Coping with anxiety and stress
Do you feel like your heart starts beating faster in stressful situations or that your palms get sweaty and itchy when you are asked to do an overwhelming task?
This is how the human body sometimes deals with stress, by naturally triggering you with anxiety. But you are not alone, more than 284 million people in the world deal with anxiety and stress on a daily basis.
How do you know if you are feeling anxious or not? Well, it does take sometime and some self reflection to be able to identify your triggers.
Here are 5 ways to cope with anxiety and stress:
Some of these methods may need to be adapted to suit you personally, your personality, your culture and lifestyle etc. Feel free to be creative and experiment with these coping techniques.
Breathing in and out for counts of 4 each for a total of 5 minutes will help you bring your heart rate down and slow your body. This 4 7 8 method will help you calm down and help with anxiety.
Having a balanced and healthy diet helps one feel better when stressed or anxious. Most people prefer having comfort food when stressed but it is proven that comfort food is not good for stress and the overall physical and mental health of a person. Choosing a balanced and healthy meal helps in regulating your physical and mental health and bringing them to sync.
A good long sleep and a lot of rest can go a long way. Studies say that having a good sleep schedule is important for not only your mental but also physical health. Sleeping and resting do help in decreasing stress and anxiety among people. Sleeping at the same time and waking up at same time everyday can help one regulate their body clock thus helping in managing stress.
Getting in some quick exercise like a short walk, some yoga or some cardio helps in regulating your hormones and also reduces stress and anxiety. Taking some time to focus on your body and not your mind will also help in relieving some stress and anxiety.
Penning down your thoughts actually does help in feeling less stressed or anxious. It helps in getting it out of your head and makes it less daunting and easier to deal with if you are stressed about actually talking to someone. This activity helps those who deal with anxiety on a regular basis or also works well for someone that is diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
Aromatherapy helps in activating certain receptors in your brain which helps in easing out anxiety and reduces stress. It can be in the form of essential oils, candles, incense sticks, natural scents like sandalwood, lavender etc can all be extremely soothing and helpful in dealing with anxiety.
Even though most people battle with anxiety when it comes to socializing and meeting people, studies also show that spending time with family and friends do help in stress relief and also decreases anxiety. Socializing can also bring in a feeling of togetherness, belongingness and laughter and also help in decreasing loneliness.
Meditating and practicing relaxation exercises can help in stress management and dealing with anxiety. A formal meditation practice or watching a video/reading a book or practicing mindful meditation are few relaxation techniques that can help in dealing with anxiety and reducing stress. It is recommended to choose an activity that you genuinely like doing so that you are most likely to continue with it and slowly make it a habit.
Dealing with stress and anxiety alone can be extremely hard and lonely. It is important to connect with people who are a positive influence or even seek medical/clinical support if required. Reach out to people through calls, texts, or any other form of communication or you can also reach out to helplines or distress lines for mental wellbeing support. Try avoiding people who are a negative influence to you because they tend to generally increase stress or anxiety.
Everyone deals with anxiety and stress in a different way. The levels of stress and anxiety that one might experience also varies from person to person. It is important to understand what triggers you and what works well for you. Some of the coping strategies might work for one person and might not work another.
If at any given point you feel like the anxiety or stress is getting extremely hard to deal with and the simple mechanisms are not helping, it is important to seek expert help immediately through medical support, helplines, distress or even by just talking to someone about how you are feeling.
If your anxiety or stress tends to hinder your normal daily routine, then please seek medical attention immediately. Anxiety may be a part of your life, but it should not be hindering your daily activities and thus needs to be treated if it gets overwhelming.
Hopefully you are able to deal with stress and anxiety in the best way possible so that you can enjoy the little moments in life to the fullest.