Anxiety can strike on a random evening or
morning and can snowball out of control, disconnecting you from the world and
putting your professional and social life at risk. The world will continue to
move forward, whether or not you are stuck in a state of anxiety, so it’s best
to remain on top of your anxious feelings. Here are a number of effective ways
to remain calm and in control of your physical and mental state:
Anxiety is never easy to handle. It is even
more difficult to entirely push it aside and carry on striving to reach your
full potential. All of us, at some point in our lives, have been faced with
trying to control our anxious feelings. They sometimes manifest suddenly
without warning, leaving us on edge waiting for the crushing wave to hit.
Breaking
the Cycle of Anxious Thought
Anxiety, the out-of-control child of our
‘flight or fight’ survival mechanism, arises from the idea that we are not in
complete control of our lives and feel that external events disproportionally
impact us. Instead of getting stuck in a loop of anxious thought, we must
remind ourselves that we cannot control everything.
Once you begin making up scenarios of how
an event will go wrong — stop and breathe. Focus on maintaining power over your
own thoughts and mind because worrying about a possible future event achieves
nothing.
Understand
What Situations Make You Anxious
It is vital that when we try to get to the
bottom of our anxiety-producing events, that we cut out the noise and hone in
on the core of an issue. Often something as benign as a delayed train can cause
full blown anxiety attacks because of a snowball-like effect of solvable
problems building on top of other solvable problems. Most likely, there are
common triggers that will set your anxiety off. The first step is identifying
these, the second is to know how to either avoid such triggers, or suppress the
triggers when they arise. Look at yourself, and understand that to every
negative thought, a positive one exists around the corner.
Positive
Thoughts About Yourself
Thinking positively may seem difficult for
those with anxiety. Any problem can appear from out-of-nowhere and we’re frozen
with fear. This leads to negative ideas about our looks, social status,
personality, and even about the very fact that we have anxiety!
We must turn this thinking around. Tell
yourself: I am beautiful. I am worthy of
love, of friendship, and positivity! Even the worst cases of anxiety that
prevent us from even getting out of bed in the morning. The situation or event
ahead can seem daunting but remember, all you have to do is relax and show up.
Then you can handle whatever is thrown at you.
Deep-Breathing
Really Works
While anxiety stems from a flood of
panicked neurons to our brain, there are fortunately some physical steps we can
take to remain calm and in control.
Imagine all the negative images and
thoughts clouding your mind. Embrace them. Graphically visualize them. Now
breathe them in deeply and slowly. Then as you breathe out imagine those
thoughts leaving your body. As they leave your body, imagine they are scattered
into a million pieces. Repeat.
Breathing is often
down-played, but can be the opening to a calm demeanor. Go to a class for yoga
or meditation, where steady breathing practices are integrated. Or, try natural
products that promote calmness and control in the body like ashwagandha or
maca. If your anxiety is linked to physical pain or injury, or if you have
dental issues diagnosed by Fourth Ward Dentistry causing you to worry,
that naturally reduce joint pains, inflammation and skin rashes. Natural
supplements and mental exercises together can help pave the way to a calmer
outlook on life.
Battle
Your Anxiety, Become Stronger
The road to recovering from paralyzing
anxiety is not an easy one. You must find the strength inside yourself to break
the cycle of one bad thought leading to another. We only get one life, and
every day that anxiety keeps us in bed is another day we will never get back.
Sometimes coming up with a mantra to repeat to yourself will eventually
put a stop to that voice in your head. Saying things like “I am the best.” or
“I am unstoppable” can actually begin to stick in your brain. Even if in the
beginning you do not believe those sayings, remember, the mind is a muscle and
is capable of growing stronger.
Having a true dialogue with your anxiety is
crucial to ensuring it does not prevent you from living your life and reaching
your potential. It is only human to experience stress and anxiety, and we have
many tools at our disposable to ensure we control our anxiety and not the other
way around.