During day-to-day life, we all experience anxiety. Anxiety occurs as a response to a stressful event. Having anxiety is normal for a human being. But there are certain instances where anxiety is seen as a mental health illness. A citation!
So, how do you identify whether you’re having anxiety? There are signs and symptoms that can be present when you have anxiety. But it is important to note that these signs and symptoms are not specific to anxiety and these can be seen in different situations. Your sleep cycle will be affected when you have anxiety.
You may sleep less or even sleep more when you’re having anxiety. Your appetite can be reduced or increased when you’re having anxiety. And also, you may experience a set of physical symptoms that is commonly seen during an anxiety episode. Tremors, excessive sweating, hyperventilation, frequent passing of urine or bowel contents, abdominal discomfort. At the same time, you may experience psychological symptoms. Your mind can be extremely fuzzy and you may feel like your life is about to end.
As mentioned earlier, anxiety arises usually due to an ongoing stressful situation. For example, when you’re about to face an examination, public speaking event, facing an embarrassing situation.
Usually, anxiety does not harm your life. However, it can affect your day-to-day activities. So, if you think you have anxiety it is important to go talk to a friend, a relative, a psychologist, or your healthcare provider. This will help you to overcome your anxiety level.
Here are some tips to reduce your anxiety level.
1. Engage in regular physical activities
Numerous studies have found out that if you engage in regular physical activities your anxiety status tends to be reduced(1). Physical exercises include walking, jogging, cycling, swimming climbing etc. Engaging in physical exercises helps you to forget about the situation as well as it will boost your energy. Also, the blood supply to your brain will be better and you will be able to think rationally. Regular exercises help you to focus on the problems and which will be helpful in reducing anxiety.
2. Practice meditation
Meditation is an activity where you focus on your thoughts and be mindful of your surroundings. Meditation will help you to clear your mind from unnecessary irrational thoughts that worsen your anxiety. Over the past few years, a lot of research were being done in this field and the outcome is very positive.
3. Practice breathing exercises
Breathing exercises help you to calm your mind. It also helps with hyperventilation. Breathing exercises help you to reduce your breathing rate causing reducing anxiety levels. There are a number of breathing exercises that will help you to master your anxiety.
4. Avoid procrastination
It is a bit normal if you have a habit of delaying your tasks. But if you this more often, all of your work will get accumulated and you will have a fear that you might not be able to finish them on time. Likewise, if you procrastinate more often you will constantly be in a stressful situation. As a result, your anxiety level will increase. It looks hard at first, but if you get used to it, your life will be better with less anxiety.
5. Spend more time with friends and family
If you have an ongoing problem, the best thing to do is to go and talk to someone who understands you. It is proven that talking to someone will reduce your anxiety level greatly. The more you keep things inside, the more burden you have to carry in your stressful situation. This will greatly affect your anxiety. So, the next time, if you have an anxiety episode, the best thing to do is talk to ab friend/ family.
Summary
Having anxiety can greatly affects the functioning of your day-to-day activities. So, it is very important to understand when you get an anxiety episode. And then, with the help of others, you can find ways to reduce your anxiety levels. The most common reason for you to have anxiety is an ongoing stressful situation. So, if you think you have anxiety, do not hesitate to receive help.
Resources
- Anderson, E., & Shivakumar, G. (2013). Effects of Exercise and Physical Activity on Anxiety. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00027
- Depression and anxiety: Exercise eases symptoms. (2017, September 27). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression-and-exercise/art-20046495#:~:text=Doing%2030%20minutes%20or%20more,time%20%E2%80%94%20may%20make%20a%20difference.
- Anxiety. (n.d.). https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/topics/anxiety