Kaley Payne
If you have been struggling with anxiety, you might be looking for anything that helps. Maybe your anxiety comes and goes with specific events. Maybe your anxiety is there all the time, and it is hard to remember moment when it was not. Maybe you have dealt with anxiety for month or years. Maybe you just started dealing with anxiety. Whatever it is, you are probably looking for answers on how to feel better.
Everybody’s anxiety is different. The differences range from when anxiety is present, the severity of the anxiety, and even the symptoms of anxiety. Since so much of anxiety is unique to you, the way to help manage or decrease anxiety is also going to be unique to each person. Here are a couple of things you can try to help decrease your anxiety. But remember, each person is different. So, while one of these strategies might work for your friend, it might not work for you. Try out each of these strategies, and see which one helps you the most.
Exercise
Exercise is one of the few things actually proven to help reduce anxiety symptoms. If you exercise frequently it can help to decrease the severity of your anxiety symptoms, and can reduce the occurrence of anxiety. To have a long-term impact on reducing your anxiety, exercise should be done on a regular basis.
Exercise can be intimidating. Either not knowing where to start, or thinking you have to run a marathon, or start weight lifting. Well good news, exercise does not have to be scary or extreme. Exercise can be going on a walk, playing pickle ball, or even stretching. There are also ways to incorporate exercise into your daily life; such as parking a little further away or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. The goal of this exercise is not to break a world record or become a pro athlete; it is simply to get your body moving and release endorphins.
Breathing
Calm, deep breathing is the other proven way to help lower anxiety symptoms. Deep breathing helps to slow your heart rate back down to a normal, calm pace. Having a lower heart rate helps to reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety; heart palpitations, shaking, sweating, etc. There are a lot of deep breathing exercises online, and it might be helpful to pull up a video and follow that. One breathing technique to try is 4-7-8 breathing. You inhale through your nose for 4 seconds. Hold your breath for 7 seconds. Then, breathe out through your mouth for 8 seconds. Repeat this until you feel your heart slow back down to a normal speed.
Another breathing technique you can try is box breathing. Imagine breathing around a box. As you go up the first side of the box, breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds. As you go across the top of the box, hold your breath for 4 seconds. As you go down the third side of the box, breathe out through your mouth for 4 seconds. As you go across the last side of the box, hod your breath for 4 seconds. Repeat this until you feel your heart rate slow.
Talk it Out
Talking to a friend or someone you trust could be really helpful. Simply being able to share and verbalize what you are going through and what you are feeling, could provide you with a sense of peace and comfort. Being able to get your fears and worries out of your head can help free up space and might help you not think so much about it.
Friends and loved ones can also provide you with love and support through your anxiety. If they know what you are going through, they can try and be there for you. It always helps to feel like you are not alone, especially when you are dealing with something that can be so scary and overwhelming. And who knows, the person you talk to might also have anxiety or have dealt with anxiety in the past. People in your life might have other suggestions on what to try that has helped them in the past, or they can just be a shoulder to lean on when things get hard.
Anxiety is hard, and trying to manage it can be even harder. It is a process to figure out which technique or techniques work for you and your anxiety. Do not give up. There is something out there that will help, at least a little. Just keep trying new techniques, until you find one that works for you.