Self Help For Anxiety

Are your anxiety levels rising? Do you catch yourself worrying for no reason?  Do you think your fretting is increasing beyond what it used to be? If you’ve said yes to even one of these questions, you need to make sure you read on carefully.

Worrying, in itself, isn’t bad. It is no way the enemy. In fact worry is a good companion to have as it helps one solve problems and motivates one to take action. Nevertheless, when you begin to worry excessively and find your energy being drained away by anxiety and stress, it is then you need to realize you have a problem.

Like most others who’ve been through the same process before you will tell you, stopping worrying abruptly is just not possible. Chronic worriers keep up their fretting due to both negative and positive triggers. On the one hand they feel that worrying helps them prepare for the worst (positive), while on the other hand they worry about their increased worrying (negative) – quite the irony. It is important that one understand that worrying and anxiety are not the solution, but rather they are the problem which is eating up most of the day. To quote and old saying, ‘worrying is like a rocking chair – it gives you something to do, but doesn’t really get you anywhere’.

Once you do get your mind to believe in this statement, you can then make use of various self-help techniques which will bring down your anxiety and worrying. Among the first things you should do is to accept uncertainty and learn how to tolerate it. Alternatively, to plan for uncertainty, give yourself worrying periods - instead of worrying the whole day, you give yourself allotted time to mull over or worry about the future, the kids, the mortgage, or whatever it is that you so desperately need to fret over.

To fight back worrying caused by fear, challenge negative thoughts in the sense that you logically break them down in your mind and critically analyze what danger the thing could pose to you. Alternatively, you could learn how to relax. Relaxation, in the form of meditation and muscle relaxation, will allow you to calm your nerves as well as help reduce your anxiety.

Lastly, you should keep a check on your health. Maintain healthy eating habits and exercise regularly. Also keep in mind that there is no substitute for good sleep; hence make sure you are getting at least eight hours of shuteye every night.