In any given year, 1 in 5 Canadians experiences mental illness, including anxiety. While it’s only normal to be anxious from time to time, some people live with an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders range from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) to panic disorder—and this is when things must be taken more seriously.
If you suffer from anxiety disorder, it’s crucial to look into techniques to help manage or reduce feelings of anxiety, such as medication or talk therapy. Still, other ways can help reduce your stress and anxiety. Check out these tips to help relax your mind when you feel like it’s about to get out of control:
1. Stay in the Present
The good thing about an anxiety attack is most of the time, you will feel it coming. When you do, that’s the time you ground yourself to the present moment. You can do this by simply focusing and counting your breaths for a few minutes. By doing so, it will help you be in the present moment.
You can also ask yourself questions when you feel anxiety about to rear its ugly head, such as, “what’s happening right now?”, “Am I safe?”, these questions will help you stay in the present moment and assess the situation; therefore, it will put you in a more rational state of mind.
2. Assess Your Thoughts
Individuals who suffer from anxiety often think of worst-case scenarios, which causes them to feel “unnecessarily” anxious. Fight this off by evaluating your thoughts and assessing whether they’re realistic. Get into the habit of rethinking your fears, which will help train your brain to become more rational.
3. Try the 3-3-3 Rule
When you’re in the moment of anxiety, another effective way to fight it off is the 3-3-3 rule. The technique helps you stay in the present moment by looking around and naming three things you see. After that, you need to name three sounds you hear, and the last is to move three parts of your body. Do this every time you feel like your brain is going on hyperdrive.
4. Do Something
When you’re feeling anxious, you might be tempted to just lie down there and do nothing at all. Don’t. Instead, do something—stand up, take a walk, etc. Take any action that can help interrupt your train of thoughts; in turn, this will help you regain a sense of control.
5. Watch Something Funny
This is one of the easiest techniques you can do. When you feel anxious, it would be helpful to tune into funny clips to take your mind off of things. Also, laughter is one of the best natural remedies for anxiety. Humour can help lower anxiety as much as exercise can. So, laugh!
Dealing with anxiety isn’t the easiest thing to do, but it can be done with discipline and determination.
6. Get on a Wellness Program
Lifestyle changes are an effective way to combat anxiety. Fortunately, you can get into a wellness program to help you make changes to your lifestyle that will help you fight off your anxiety. Moreover, this will help determine the best support for the treatment of your anxiety.
Get on a wellness program in Surrey, BC here at Health Optimizing Langley. Our wellness programs can aid in the treatment of various conditions, such as anxiety. Book your appointment today!
