How to control anxiety, in 6 steps
Anxiety is behind many of the unpleasant experiences we experience on a day-to-day basis. Fear to speak in public, fear to fail in an examination, desire to return home after spending a lot of time in a place that we do not know ... The amount of contexts in which this psychological phenomenon lurks is very big.
So that, knowing how to control anxiety is something that can be very useful , since there are some strategies to achieve it that can be applied practically in any situation, and in a relatively simple way.
- Related article: "The 7 types of anxiety (causes and symptoms)"
How to control anxiety?
Anxiety is a state of activation of the nervous system that is oriented towards the anticipation of a danger, whether real or imaginary. Being something so general, it has a physiological aspect and a psychological aspect: in the first one there are phenomena such as tremors, sweating and acceleration of the pulse, and in the second there are phenomena such as the emotion of fear, the desire to avoid a stimulus aversive, and the difficulties in controlling emotional responses to a situation .
Now ... how can we control anxiety and make its effects muffled or even disappear? Let's see it
1. Eliminates binge eating due to anxiety
Many people fall into the trap of going to the refrigerator to stuff themselves with food every time they notice that the anxiety is becoming excessive.
This can be a very short-term solution, but it has a very damaging effect in the medium and long term. Why? Because you enter a dynamic of rewarding the appearance of episodes of anxiety. The body gets used to this busy emotional life and that, of course, is anything but healthy.
So, something as simple as setting clear limits with meal times can help a lot to stop fostering the appearance of anxiety.
2. Take care of yourself and do moderate sports
Many times we forget that anxiety is also connected to our self-esteem and self-concept. If we believe that we are insignificant beings and whenever we think of ourselves we concentrate only on our imperfections, obviously we will come to the conclusion that day to day is full of dangers for us, and that therefore we must always be alert.
Something as simple as practicing sports regularly, try to eat healthy and maintain good personal hygiene will make us feel better with ourselves . The results of this are surprising, and are usually noticed in a matter of a few days. If it changes the way we think about ourselves, our way of seeing the world also changes.
3. Practice breathing techniques
In many ways, our mood and our emotions depend in large part on the degree of activation of the nervous system. If oxygen is lacking, we will experience more stress, as our body will enter the alarm phase to find a solution to that situation. What happens is that part of that oxygen deficit may be due to how we breathe.
The breathing techniques help to get the most out of our lungs, and this allows us to obtain a significant advantage in the specific moments in which we feel too activated. In addition, the fact of offering us a simple exercise in which to focus attention helps us to lose sight of that unpleasant feeling of being overwhelmed by the need to do several tasks at once, something very typical of anxious contexts.
- Maybe you're interested: "The 4 types of breathing (and how to learn them in meditation)"
4. Leave what you are doing and go for a walk
Many times, anxiety is due to being surrounded by elements that remind us of something that worries us. Therefore, it is useful to disconnect, even for a few moments, then return with renewed strength.
When going for a walk, we have the possibility of finding new stimuli that demand our attention and that allow us to "refresh" the mind. Specifically, if you leave through completely unknown places, the references that evoke the memories linked to what concerns us will be much less abundant. In this sense, the environments in which nature prevails , like large fields or parks, have been especially effective against anxiety.
These phases in which the distraction predominates help to rest , and in this way we gain the power to change what worries us once we have returned to the routine.
5. Avoid caffeine
If you consume products with caffeine, such as coffee or certain cola drinks, you will be cheating. Remember that the distinction between body and mind is just a mirage, and many of the substances we consume habitually affect how we feel.Caffeine makes us prone to activate before stimuli to which we would not normally give much importance. Controlling anxiety is also achieved from the diet.
6. Sleep well
This condition is indispensable, since in a sleepy state it is very easy for everyday situations to overtake us . Sleeping well makes us much more prepared to face the day to day.
