Ten Tips to Help You Cope With Anxiety

stressed out

During multiple periods in your life, you’ll feel your heart racing when facing a stressful situation. You might also witness your palms get sweaty when dealing with a difficult situation. When that happens, you’re dealing with anxiety. Everyone gets triggered by different reasons; some people get anxious due to their personal lives while others get stressed thinking about their careers.

Today, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in the United States and affect 18.1 percent of the population, or 40 million adults, every year. When left unattended, anxiety can hinder your ability to think and act clearly. It fills your mind with negative thoughts that make you think you are scared and not in control.

Fortunately, there are many things you can do yourself that can help you cope with anxiety. Here are ten ways you could do that:

Exercise Regularly

Exercise is an excellent way to deal with your stress, and there’s considerable research that supports this view. It helps improve alertness, reduce fatigue, increase concentration, and improve overall cognitive functions.

Exercise is also proven to release endorphins in the brain that serve as natural painkillers. The effects of aerobic activity can reduce the symptoms of anxiety for a few hours, and having a regular exercise schedule helps reduce them over time.

Try Cannabidiol Oil

Cannabidiol, more commonly known as CBD, has recently risen in popularity as a natural remedy to anxiety. It is derived from the marijuana or cannabis plant and unlike other derivatives, does not normally contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which is the substance that creates a high. However, there still might be tiny, inconsequential traces of THC present in the oil.

If you’re looking for help from CBD oil for anxiety, it is readily available at health shops and has the potential to help you manage stress. It is available in many forms so you can choose whatever works for you, just make sure that it is completely legal in your country.  Although there are plenty of cbd oil capsules for sale, the positive effects of cannabidiol are slowly but surely making headway in the courtrooms. You should check what your country’s stance is on the amount of THC traces allowed in CBD oil.

Meditate

Meditation allows you to control your thoughts, making it easier for you to manage your stress and anxiety. You can choose from numerous meditation styles, such as yoga and mindfulness.

Various meditation techniques teach you how to block out those negative thoughts bogging your head and focus just on your body.

Perform Relaxation Exercises

When you’re anxious, sometimes your body may respond by clenching your jaw and tensing up your muscles. In such cases, relaxation exercises could be quite useful for you.

For starters, you can lie down on your bed in a comfortable position and slowly constrict and relax each muscle, starting from your toes and going up to your jaw and shoulders.

writing life hacks

Write Daily

Anxiety can sometimes make you feel as if there’s too much going in your head and it can make it difficult to organize those thoughts.

Through writing and maintaining a journal regularly, you can jot down your jumbled thoughts and attempt to organize them. By keeping track of what you’re feeling every day and why you’re feeling this way, you can determine your triggers and how you manage these triggers the next time a similar situation arises.

Manage Your Time

Many people sometimes feel anxious because they have too much on their plate. Whether these are personal, career, or other activities, having a packed schedule may trigger anxiety.

In such cases, it’s always helpful to plan and maintain a schedule to know how you’re going to manage your different commitments.

Time management strategies help you focus on every task one at a time and include avoiding multitasking and using an online calendar or book planners to break your day into parts.

Another thing you can do to manage your anxiety is to break a large task into smaller steps to help you fulfill those tasks individually and, hence, take less stress.

Focus On Your Sleep

Your sleep schedule has a massive impact on your physical and mental health. By getting good quality and quantity of sleep at night, you can potentially reduce anxiety during the day.

The recommended amount of sleep every day is 8 hours. If your anxiety is hindering your ability to sleep, you can do several things to help you out. These include investing in a comfortable and good quality mattress, maintaining cool room temperature, sticking to a sleep schedule, and not using devices such as your phone and laptop before you sleep.

Spend Time With Animals

Pets provide you with love, support, and companionship. Spending quality time with a furry companion can help your nervous system relax and is proven to reduce stress and anxiety related to trauma.

While many people often lean towards dogs, cats, and other small mammals as pets, you can also spend time with animals, such as birds, to provide yourself some support.

If you don’t own a pet, you can spend time with a friend’s pet or even play around with some animals at your local shelter.

Cut Down On Caffeine And Alcohol

Caffeine and alcohol, both, have the potential to trigger your anxiety. If you’re struggling with managing stress, cutting down or eliminating them from your diet completely can help you manage anxiety.

Additionally, it’s important to remember that caffeine isn’t just found in soft drinks and coffee. It is also found in chocolate, tea, diet pills, and a few headache medications, so it’s best to cut down on those, too.

Eat Omega-3s

Fish oils have proven to be good for your heart.  Research suggests they also help you deal with depression and anxiety. Omega 3s from food are highly recommended to stay healthy so you should add them to your diet whenever you can.

The best source of fatty acids is oily, cold-water fish such as salmon. Fatty acids can also be found in anchovies, mussels, and sardines.

Cope With Stress and You Cope With Anxiety

Anxiety, when left untreated, can build up over time and affect your life negatively. There are two things you can do to handle the impacts of stress. The first is to go to therapy; that’s possible even during coronavirus times, thanks to online resources such as LifeStance virtual therapy. The other is to adopt a healthier lifestyle, such as exercising, eating well, and meditating.  You’ll find that you’re able to handle any difficult circumstances that come your way much more easily. 

Are there any ways you use that can help a person deal with anxiety? Let us know in the comments below!