Experiencing anxiety has become an epidemic in our modern life. It’s now measured as one of the most common and featured mental health issues many face today. What all this does is threatens our innate need to be safe, which triggers an increase in our anxiety levels.
This with mass media, social media and fake news flooding our minds with messages on how in peril our lives are. Messages of war, the financial crisis, doom and gloom, the pandemic.
What the studies clearly show, is anxiety now resides as the most prevalent invisible and ignored malady we face today.
For many, our anxiety levels are then fueled by our immediate daily strife in life that we face.
Our work, our finances and relationships, all accelerates the negative self-talk.
This is when our awareness begins to get the best of us, as uncertainty dominates the steering wheel in our minds.
What we then do is find excuses to make ourselves feel better, such as pick bad vices and poor influences.
Jumping Through Mental Hoops
This is when we need to recognize and put a collar on ourselves, to free ourselves from becoming so apprehensive and irritable.
It begins and ends by asking ourselves personally challenging questions, regarding the stories we tell ourselves.
Why we jump to conclusion after conclusion without knowing the entire situation or dilemma.
On a daily basis, what our over reactive mind does is creates remarkable dramatic fables based on pure assumption.
Our employer wants to speak to us, our kids are out late on a Friday night, a friend doesn’t return our email, we fret.
Our Over Reactive Minds
What we do is frantically fill in all the empty blanks, the unknown, usually negatively. This by creating riveting self-defeating scripts.
The conclusions are usually inaccurate and destructive. What they do is just contribute to our anxiety.
The majority of our concerns are fueled by stories which are fabricated in our minds. All which are based on speculation and assumption, and not true fact.
Woe Is Me
We create fictional tales regarding those we know, or the circumstances which befalls us.
Seldom do we realize what we’re thinking, or bother to connect the false facts between our expectations, which elevates our anxiety levels.
The reason why we convince ourselves of these speculations, is because they’re more compelling, more tragic than what reality is.
We self formulate ideas of worse case scenarios then believe them, which forces unrealistic unneeded trauma.
Track Your Emotions
Once our pulse begins to quicken, the breathing accelerates, our brow begins to sweat, is when our frantic emotions based on what we’re facing, overtakes our mind.
This is when you should become mindful, take a step back, take a pause and ask yourself. “Why am I feeling this right now?”
Analyzing and becoming more aware of your external and internal reaction to the surrounding circumstances, is a positive step towards managing anxiety.
Take several deep breathes for a few moments, slow down and focus. Clear your mind until your heart rate returns to normal.
This intentional pause, this deliberate break will realign your body and mind.
Connecting With The Environment
Once the anxiety becomes intense, always focus on relaxing while connecting with the immediate environment.
Continue to unwind while slowing down the noise in your head and the activity around you.
For instance, if you’re in a room and feeling anxiety, focus on a stationary item directly in front of you, such as a table, sofa, lamp, etc.
If you’re outside, place focus on the trees, clouds, buildings, nature, that dog.
Focus on anything that attaches your mind to the current moment.
When anxious, what we do is become disconnected from our bodies, and our brain wanders elsewhere, so be conscious of where you are.
Take Charge Take Control
Most events and issues are usually out of our control, thus the anxiety. There are also certain things we can manage during these seemingly troubling times.
It could be remaining silent during criticism, phoning someone, or seeking advice.
It doesn’t need to be significant, but use a distraction to help lessen the tension.
Release What You Can’t Control
Once anxiety strikes, what you should realize is how much of it is out of your control.
So list every person, the circumstances, or the issues involved in the anxiety attack.
Move these objects into a mental storage facility located elsewhere from your present thoughts.
Since they are beyond your control, remove them away from your mind and body.
Start Thinking Positive
Convince yourself what you’re going through will eventually go away. That this too will pass.
Don’t allow the discouraging circumstances from stealing your time or emotional energy.
Remind yourself that it’s just a part of life, and you will deal with it.
What positive self-talk does is it affirms your anxiety is not as significant or bigger than life itself.
Become More Grateful
Practice to become grateful and self-loving at all times through the anxiety process. Begin by making an effort to do something exhilarating.
This could be going for a run, a brisk walk, yoga, meditation, listening to music, or going to see a movie in the afternoon by yourself.
It should be something that takes your mind off the situation, which will also energize you.
Since doing so could just be masking the situation, you need to become self-aware and do so selectively.
Its usefulness lies in the fact you’re doing something you enjoy.
What doing so does is releases endorphins in the brain, chemicals which forces you to feel better, while you assert control over your angst.
Just Repeat The Process
What you should be feeling is a decrease in your doubts, your worries and your insecurities.
If the anxiety is complex, it may require several passes to rid of the stressful situation.
Performing these exercises will usually eliminate the majority of the issues. But if they’re too deeply rooted, then there’s no shame in seeking expert assistance.
Anxiety Can Be Lethal
Anxiety and its evil stepsister stress, is known as a major contributor to shortening ones life span.
So you need to find effective methods on a daily basis to relieve the buildup.
The majority of the anxiety can be tamed as we all experience its grasp, so the key becomes managing the issues by intercepting them from the onset.
Do so by predicting what’s potentially going to happen. Realize the worst it can get, and then put a halt to it, which should slow down the threat in its tracks.