Anxiety is a feeling that virtually everybody experiences in their life and I’m no exception. So, it won’t sound terrible if it’s described to be “a normal part of life”. It’s basically about the feelings of fear, apprehension, and worry. It can be experienced in different levels including physical, emotional, and cognitive.
Anxiety can lead to different negative things— it can result in disturbing and negative thoughts, feeling out-of-control, or scared. Severe anxiety comes with different symptoms such as trembling, shortness of breath, and sweating.
It is important to know that when anxiety becomes prolonged and persistent, it becomes a disorder. You should seek ways to manage your anxiety before it begins to interfere with your work and social or personal life. Fortunately, an anxiety disorder can be treated — all you need to do is to seek appropriate mental health treatment from a mental health professional before it disrupts your health.
What are the Effects of Anxiety on your Body and Mind?
When troubled by anxiety, both your body and mind are affected. The following are some of the effects it may have:
- Feeling of tension, nervousness, dizziness, light-headedness, and restlessness
- Breathing faster and irregular heartbeat
- Aches such as headaches and backaches
- Perspiration or sweating
- Sleeping problems
- Nausea
- Panic attacks
- Changes in sex drive
- Sense of dread
- Worrying
Can Anxiety be Harmful?
Obviously, anxiety can eventually become a serious mental health condition if not properly managed. Several individuals tend to experience anxiety frequently in a severe way to specific events and situations. It may be harmful if it begins to affect you at your workplace, in your relationship with others, and in your personal life. Here, it has turned into an anxiety disorder.
Moreover, anxiety, when it becomes severe, can lead to the avoidance of important situations or some certain environments. The feelings of anxiety may result in the avoidance of social events or missing job interviews.
One of those things anxiety can lead to is agoraphobia causing irrational fear of places. This can lead to isolation or causing you to stop going out. Anxiety is harmful when it turns problematic and becomes disruptive or persistent.
How can you Cope with Anxiety?
Anxiety is not a feeling that you can’t manage or cope with. Fortunately, there are plausible ways or methods you can use to deal with it. The following are some of these methods:
- Breathtaking: This is a very simple method you can apply when you begin to feel anxious. You can control your anxiety by learning how to consciously breathe slowly. Breathing faster when you are anxious can intensify your anxiety and stress. Some of the breathing techniques you can learn include breathing in and out through your nose slowly and holding for several seconds your breath. There are different breathing therapies you can take, such as cap no merry, an assisted respiratory training which helps to promote slow and mindful breathing.
- Meditation: A perfect mastery of mediation may take time, but it is an effective way to cope with your feelings of anxiety. Meditation helps reduce levels of anxiety and physical stress. In addition, there are other relaxation activities you can apply such as tai chi or yoga. These activities can also help promote relaxation and lowers your stress and anxiety levels.
- Knowing your triggers: It is always good to gain awareness of what triggers your fears. You are expected to know what’s bothering you leading to your rapid heartbeat, chest pain, and trembling. Endeavor that you assess your feelings and thoughts to know exactly what triggers your anxiety.
- A healthy lifestyle: There may be a need to change your lifestyle if it’s not healthy. There are things you must take note of. You must ensure that every meal you take is balanced, and avoid skipping any. The intake of alcohol and caffeine can worsen your anxiety and unleash panic attacks. You are advised to limit the quantity of alcohol and caffeine you take. Also, sleeping well can greatly be of help. Ensure that you get enough sleep regularly— it helps you get refreshed and reduce the levels of your anxiety and stress. Finally, you must engage yourself in a healthy exercise that can help improve your mental health.
- Support systems: There is nothing bad about discussing your fears or what triggers them to people. There are people who can help when you talk to them. You can talk with your family members, family members, or a counselor/ therapist about your situation.
- Identifying and accepting what you can change and what you cannot: There are things in life you can change and there are some things you can’t. Sometimes, you may become anxious when you think of what is yet to happen (which may not even occur) such as when you begin to get worried about losing your job or someone dear to you or becoming I’ll. Instead of letting your feelings get in the way of good mental health, you can look for ways to turn them into strength (possibly, preparing ahead when you fear that a challenge can arise anytime soon). You can begin to do your best at your workplace, spending more time with your family, or taking proper care of yourself to stay healthy all the time.
- Redirect your attention to something else: You shouldn’t let your feelings tie you down. Try to take a time-out. Try to focus on something else that can be helpful — these may include engaging in your hobby or creative activity (writing, painting, drawing, etc.), doing some chores in the house, listening to music, reading your favorite books, watching funny movies, or praying.
How can BetterHelp help you?
There is a special way to deal with your stress and anxiety. If you find it difficult to cope with the feelings of anxiety on your own, you may need to see a therapist, like one from BetterHelp. At BetterHelp, you will get to meet an online therapist who offers every needed support by helping you get a diagnosis, proper treatment, and also learn how you can cope with anxiety in a better way. There are different media through which you can see a therapist — by visiting BetterHelp’s dedicated AMSA page, BetterHelp’s mobile app, social media, and so on. For reviews on BetterHelp, you may click on this link: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.betterhelp.com?page=20
This was a collaborative post with Betterhelp.
