sharing your feelings with someone you trust, such as a close friend or family member. A problem shared is a problem halved, according to the adage, and many anxiety sufferers have found it to be true.
When you have someone who understands what makes you anxious and how it feels, they can support you when things become overwhelming. This could be through talking, spending quality time together, or enjoying activities, such as watching movies together. If you are in a relationship, your partner would be the ideal person to share your anxiety with, so they understand your responses and how to support you.