Even the coolest cucumbers out there have anxiety induced moments. No one is immune to anxiety and everyone can benefit from a few practical ways to calm down anxiety. Many people aren’t even aware that they experience anxiety, they don’t always know what they’re feeling is anxiety. If left unchecked, anxiety can wreak havoc on a person’s daily life, relationships, and overall health.
Having practical tools to reduce anxiety can help everyone!
Importance of Calming Down Anxiety
Anxiety isn’t just racing thoughts, lots of worrying and a feeling of impending doom and gloom. When cortisol is released in your body, there’s multiple physical symptoms like difficulty breathing, a rapid heart rate, stomach pain and bloating, trembling, and muscle tension. Calming down anxiety is important in order to live a calmer, happier, and healthier life. It’s unfortunate, but when anxiety isn’t recognized and dealt with, and transforms into chronic anxiety, it’ll eat you up from the inside out in a multitude of ways.
Many people who don’t have coping mechanisms to handle anxiety, end up with depression, extreme fatigue, headaches, high blood pressure, constant irritability, and plenty of aches and pains. You don’t have to suffer! There are practical ways to reduce anxiety.
Strategies for Reducing Anxiety
Whether you have recurring intrusive thoughts, or just experience minor bouts of intensely worrying thoughts, knowing ways to reduce anxiety can make a huge difference in overall health and wellness.
Write Your Thoughts Down
Writing down what’s running through your mind allows you to get them down on paper, which releases them from your mind. Instead of these intrusive thoughts overpowering your mind, making you sick.
Write it down, release it from your mind and body.
Focused Breathing
Learn simple breathing techniques. Even if you’re not in the throws of anxious thoughts, incorporate breathing techniques into your daily routine. When you focus on your breathing, you’re less likely to “hold your breath” when tense. Taking a few times each day to focus on breathing, you’ll release tension throughout your body (even the tension you weren’t even aware your muscles were holding onto).
Schedule Time to Worry
Along with writing your thoughts down, you can schedule time in your daily calendar to simply worry. Once the “worry appointment” is done, you return to your regular routine. Blocking out time for worry each day, or if daily time blocks aren’t necessary, make weekly worry blocks, allowing you to focus on it for a short amount of time and then move the hell on! Live your life. Be present for the people you care about, one of them being YOURSELF.
Exercise
Don’t roll your eyes. You don’t have to start heading to the gym and participating in hours of workout classes. A simple 15-minute walk in the fresh air is sufficient. Just make the commitment to move your body for a short amount of time each day. The more the better, but again, no need to join a gym and attend spin classes every day for hours on end.
Say No to Sugar
Again, this does not mean give up all your desserts and special chocolates. It means reducing the amount of processed sugars in your diet. There’s plenty of natural sugars found in fruit. Partake in your favorite comfort foods loaded with sugar once in a while, just not all day every day and when you’re in the throes of anxiety!
Stop Being Judgmental
In general, it’s healthier to stop judging in general. But, what’s CRUCIAL is to stop judging yourself. When you’re doing your best, and have some slip ups, there’s no need to beat yourself up over it. You also don’t need to judge yourself about how you handle anxiety. Be kinder and more forgiving with yourself.
Need Help Putting Anxiety Strategies in Place?
Taking anxiety on by yourself isn’t necessary. Help is available, and often the best thing you can do for yourself. Professionals can provide talk therapy, as well as improve your anxiety strategies in order to find a higher success rate for calming your anxiety.
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