While having occasional moments of stress in your daily life is normal, an anxiety disorder can consume you and prevent you from going about your daily activities as normal. With anxiety, it’s natural to suffer stress, fear, and a spiraling negative thought process. Many individuals feel as though they are out of control which goes on to affect their quality of life without seeking some form of self-help.
While anxiety is a diagnosed mental health condition, there are many ways you can reduce the symptoms which will enable you to live a relatively ordinary existence. Here are some top tips to follow below:
Write Down Your Thoughts
When your head is cluttered with negative thoughts, it can be difficult to focus on anything else. Keeping an anxiety journal is a clever method to clear your mind and visualize what’s worrying you. In most cases, these thoughts are several little niggling worries that can make it seem like one huge concern, but instead, these can be broken down and resolved on a step-by-step basis. What’s more, keeping track of your thoughts and feelings can help your therapist identify your stress triggers and give you the best strategies on how to deal with them.
Use Relaxation Techniques
It’s easy to manage your anxiety flare-ups yourself once you know how. Typically, this is down to establishing relaxation techniques in your daily schedule, whether that is a mindfulness session, a yoga class, or even a therapeutic massage Abingdon appointment. While you will benefit from reduced stress levels straight afterward, it may take a while before you start to notice the long-term benefits of trying out relaxation techniques.
Focus On What You Can Change
In many instances, anxiety arises from the fabrication of irrational fears that may never happen. While life is unpredictable and it can be a worry not knowing what is around the corner, allowing your mind to wander wastes valuable energy and affects your happiness. As a result, you should aim to focus on the aspects that you can control, rather than what you can’t. Replace your fears with positives. Rather than worrying that you’re going to be made redundant, focus on the fact that you are lucky to be currently employed. If you are fearing the death of a loved one, spend as much time with them as you can so you have no regrets. By being proactive and positive as opposed to focusing on the negatives, you learn to view the world with a whole new perspective.
Stay Active
Living with anxiety may cause you to want to do nothing more than curl up in bed and hide away from the world but getting up and active can work wonders for your mental health. When we exercise, our brain releases endorphins which are hormones that help us feel more positive and in control. The trick is to make exercise fun, whether that is playing sports, attending dance classes, or asking a friend to be your gym buddy.