So many of us suffer from anxiety and worry about upcoming events and our lives or work overall. We are often busy, stressed, and pushed to our max. It’s no wonder that we start feeling really anxious!
This anxiety can affect our bodies, physically impacting our nervous, cadiovascular, or immune systems and even disturbing our quality of life. When faced with anxiety, we might experience headaches, increased heart rate, fatique, insomnia, or indigestion. For these reasons and more, it’s critical that we find ways to deal with anxiety when it occurs.
Here are 7 ways that you can reduce anxiety in any situation:
- Identify it and accept it. We can sometimes let our thoughts run away from us. We ruminate on the what-ifs and worst-case scenarios, or focus too heavily on something that we have very little to no control over. In those instances, it’s good to remind ourselves that we are just experiencing anxiety and that the situation is likely not as dire as we are making it out to be.
- Change your environment. One of my favorite things to do when I find myself getting anxious and overwhelmed is to change my physical location. This is particulary helpful if you work remotely and spend a lot of time at home. Mixing up your space can provide you with a fresh outlook and perspective, and get your thoughts moving in a less fearful direction. A change of environment also helps you relax and does wonders for your mindset.
- Come up with a mantra to talk yourself through it. This mantra doesn’t need to be anything overly fancy or complex. It can be something as simple as saying, “It’s going to be okay,” or “You can do this,” or “Don’t worry so much. You can handle it.” When you speak these words to yourself, you begin to disrupt negative thought patterns and view the situation from a more positive perspective.
- Get some fresh air and/or exercise. It never fails for me. When I start my pilates class every day, I have a million things racing through my mind. But, by the end of the class, I feel so much more relaxed and less stressed. I feel more energetic and confident too. The same things happens when I go outside and get some fresh air. These two activities are the perfect medicine to reduce anxiety. Try one or both and you’ll see.
- Discuss your feelings with a trusted friend. Often, it helps to just talk the situation out with a friend. They can give you a different perspective and help allay your fears. We often get so caught up in whatever is going on that we can’t zoom out and see the big picture.
- Slow down and breathe. When feeling anxious, take a pause. Close you eyes and take several deep breaths until you feel yourself starting to calm down and relax. This practice thwarts the anxious thoughts we are experiencing as we start to focus in on our breath and overall relaxation.
- Remind yourself that you’re okay. When you start to panic or imagine a bad outcome, remind yourself that it is all going to be okay, no matter what the outcome. If something bad happens, you’ll figure it out just like you have many times before. And, it might even turn out to be good. No matter what happens, you are going to be just fine, so don’t panic.