Anxiety can knock at your door at any time. Whether you’re a college-going student, a hardworking employee, or a person enjoying your retirement, anxiety doesn’t differentiate, and neither does it warn.
In 2019, an estimated 275 million people suffered from anxiety disorders.
Feeling anxious is normal. It is simply feeling or showing worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome. Such situations come up everyday. We often find ourselves in unpredictable circumstances. In fact most of the time, things are beyond our control. Therefore, anxiety is legitimate.
When does anxiety become dangerous?
Spells of anxiety that last for a brief period of time, ranging from a minute to a couple of days is okay. But when it persists longer, that’s when we need to ring an alarm for ourselves. When we leave our anxiety unwatched, it grows and deepens leading to a disorder. It pushes over to cause our body and mind to be not in order anymore and cause unrest. It may also give rise to various phobias which means an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something.
Examine your feelings
A persistent fear of certain places or situations can make you feel trapped, powerless, or embarrassed. These feelings lead to panic attacks. You may even start to feel constant anxiety and worry about activities that are ordinary or routine. These feelings of worry then begin manifesting as physical problems in your body. You may notice headaches, upset stomach, or trouble in sleeping. A sudden bout of extreme anxiety or terror accompanied by feelings of looming danger, shortness of breath, chest pain and pounding heartbeat (palpitations). Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is also a common anxiety disorder.
Generally, feelings of anxiety go away as a stressful situation fades out but if you feel your anxiety is not going away and is worsening over time, you should visit a doctor. Treating anxiety and other mental health conditions is easier early on before symptoms worsen and the issue deepens.
You should visit your doctor if:
• You feel you’re worrying so much that it’s interfering with your routine life
• Your anxiety, fear, or worry feels distressful and hard for you to control
• You feel depressed, are using alcohol or drugs to cope and becoming dependent on them,
• You have other mental health concerns besides anxiety
• You are living your life feeling that your life has lost all meaning and purpose
• You are experiencing suicidal thoughts or are observing suicidal behavior in yourself (if so, please seek immediate medical assistance at your nearest hospital)
Unfortunately, the modern-day healthcare industry focuses primarily on our physical well-being, rather than taking a more holistic approach.
With these simple steps, you can learn how to manage your anxiety.
So, here’s a list of a few things you can do to remain calm, relaxed, and ease your feelings of anxiety.
1. Distract Yourself
Oftentimes the most effective method to stop anxious thoughts is to distract yourself and shift your focus. This helps in breaking the chain of continued thoughts that might be causing you anxiety. Its worth the effort to relax your overactive brain in order to feel calmer and look at the brighter side of life. Engage in a relaxing and enjoyable activity to clear your mind.
Some of the activities can include -
Listening to upbeat music
Reading an engaging book
Watching a funny movie
Creative tasks like drawing or painting
Speak to a friend. Talking what's on your mind will make you feel better
2. Head Outdoors
A study by Science Direct found that spending time outdoors can do wonders for your mental health. Time spent outdoors or in a natural setting helps in significantly improving physical, emotional, and mental health.
Simple things like just cycling around the neighborhood or walking in the local park, or doing anything that exposes you to sunlight and fresh air increases blood circulation to the brain, as well as promote the release of “happy” chemicals like serotonin and endorphins.
All in all, being outdoors and getting some sunlight for just even 15-20 minutes helps alleviate anxiety and promote mental and physical well being.
3. Exercise often
Recent research published in the journal, Anxiety-Depression discovered that people who engaged in physical activities very rarely were more prone to develop anxiety symptoms as compared to those who were more physically active.
Moving and exercising your body decreases muscle tension which helps you feel calm and decreases anxiety.
Thus, Taking out some time to focus on your physical health may help relieve anxiety and stress.
Aim for at least 2½-3 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity each week.
Most importantly choose an exercise regime that is fun and enjoyable. Instead of just mindlessly lifting weights in the gym, you can opt for kickboxing, gymnastics or even try out Zumba! Or simply, play your favourite party track and start jumping to the drum beats.
4. Meditate
Whenever you feel anxious thoughts creeping up your mind, pause for a moment and try to declutter.
The best technique to regain composure and restore mental calm is to meditate and implement various relaxation techniques.
Meditation paired with breathing exercises like 4-7-8 technique (Where you inhale till the count of 4, hold your breath till the count of 7 and exhale till the count of 8), also provides a rejuvenating effect making you feel more centered, refreshed and energized.
Here is a very basic meditation technique:
Start by getting into a comfortable seated position.
Straighten your spine, unclench your jaw and relax other muscles.
Close your eyes and inhale slowly through your nose. Follow this inhalation with a deep exhalation.
With each breath, notice how you feel throughout your body.
If you feel tense in certain areas, with each exhalation visualize stress and tension being released from your body.
Wherever you feel tensed, visualize sending breath to that part of your body.
Continue for as long as you like.
5. Adopt a healthier lifestyle
Make healthier changes both on and off work to feel better both mentally and physically. As we all know - A sound mind resides in a sound body.
A few tips to move towards a healthier lifestyle -
Eat well-balanced meals - Follow a proper routine and avoid skipping meals. Prefer fruit, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains instead of indulging in too many carbs, sugar or caffeine.
Get proper sleep - When under stress or anxiety, your body needs additional sleep and rest. Make sure that you’re well-rested and get enough sleep. Most experts recommend that adults get at least 7 hours of sleep per night.
Maintain an optimistic attitude- Focus on the good, beautiful, and positive aspects of life. Make an effort to replace negative thoughts with positive and happy ones. Appreciate and be grateful for the small, everyday blessings.
Stay Connected- Surround yourself with quality company and spend time with friends and family. Doing various activities together not only strengthens your bond but also makes you feel safer, secure and involved.
Escaping the clutches of anxiety and stress may seem like a daunting task but with proper guidance and care you can achieve both physical and mental wellness, leading to a state of optimum wellness.
Brahma Wellness
Brahma wellness believes that health is a multi-dimensional concept which is not only limited to paying attention towards being physically fit. We recognize that wellness stems from balance and not by merely perfecting the tangible aspects of our body.
Yoga, meditation, lifestyle re-hauling, and mental wellness are key components of our wellness programs. We believe that optimum wellness can only be achieved by creating balance and harmony between our physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
Our numerous services range from providing customized workplace wellness programs tailored according to the company’s requirements to wellness programs for individuals,
We also provide off-site wellness centers and holistic wellness retreats running under the care of wellness and healthcare experts dedicated to helping you reach de-stress and steer clear of anxiety.
Through Brahma Wellness, your mind, body and soul are all tended to in a comprehensive and integrated manner. Thus, enabling you to experience wellness on a deeper level that allows for a more optimistic, joyful and healthy way of living.