We are in no way giving you any kind of medical advice, but at some point in our lives we all (unless lucky) suffer from anxiety. Now if you suffer it worse than others, we have researched some tips we think can help you deal with it. We hope they help!
Break the habit
For some people, anxiety is a pattern of behaviour – they become anxious about everything and anything. They’ve learnt it from their childhood, sometimes as a result of parenting. The first thing to do is realise that you are the sort of person who gets anxious and be open to make changes. Dealing with anxiety isn’t all about taking pills; it’s about dealing with your lifestyle.
Apply some logic
If you are a very anxious person it’s easy to take a single fact and build into a whole frightening scenario. As soon as you start feeling anxious about something, remember what the facts are and that you’ve probably worried about it a lot before, unnecessarily. If you’ve got a worried circuit set up in your brain, what you need to do is to try to set up another system, which is more rational. Eventually this does work because your brain is very clever and 'rewires’ itself every night .
Is your diet making you anxious?
When stress hormones build up they turn on the worry centres in the brain. Sometimes simple things can contribute, such as hunger or a particular diet. It’s very important for the human brain to have proper nutrients. Many people who suffer from anxiety are deficient in magnesium (a trace element found in green leafy plants). A daily supplement of magnesium citrate, which you can buy in health-food shops, can help enormously. Cutting out alcohol and caffeine from your diet will reduce anxiety, too.
Remember to breathe!
Exercise is very important. Try to sign up for yoga or t’ai chi classes, which are both very calming for the mind and will teach you proper breathing. Even if you don’t want to do yoga, do try diaphragm breathing – put one hand over the other just below the belly-button and breathe so that your hands go up and down; repeat 10 times. Also try systematically to relax, because your muscles will be tense if you’re anxious. Starting with your feet and gradually working your way up your body, think about each muscle, imagining all the stress going out of the top of your head.
Live in the moment
Mindfulness is a technique that helps you to live in the now, rather than keep worrying about the past and the future. For example, you might concentrate on your 'in’ and 'out’ breaths, or try a walking meditation, whereby you concentrate simply on putting your feet down and lifting them up and their contact with the floor.
For some people, anxiety is a pattern of behaviour – they become anxious about everything and anything. They’ve learnt it from their childhood, sometimes as a result of parenting. The first thing to do is realise that you are the sort of person who gets anxious and be open to make changes. Dealing with anxiety isn’t all about taking pills; it’s about dealing with your lifestyle.
Apply some logic
If you are a very anxious person it’s easy to take a single fact and build into a whole frightening scenario. As soon as you start feeling anxious about something, remember what the facts are and that you’ve probably worried about it a lot before, unnecessarily. If you’ve got a worried circuit set up in your brain, what you need to do is to try to set up another system, which is more rational. Eventually this does work because your brain is very clever and 'rewires’ itself every night .
Is your diet making you anxious?
When stress hormones build up they turn on the worry centres in the brain. Sometimes simple things can contribute, such as hunger or a particular diet. It’s very important for the human brain to have proper nutrients. Many people who suffer from anxiety are deficient in magnesium (a trace element found in green leafy plants). A daily supplement of magnesium citrate, which you can buy in health-food shops, can help enormously. Cutting out alcohol and caffeine from your diet will reduce anxiety, too.
Remember to breathe!
Exercise is very important. Try to sign up for yoga or t’ai chi classes, which are both very calming for the mind and will teach you proper breathing. Even if you don’t want to do yoga, do try diaphragm breathing – put one hand over the other just below the belly-button and breathe so that your hands go up and down; repeat 10 times. Also try systematically to relax, because your muscles will be tense if you’re anxious. Starting with your feet and gradually working your way up your body, think about each muscle, imagining all the stress going out of the top of your head.
Live in the moment
Mindfulness is a technique that helps you to live in the now, rather than keep worrying about the past and the future. For example, you might concentrate on your 'in’ and 'out’ breaths, or try a walking meditation, whereby you concentrate simply on putting your feet down and lifting them up and their contact with the floor.
Do you have any tips for Anxiety?
I definitely think exercise helps A LOT despite it being the last thing you want to do if depression comes with it too, thats why it took me like 3 years to see sense hahah! I definitely have a horrible pattern of worry and just try and ignore and not do what makes me have panic attacks, but you are right re wiring is possible and sounds like a good, sensible idea xxx
ReplyDeleteBlonde Of Carbs ♥
exercise is so good, having panic attacks is horrible though! big love to you.
DeleteSuch a great read :)
ReplyDeleteI used to be really bad with anxiety during uni, so much so that I would sometimes not go to class and stay in bed all day just feeling incredibly down. I have learnt a lot since then and find my own ways to cope. Not only that but surrounding myself with positive people, I certainly wasn't doing that at the time which made it a lot worse for me.
xox
oh I think the people you surround yourself can make such a difference! ♥
Delete♥
ReplyDeletethank you and will be sure to!
ReplyDelete