The post is developed in partnership with BetterHelp.
Living with anxiety can be incredibly challenging. It can interfere with your daily life and make it hard to reach your goals. However, with the right coping strategies and treatment plan, it’s possible to get relief from your anxiety symptoms.
In this article, we’re taking a closer look at anxiety, including what it is and its symptoms. Then, we’ll share seven common coping strategies to try if you’re living with anxiety. By the end of the article, you should feel armed with new tools to help you tackle and calm your anxiety.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a body’s natural response to stress or danger, characterized by feelings of worry, nervousness, or fear. It’s part of the body’s “fight or flight” reaction, and it prepares us to respond to potential threats. However, when these feelings become constant, overwhelming, and impact daily life, it may indicate an anxiety disorder.
Living with an anxiety disorder is like having an alarm system in your mind that’s a little too eager to warn you about danger. For people experiencing anxiety, this internal alarm can go off frequently, sometimes without any clear reason, making them feel worried, nervous, or afraid in situations where most people wouldn’t feel threatened.
Symptoms of an anxiety disorder include:
• Difficulty concentrating
• Nervousness
• Restlessness
• Heart palpitations
• Nausea
• Sweating
• Constant worry
• Shaking
• Irritability
These symptoms can make it hard to live life normally and achieve daily tasks. It’s important to note that you may not experience all the symptoms listed above. In fact, you may have different symptoms entirely. Anxiety manifests differently in every person based on their life circumstances and the cause of their anxiety.
However, regardless of what symptoms are loudest for you, there are several strategies you can try to help calm your anxiety.
7 Strategies for Calming Anxiety
There’s no silver bullet for alleviating anxiety. However, there are several strategies that have been proven to help reduce anxiety symptoms for some people. Here are some of the most common strategies you may want to consider if you’re trying to calm your anxiety.
1. Practice relaxation techniques – Relaxation techniques like breathwork, progressive muscle relaxation, or grounding techniques can all be helpful tools for calming anxiety. They can be especially helpful in the middle of an anxiety attack or when you feel like your anxiety is high. Investigate several relaxation techniques and see which works best for you.
2. Adopt a healthy lifestyle – Diet, sleep, and exercise can all play a role in anxiety. For example, drinking heavy amounts of caffeine or not getting enough sleep at night can boost your anxiety level. As a result, it may be helpful to focus on improving your lifestyle to decrease your anxiety symptoms. You don’t have to make drastic changes or do everything at once. Instead, focus on making small changes and sticking to them for maximum results.
3. Get outside – Science has shown that exposure to nature can dramatically reduce anxiety. Just going outside for a few minutes every day and getting some natural rays from the sun can go a long way toward stabilizing your mood and emotions. To level up the results from the outdoors, consider grounding or taking a nature walk.
4. Practice mindfulness exercises – Mindfulness is simply the act of being present. Rather than worrying about what’s ahead or behind you, mindfulness practices aim to help you stay clearly focused on your current surroundings and circumstances. Examples of mindfulness techniques include meditation, breathwork, and yoga.
5. Turn to a Healthy Distraction – Sometimes, seeking a distraction can be helpful for calming down your anxiety. Consider turning your attention to a hobby, reading a book, or watching a television show to take your mind off of the things that are making you feel anxious. However, if you find yourself using distractions frequently, it could be a sign to reach out for support.
6. Consider counseling – Often, the best option is to contact a licensed counselor for support. They can look at your unique life circumstances, help you identify the root causes of your anxiety, and help create a treatment plan that works best for you. If you want to learn more about how counseling can help fear and anxiety, check out this resource from BetterHelp.
7. Try Medication – Sometimes, the best option for calming anxiety is through modern medicine. Today, there are several medicinal options that can help you find long-term and short-term relief. If you’re interested in trying medication for your anxiety, be sure to reach out to your doctor or therapist for support and guidance.
Takeaway
Ultimately, anxiety is an individual experience, and how it feels for one person can be different than how it feels for the next. The same can be said for calming anxiety. In other words, the calming techniques that work for someone may not always work for you. Often, the best approach is to try several methods to find which combination of coping strategies works best for your life.