15 Ways to Deal with Anxiety

Are you suffering from anxiety?? People suffering from anxiety experience a constant sense of fear in certain situations. It can easily take control of us. But if we take charge of the situation we can handle it.

 Do you feel that you walk constantly on a tightrope? What problems do you consume and feel that you suffer from emotional and physical anxiety? That high level of stress can be dangerous to your health and you need to control it.

Anxiety may be necessary and healthy at specific times. The problem is when it stays and becomes chronic. Then, you see dangers or complications that do not exist or you worry about all the negative things that could happen but have not happened.

"Anxiety is like a voice chasing you and using your insecurities against you," explains psychologist Ilene Strauss Cohen, a professor at Barry University in Florida.

Anxiety: a Global Health Problem

It is estimated that 246 million people in the world suffer from anxiety. The American Association of Anxiety and Depression considers it the most common mental illness of our days and warns of the consequences it can have for general health. In the body, when you suffer from constant anxiety, the brain releases amounts of adrenaline, cortisol and other hormones that affect the normal behavior of our body. For that reason, we can suffer different discomforts and conditions:

• Headache
• Dizziness
• Depression
• Elevation of blood pressure
• Loss of appetite
• Digestive disorders such as constipation or diarrhea
• A weakness of the immune system
• Exhaustion
• Loss of sexual desire

Some tips for you…

Knowing that anxiety is in the mind and not the product of reality, there are different ways to help manage it. The way we treat our body has a direct impact on the mind. That's why healthy foods and healthy habits will help your mental health. You have to take care of your body.

1. Limit caffeine

Studies show that caffeine worsens anxiety, as it doubles cortisol levels in the blood and, in turn, reduces aminobutyric acid, a natural body relaxant.

2. Eliminate or reduce alcohol consumption

There is a belief that alcohol helps to relax the mind and, although there is something true, the reality is that the excess and the after effects worsen the anxiety. Alcohol alters serotonin levels, which elevates stress levels. According to studies, 20% of people suffering from anxiety are dependent on alcohol.

3. Maintain a balanced diet

There are more than 10 million neurotransmitters between the digestive tract and the brain that communicate in two ways. That's why what you eat affects your mind. It includes proteins, carbohydrates and vegetables in each meal. Eat fruit between meals and drink enough water.

Foods with folic acids, such as asparagus, watercress, spinach or nuts, and vitamin B6, such as fish, chicken, bananas and vegetables, stimulate the production of serotonin, known as the hormone of happiness.

4. Eat three times a day and between meals

When you suffer from anxiety there may be a tendency to skip some meals. The American Association against Anxiety and Depression warns that in the long term this can generate other disorders much more harmful and complicated, such as anorexia and bulimia.

5. Get enough sleep

Continuous lack of sleep can contribute to stress and anxiety. By sleeping 8 hours, the body lowers the temperature, heart rate and nerves, decreasing levels of anxiety. It has been shown that sleep clears the mind and things are seen from a clearer perspective. So when you are anxious try to have seven to nine hours sound sleep.

6. Exercise

When exercising, the body releases endorphins that control pain and produce a sense of well-being. Exercise also helps you sleep better, reduces mental fatigue and improves cognitive ability.

Give attitude to life, enthusiasm, and joy to counteract the anxiety suffered.

7. Accept that you cannot control everything

Put stressful situations in perspective and focus only on the important things you can solve. Many times your fears make you see situations worse than they are. Focusing on solutions and not on problems will reduce anxiety levels.

8. Do only the best you can

Do not look for perfection or torment yourself when things do not go as you thought. Most of the time, perfection does not exist, so he takes pride in the achievements and takes the failures as lessons for improvement.

9. Keep a positive attitude

Recognize that fears are unjustified. Everything, even bad situations have a positive side and are always temporary. Keep your mind focused on the positive aspects that surround you.

10. Discover your fears

Analyze the situations for which you suffer from anxiety, you can even keep a diary. Normally there is a similar pattern. It can be the difficulty of working with the bosses, the distrust towards what others can do or the excess of obligations, for example.

Once you discover the cause of your anxiety, work to solve it or seek help from professionals or friends.

11. Trust in you

Make yourself aware that you can overcome situations. In fact, you have always achieved it, otherwise, you would not be where you are. You can emerge triumphant from good results, but also from bad ones. Everything is overcome. Once you learn to trust your ability to move forward, the anxiety will disappear. There are exercises and activities that can help to overcome anxiety. Occupy the mind in positive actions.

12. Take breaths

Deep breathing exercises help oxygenate the brain and regulate heart rhythm. Take a daily time to focus on your breathing. It can be 5 minutes in the morning before you start with homework, or when you return home to rest. This will help relax the body and mind.

13. Take time off

The breaks are necessary for health and the mind. Get rid of the situations that cause you stress. This does not mean that you do not solve them, but you do leave them aside sometimes. That will help you analyze situations better. Take time in other activities, such as going to the movies, doing community work or doing yoga.

14. Do meditations

If you are not familiar with meditation you can seek help in yoga or meditation centers. If you know how to do it, take action and it takes 20 minutes a day. Doing so will train your mind to control thoughts and anxiety.

15. Visit a specialist

If you feel that you are suffering from anxiety and it is out of your control, do not hesitate to visit a psychotherapist or any other professional prepared to help you manage it.

Anxiety is hard, really really hard. If you have to deal with it every day, it requires a lot of strength and courage. You are doing it great and try to follow the above tips if necessary.