Tips For Managing Anxiety

While you're managing your anxiety, here are some tips that might help.

Control your worry.

Pick a place and time to do your worrying. Make it the same place and time every day. Spend 30 minutes thinking about what's bothering you and what you can do about it. Try not to think about what "might" happen. Focus more on what's really happening. Then let go of the worry and go on with your day.

Learn ways to relax.

Some ways to relax include muscle relaxation, yoga, or deep breathing.

Muscle relaxation is simple. Start by choosing a muscle and holding it tight for a few seconds. Then relax the muscle. Do this with all of your muscles. Try starting with your foot muscles and working your way up your whole body.

Doing deep-breathing exercises is an easy way to feel relaxed. First, lie down on a flat surface. Put one hand on your stomach, just above your bellybutton. Put the other hand on your chest. Breathe in slowly and try to make your stomach rise a little. Hold your breath for a second. Breathe out slowly and let your stomach go back down.

Exercise regularly.

People who have anxiety often stop exercising, but exercise can give a sense of well-being and help decrease feelings of anxiety.

Get plenty of sleep.

Go to bed at the same time every night and try to relax before you go to sleep. Making your bedtime a routine could help you fall asleep faster and easier.

Try not to sleep too much. Too much sleep can be bad for you and actually give you shallow, unrestful sleep. Try to get 8 hours of sleep a night, although some people might need less and others more.

Avoid alcohol and drug abuse.

It might seem that alcohol or drugs relax you. In the long run, they make anxiety worse and cause more problems.

Avoid caffeine.

Caffeine is found in coffee, tea, soft drinks, and chocolate. Caffeine might increase your feeling of anxiety because it stimulates your nervous system. Also avoid over-the-counter diet pills and cough and cold medicines that contain a decongestant.

Confront the things that have made you anxious in the past.

Begin by just picturing yourself standing up to these things. By doing this, you can get used to the idea of confronting, or facing the things, that make you anxious before you actually have to face them. After you feel more comfortable picturing yourself confronting these things, you can begin to face them for real.

If you feel yourself getting anxious, practice a relaxation technique or focus on a simple task, such as counting backward from 100 to 0.

Although feelings of anxiety are scary, they won't hurt you. Rate the level of your fear from 0 to 10 and keep track as it goes up and down. Notice that it doesn't stay at a very high level for more than a few seconds. When the fear comes, accept it. Wait and give it time to pass, without running away from it.

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