It isn’t hard to find information on managing intermittent anxiety — everyone experiences it from time to time. From regular exercise to improving your quality of sleep, there are a lot of things you can do to be proactive about anxiety and smoothing its onset. However, even with the best plans in place, you will still experience occasional anxiety. So, what do you do when anxiety hits?
Recognize the Feelings of Anxiety
First and foremost, try to take a step back and recognize when you are experiencing anxiety. The sooner you know you are feeling the onset of anxiety, the sooner you will be able to calm the anxious feelings. Increased heart rate, shortness of breath, muscle tightness, and racing thoughts, are some common items first felt when anxiety begins. These short-term feelings are often associated with relatively brief stress factors such as being late for work, or having a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time. Lower energy levels, restlessness, irritability and excessive worrying, are also common when dealing with intermittent anxiety.
What Causes Anxiety?
There are many triggers that can cause anxiety, such as lifestyle changes or unforeseen problems. The individual triggers that lead to anxiety will differ from person to person. It can significantly help to record when you are feeling anxious and why so you can determine your individual triggers. That will help you learn how to deal with anxiety that is specific to you. Please note, it’s important to consult a doctor if your anxiety persists without a rational explanation, as you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder versus occasional anxiety. If you believe that you may have an actual anxiety disorder then please do not simply follow information on the internet, as it is imperative that you have the guidance of a qualified medical professional who can also evaluate your medical history.
Learn to Control Your Body
Once you can recognize the feelings of anxiety, you can begin to work on controlling your body’s reactions to the anxiety. Remember, anxiety isn’t just “in your head.” Anxiety is also very much a reaction to stress. Your body remains stressed while your heartrate and breathing are increased. Tension in your muscles also signals a stressful situation to your body. By countering the physical reactions, you will have more control over your anxiety.
The key is to teach your body to relax when anxiety begins to set in. Deep breathing and muscle relaxation exercises are very effective at calming anxiety. It is important to first practice these exercises while you are calm so you are familiar with the feeling when you need to use these methods in a stressful situation.
- Deep Breathing Exercise — Find a chair that allows you to sit comfortably, with your feet on the ground. Lean back slightly until you are able to comfortably place the palms of your hands on your stomach. Concentrate on taking deep slow breaths. Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. Focus on pushing the air with your abdomen, not your chest. You should be able to see your hands moving up and down. Remember this feeling of calmness.
- Muscle Relaxation Exercises — Find a chair that allows you to sit comfortably, with your feet on the group. Focus on relaxing your muscles as you sit, until you feel “limp.” Remain in this position for 15 seconds. While remaining relaxed, hold your right arm out parallel to the floor and point your fingers towards the ceiling. Hold the tension for 5 seconds. Relax for 10 seconds. Repeat with your right arm. Continue similar exercises with your shoulders, back, neck, and legs. Focus on tensing one muscle at a time. Hold the tension for 5 seconds, and relax for 10 seconds. Remember this feeling of calmness.
Find What Relaxes You
Relaxation of the mind is also very important to calming anxiety. What relaxes you after a long day? What makes you happy? What helps you sleep? Create a list. Many people find physical activities, like swimming or taking a long walk outside, relaxing. Others may prefer reading, music, or soaking in a bath. We all have activities we enjoy that naturally calm us on a day to day basis. Often people forget about simple activities they love because they associate them with feelings of calmness, not stress. However, these are perfect ways to calm anxiety because you are already familiar with how calm they make you feel—focusing on that feeling, and not the anxiety. In addition, it’s important to keep things in perspective and realize what’s truly important in life by setting aside some time for yourself each day to do whatever makes you happy. This will naturally begin to calm you and improve even the most stressful areas of your life.
Supplements for Anxiety
Supplements are a great way to help calm intermittent anxiety. Top scientific journals, ranging from The Nutritional Journal to the National Institute of Health, have published significant amounts of research and studies on various supplement ingredients. These ingredients can relieve intermittent anxiety, restlessness, irritability, occasional sleeplessness, along with many other excellent benefits. Some of the well-known supplements are magnolia bark, kava kava, passionflower, DL-Phenylalanine, melatonin, lemon balm, Asian ginseng, gotu kola, chamomile, valerian root, and many others.
Fortunately, there are also supplements on the market today, which offer combinations of ingredients for managing intermittent anxiety. The Elimidrol supplements have become a popular choice with scientifically formulated ingredients and dosages. Elimidrol Daytime & Elimidrol Nighttime Formulas provide relief for intermittent anxiety, irritability, and restlessness, while also enhancing your overall mood. Experiment and find what works best for you.
How to Deal with Anxiety
It is important to recognize your feelings of anxiety and find ways to calm the episodes experienced from time to time. Learning strategies to counter your body’s reaction to anxiety will give you more control—supplements and relaxation exercises are a great start to gaining that control!
