Its 3 a.m., and you need to be well rested for a big day at the office tomorrow.
So why are you still awake, then? Why are you watching the minutes tick by on your alarm clock?
The worrisome t...
Its 3 a.m., and you need to be well rested for a big day at the office tomorrow.
So why are you still awake, then? Why are you watching the minutes tick by on your alarm clock?
The worrisome thoughts began to trickle in a few minutes earlier, and
now theyre all roaring at you all at once mental checklists, endless
to-do lists, and rhetorical questions about could go wrong tomorrow (or
the next day) a deluge of thoughts all piled on top of one another in a
giant tangle.
You toss and turn in your bed, but nothing you do helps you relax.
Hands sweating, that tightness still squeezing your chest and not
letting go, you slump down into your pillow and resign yourself to
another poor nights sleep.
Hundreds of millions of people struggle with anxiety, and the saddest
thing about that is how many of them dont have any idea how to handle
it. One of the most frustrating parts about anxiety is its sporadic
nature; you can be getting along just fine, and before you realize
whats happening those unwanted thoughts start to run circles in your
head. Because so many victims feel powerless against these moments,
they lean on emotional band aids binge eating, reality television,
or more serious issues like substance abuse, to name a few in order to
lessen the effects and make themselves feel better.
Here are some tips how to get over anxiety when it shows up in your life:
Dont try to fight anxious thoughts with logic.
Its common for people to attempt to face their unwanted thoughts using
conscious thought exclusively. How often have you tried to wrest
control of your runaway mind by trying to think the unwanted thoughts
away? The huge downfall to this approach lies in its uneven match up:
youre pitting rational, logical thoughts against primal, emotional
states. Simply accepting your anxious feelings, however
counter-intuitive, frees up energy for you to focus your efforts on some
of the more effective actions below.
Try conscious breathing exercises.
Even something as basic as conscious breathing can alleviate tension
and slow down a racing heart rate. Try 10 breaths with a 4-4-4 count
(in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and out for 4 seconds). One
caveat to remember: make sure the breaths come from your diaphragm (the
bottom part of your chest) instead of your upper chest that way theyll
be deeper. Conscious breathing seems straightforward enough, but when
youre in the middle of a bout of anxiety its the straightforward
solutions that are often forgotten.
Indulge in simple pleasures.
When it comes to melting your anxiety symptoms away, enjoying a warm
bath complete with candles and scented bath salts is hard to top. For
more mild anxious times, sometimes popping in your favorite comedy
program or calling up an old friend is all you need to make the unwanted
thoughts disappear.
Clear your mental inventory.
Quick grab a sheet of paper and scribble down every thought thats
swirling around in your mind. Dont worry if what youre writing seems
ridiculous. The main thing is to get all of it out there on the page,
because this separates you from your thoughts and allows you to view
them objectively. To take this to the next step, review the page and
cross out anything on the list related to things you cant control.
Youll be amazed at how many you can find and how easy you can let go
of them.
Learning how to manage your anxious moments places you in a superior
position compared to most people who deal with this mental health
condition. But if you really want to overcome this problem for good,
taking a holistic approach can help you identify and reverse the root
cause of your anxiety problems without risking the side effects of
dangerous pharmaceutical drugs.
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