Anxiety can be a very debilitating condition for many people. Approximately 40 million adults are affected by an anxiety disorder. Over 42 billion dollars are spent annually by the United States to treat anxiety. The causes of anxiety conditions vary from individual to individual. Some of the common causes include chemical imbalances, genetic predisposition, traumatic life events and personality type. The condition is highly treatable with medication prescribed by a physician. However, there are also numerous other changes in diet and lifestyle that can help alleviate the condition. These milder forms of anxiety can often be lessened with positive lifestyle changes.
Control Worry: Worrying is a natural part of life. There are appropriate times to worry. If you have a reasonable concern that needs to be resolved quickly, sometimes a little worrying can motivate you into solving the issue. However, when worry becomes chronic and consumes your day, it is a problem. People who have anxiety often develop irrational levels of worry. They will imagine the worst possible scenarios. This becomes a drain on their physical and mental well being. Sleep can become difficult and anxiety levels will increase. There are ways to control your worrying if you wish to alleviate your anxiety.
First you need to understand yourself better. What is it that makes it so hard for you to stop worrying? Often anxiety makes a person rationalize that worrying will help them find the solution to their problem. It is a self destructive cycle that makes it hard to stop for fear that the problem will never go away. There is a level of needing to control every aspect of one's life when worry is so persistent. There are several cognitive methods you can use to help you get the worrying under control. Schedule worry time: Choose a specific time of the day that you will set aside to actually "worry" about whatever is bothering you. During this worry time which should be no more than 20-30 minutes, think about what's concerning you. Try to find solutions that are reasonable. Do not worry at other times of the day. If you find yourself doing so, remind yourself that you have a scheduled worry time to analyze these concerns. Soon you will automatically begin to worry less as you retrain your thought process in more productive and constructive ways. You will more than likely find resolutions to many of your problems this way.
Uncertainty is part of life: When you accept this truth of life, you can begin to ease your anxiety about needing to control everything. Most people with anxiety have a difficult time dealing with anything that is unpredictable in their lives. They seem to believe that worrying will help them to prevent anything out of the ordinary from occurring. This type of behavior leads to anxiety. You cannot enjoy living in the present because you are always worried about what might happen. Challenge Yourself: To help combat this behavior you can ask yourself questions. Identify what thoughts are causing you to feel fear. Ask yourself if there is a better way to look at this particular problem. How would you advise a friend who may have a similar problem? Is that how you are handling the problem yourself? These self help type questions will help you to identify patterns you may have developed in your thought process. These patterns can be changed with consistent effort on your part to develop more positive thinking.
Thought patterns that create anxiety: Certain thought patterns can contribute to anxiety. Over Generalizing: For example, let's say you did not get accepted into the university that you applied for. You criticize yourself. You believe you aren't intelligent and college is now out of the question. This is an example of over generalization. This is an "all or nothing" type approach to life and is very unhealthy. Life really is not black and white. There are many shades in between. Learn to not be so critical of yourself.
Live in The Present: When you worry you are concerned about the outcome of a future event. You can practice living in the present by first acknowledging these thoughts and feelings. Try to remain objective, like an observer and do not judge the behavior. Then try to relax and let the worries pass through your mind, visualizing them moving away from your mind. While doing this stay focused on the present moment, on your breathing, etc. This will help keep your mind focused in the present. This type of exercise can teach you to live more fully in the moment.
Good Support System: When you are dealing with anxiety you must be careful to associate with positive people who are not anxious as you are. Human behavior can be greatly influenced by those we surround ourselves with. Think about times that your mood was affected by the mood and behavior of others. Negative behavior creates tension in the environment. Of course we cannot always control our environment. Learn to set boundaries in relationships that are important to you but that may be emotionally draining. Find activities you are interested in and join local groups that participate in them. For example, you can join various sport clubs, reading, art or music appreciation associations. Finding people with similar interests is a positive experience and will help you to reinforce behavior that is not anxiety based. Anxiety can be a very serious problem. But clearly there are many ways to lessen the anxiety you may be experiencing through positive lifestyle changes. Remember whenever beginning any dietary or lifestyle changes, always consult with a medical professional, particularly if you are taking prescription drugs or suffer from any disease or ailment.
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Tina C. Loren
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