It’s another day, and you can’t help but feel on edge. The day was stressful. You couldn’t help but worry about everything on your to-do list that you had to do at work and home. Your mind can’t stop looking at the future and asking, “What if..?” You’re exhausted, and yet you can’t seem to sleep at night. Your heart is racing, and you feel clammy. It’s another day, and you can’t help but feel frustrated by anxiety.
This is the reality of millions of people struggling with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). It is far more than being momentarily stressed out. It’s a ghost that won’t leave your side yet is invisible to the rest of the world.
If you are tired of dealing with anxiety, know you can find ways to manage your symptoms. Often, with anxiety, it will just be a matter of finding what works best for you.
3 Ways To Deal With Anxiety
1. Grounding Techniques
When your brain goes into overdrive, it can be hard to reel it back in. However, a great tip is to use your brain to distract your brain! What we mean by this is when your anxiety gets really bad, you can use grounding techniques to force your brain to focus on something other than your negative thoughts. A great grounding exercise to try is to identify the following:
- Five things you can see
- Four things you can hear
- Three things you can touch
- Two things you can smell
- One thing you taste
Going through this exercise takes a long enough period that by the time you are done, you will be distracted enough that the impact of the thought won’t be as great.
2. Journaling
We are human, and we keep things inside. We have a hard time admitting that we are struggling and telling other people. Because of this, we ruminate on our thoughts, and they stay stuck inside. A great way to counteract this is through journaling. Journaling can be as simple as writing it on a piece of paper or your favorite note-taking app.
If you are excessively worrying about something, counteract those thoughts. If you think, “I am going to make a fool of myself at this job interview,” counteract it with, “What evidence do I have of this happening?” Writing down your anxieties can help you release them into the world; thus, they won’t affect you as much. It sounds simple, but it is definitely true.
3. Breathing techniques
One of the hallmark traits of anxiety is altered or rapid breathing. This happens because your nervous system becomes activated and in a state of high alert. While your nervous system can affect your breathing, you can use your breath to calm your “nervous” nervous system down!
There are a variety of YouTube videos or streaming music platforms with relaxing and guided deep breathing exercises that you can follow along to. This could be the perfect solution to deal with your symptoms when you need a quick and easy way to calm yourself down.
4. Bonus Tip: Counseling
We aren’t biased when we tell you how important therapy is. More people have realized the importance of caring for one’s mental health. Anxiety is one of the most common yet highly treatable mood disorders that people deal with. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you need extra support for your anxiety.
If you are ready to learn more techniques that can be effective for you in dealing with anxiety, don’t hesitate to reach out to learn more about anxiety therapy. Together, we can help you regain control over your anxiety so it doesn’t have to define your day anymore.
