A lot of people will experience some form of anxiety in their lives, and occasional bouts of it can be considered normal. However, if you feel like anxiety is beginning to disrupt your life and make it difficult for you to do everyday tasks, then you will need to address the problem. How to prevent anxiety? Here are some tips to manage it.
What Are the Symptoms of Anxiety?
Anxiety causes the feeling of being fearful or nervous. Some feelings of fear may include a sense of doom, panic, or danger. Additionally, people can feel tense or restless.
Although, anxiety can be more than simply a feeling of fear or nervousness. A person can hyperventilate, which means he or she will start breathing rapidly, along with an increased heart rate that can often accompany an anxiety attack. A person may also begin to sweat or tremble.
Anxiety can take a toll on a person’s body because it can make them feel weak or tired. It can make it hard for a person to go to sleep or have a peaceful night. It can also make it hard for a person to think or concentrate on things other than what they are worried about.
What Are the Risks of Anxiety?
Untreated anxiety can cause many issues in people. For instance, people can get depression from anxiety, which can also lead to suicidal thoughts and behavior. More often than not, it is hard for people to tell the difference between anxiety and depression since the symptoms are similar, such as insomnia, agitation, anxiousness, etc.
There are studies being done that focus on the connection between mental health and addiction. For instance, 40% of all cigarettes and 38% of all alcohol are consumed by people with a mental illness, such as depression or anxiety.
It would be best to get professional help to understand how to prevent or relieve your anxiety, instead of turning to substances that can harm you.
Additionally, there is a higher chance of you getting certain illnesses if you have an anxiety disorder. When you have anxiety, it can lead to chronic stress, which, in turn, can weaken your immune system. When your immune system is weak, you become more prone to infections like flu, colds, etc.
How Can I Prevent Anxiety?
Caffeine is notorious for potentially worsening symptoms or causing anxiety. Therefore, reducing or even omitting caffeine from your diet can help you prevent anxiety.
For most healthy adults, the recommended caffeine limit is 400 mg a day. This would be equal to about 4 cups of coffee. However, it is important to remember that each drink will vary in caffeine content.
If you want to decrease or omit caffeine from your diet, keep in mind that many beverages contain caffeine. For instance, many sodas and teas, such as black tea, have caffeine.
It is also important to note that some people can be very sensitive to caffeine. So 1 cup of regular brewed coffee can make them feel anxious and jittery. If that is the case for you, it may be best for you to omit caffeine.
Identifying your triggers can also be a great way to help you with your anxiety. For instance, if you notice that coffee makes you more anxious, you can lessen or eliminate your caffeine consumption.
However, it can be hard to avoid certain triggers constantly. For instance, social gatherings may make you feel anxious, but you may have to go to some of them. Therefore, trying out a few helpful coping mechanisms could help you prevent anxiety.
What Are Coping Mechanisms?
Coping mechanisms are ways that people use to manage internal or external stress. Every person will have a preference to a certain kind of coping mechanism to prevent and manage their anxiety. So, there are many healthy coping mechanisms that you can try.
Do what you enjoy
For instance, some people like to distract themselves for a while by doing something that they enjoy. Some examples of that would be listening to music for an hour, playing a game, watching a TV show, etc.
Meditation
An effective method that can help you alleviate symptoms of anxiety is meditation. Meditation can help you clear your mind and focus on the present, which can be helpful in reducing anticipatory anxiety and worry.
Practicing mindful meditation regularly can also be helpful in long-term anxiety management. Studies show that meditation can help improve stress reactivity.
Exercise
Another fantastic way to get rid of jitters that may come from anxiety is exercise. It can keep your mind off of what is making you feel anxious because you are focusing on something else.
If you are not naturally athletic, you can try low-impact exercises. Simply jogging for 15-20 minutes or walking for half an hour regularly can help you release your anxiety and help you focus on your body instead of your mind.
Do I Need to Seek Professional Help?
It would be a good idea to seek therapy to help manage your stress and anxiety from a professional. While there are some tips that you can follow, more serious cases of anxiety can only be addressed properly through guidance.
A professional can help you if you feel like your anxiety is interfering with your relationships, work, and everyday life. You should take care of your mental health, and try not to entertain ones’ own suicidal thoughts and behavior. But if it cannot be helped, seek professional help and guidance.
Additionally, professional help could be helpful if you think your anxiety is coming from a physical health problem.
Key Takeaways
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