(Video: Natural Ways to Reduce Anxiety)
Millions of people around the world deal with anxiety on a day-to-day basis. They go on with their lives every day without knowing when their anxiety attack will get the best o them.
What is an anxiety attack?
Imagine your heart racing like a brick pounding on concrete, your lungs struggling from a shortage of breath, your body sweating and trembling, consumed by overwhelming fear and feeling of impeding doom.
That’s an anxiety attack, but of course, everybody’s experience is different and may not exhibit all of these symptoms.
- You might be asking “what is the difference between an anxiety attack and a panic attack.” Unlike panic attack that is more unpredictable and unprovoked usually, anxiety attack is more fear-related and comes from a stressor source, e.g., public speaking, social settings, claustrophobia, etc. Prevent and remove yourself from the stressor, and you’ll have no problem.
Some days are better than others, and the majority of people can still carry on with their normal lives, but there are days that anxiety can come out of nowhere and cripple you. It is for that reason that if you are suffering from this condition, you need to know how to manage your anxiety under control.
Here are some of the things you can do to cope:
- Do mindful breathing exercises
You can manage your anxiety and even quell the attacks by performing mindful breathing exercises.
- Find a comfortable sitting position, close your eyes, and then start breathing naturally. For the first few seconds, do not attempt to control it. Just relax but be aware of the sensation of your breath as you inhale and exhale.
If you haven’t tried breathing exercises before, place one hand on your chest, and other on your belly. This is to make sure that you are breathing deeply – that is, from your belly; the hand you placed on your belly should go toward your spine as you breathe in, and then move away from the spine as you breathe out.
- Perform the breathing exercises using the count-to-four system. Mentally count from 1 to 3 as you breathe in, and then exhale at the count of four. Whatever you do, don’t let intrusive thoughts clutter your mind; just focus on the sensation of breathing.
Do this for about 5 minutes, or at least, until the attack attacks is suppressed.
- Take time for a quick jog every morning or late in the afternoon.
All exercise is essential to one’s treatment of anxiety, but jogging helps you produce a healthy amount of serotonin that positively impacts a person’s mood.
It is an effective way of how to get rid of panic attacks because it helps in tiring the muscles, which will reduce the severity of the panic attacks.
So put on your nice pair of jogging shoes and make jogging a ritual.
- Immerse yourself in art.
Art is essential for people who want to manage their anxiety as it allows them to freely express themselves without inhibitions.
Art requires focus and control. This can help you free your mind from thinking too much about your anxiety.
Additionally, art can also provide you with a sense of accomplishment which can help improve your emotions.
- Solve puzzles
When you are dealing with anxiety, you are also dealing with your mind. But the thing is, coping with negative thoughts is not that easy.
In this regard, puzzles and other mental challenges can help you drift away from thinking negatively. There are even people who attempt math problems when they have anxiety.
Puzzles and mental challenges are considered mentally distracting, and when you are too busy dealing with these challenges, you will find yourself hardly focusing on your anxiety.
- Listen to happy and upbeat music
Listening to music can greatly affect a person’s mood. In order to cope with anxiety, you need to listen to happy and upbeat music.
Most people tend to listen to sad music when they feel depressed (hence, breakup, anyone?) but studies have shown that doesn’t really help in improving one’s mood.
Ideally, you need to listen to the music that best represent the mood you want to feel.
- Do yoga
Last but not least, many people have turned to yoga to manage their anxiety.
Yoga can provide you with a lot of health benefits while providing you with a spiritual effect which many people find valuable.
Most importantly, yoga requires a decent amount of self-control which can help free up your mind from your anxiety.
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Perform all these things and you should definitely notice an improvement in your anxiety.