Anxiety is generally construed as negative. However, feeling anxious is part and parcel of everyday life. We have all experienced feelings of nervousness and uncertainty, trouble concentrating or an increased heart rate and rapid breathing from worrying.
At the core, anxiety is what keeps us alive. It’s our body’s automatic fight or flight response that gets activated when we feel threatened, under pressure or are faced with challenges or dangers.
When kept in check, anxiety is not a bad thing. It floods the body with a lot of energy and can help us stay alert, focused, “switched on” and motivated to solve problems.
However, if these feelings overpower you, whereby you experience frequent and excessive worrying or terror and panic in everyday situations, you have probably crossed into the territory of an anxiety disorder.
These feelings are unhealthy if they affect your quality of life and prevent you from functioning normally. Please seek professional help if so.
When we shift our mindset to think more from the perspective that anxiety protects us and saturates us with extra energy, as long as we channel it into a positive thing, overtime our constructive outlook will turn anxiety from a foe to a friend.
Here are 15 tips for coping with anxiety:
1.Keep physically active. Exercise is a powerful stress reducer and anxiety reliever.
2.Quit smoking, avoid caffeinated beverages, sugary drinks and alcohol. Limit intake of all stimulants.
3.Use stress reduction, relaxation and visualisation techniques. Mindfulness meditation, yoga and deep breathing are proven ways to reduce anxiety.
4.Breathe the 6-3-6-3 method. Breathe in for 6 seconds, out for 3, in for 6 and out for 3.
5.Uplevel your daily requirements with healthy non-fried, low sugar foods, adequate water intake and a proper amount of restful sleep.
6.Take supplements to give you vitamins that might be excluded from your diet.
7.Learn about your disorder. You are not alone. Join a community.
8.Keep a journal. Reflective writing will allow you to make sense of your emotions.
9.Socialise and connect with others. Interact with only those who make you feel good.
10.Ground yourself with the 5 senses exercise: name 5 things you see, touch 4 things, name 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell and 1 thing you taste.
11.Smell lavender, chamomile or sandalwood. Aromatherapy is effective in calming the stress hormones.
12.Listen to uplifting music.
13.Focus on what you can change.
14.Put a stop to chronic worrying. Challenge anxious thoughts and learn to accept uncertainty.
15.Be kind to yourself.
Over the past years especially, so many of us have understood the meaning of being better connected, with others and ourselves. If not taken care of, anxiety can leave us feeling crippled, beaten down and confused.
However with introspection, desire and elevated consciousness, we can be in a better position to move through the worries of uncertainty to the security of predictability.
Hyesha Barrett -
The writer is a master life coach, NLP practitioner
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
