Anxiety and Stress!!
At some point in life, everyone will experience some kind of anxiety. Life just offers that to us. For many people though, anxiety becomes the norm and controls a large portion of their lives. Stress and anxiety can be deadly if not addressed and treated.
If you suffer with anxiety, you might wonder: How can I manage this? Is medication the only option? Are there ways to naturally reduce anxiety?
I’m sure that you know that there are many ways to manage and reduce stress and anxiety in your life. I’d like to discuss this multi layered topic and what your own anxiety might be telling you. I can help arm you with some remedies that will help you the next time you feel your own anxiety coming on.
Think of your anxiety as a demon in your closet. It comes out whenever it feels like it and wreaks havoc on your life. It takes time and energy to fight this demon and put it back in the closet. Sometimes you get injuries or even death due to the carnage. But it is still in the closet!!!! Comes out at another time to beat on you some more. The trick is not to fight this demon but to face it, confront it, find out what the hell it wants and then CLEAN THE CLOSET OUT!!!!! Get rid of it so it doesn’t come back to torture you.
What is Anxiety?
To put it simply, anxiety is your bodies reaction to stress and fear. It will present both physically and mentally. It is your normal, built in response, to FEAR. Have you ever heard of “fight or flight” response? It is your bodies way to prepare to fight or to run from whatever you are facing. You feel this when you are threatened, maybe when a large thunder or lightening strike or for me, an earthquake. Sudden racing of the heart and rapid breathing and feelings of “Oh my gosh, what the heck just happened.? This is only supposed to be a temporary response to a stimulus but for some people, it is prolonged. If it lasts long enough and you get this feeling daily for long periods of time, the effects can be extremely detrimental to your health.
Anxiety usually requires a trigger that is different or specific to the person experiencing it. Common things that will cause anxiety are:
• Moving
• Starting a new job
• Changing schools
• College preparation
• An injury or illness
• Financial insecurity
• Getting married
• Going through a divorce
• Death of a friend or family member
• Toxic relationships
• Job dissatisfaction
• Having a baby
• Losing a baby
This is LIFE. The unpleasant part of life that many of us are completely powerless over and we have to power through. Life has a way of bringing you down if you don’t know how to manage the anxiety it causes and switch it to bring you UP.
Here are some ways to reduce stress and anxiety:
Proper Lifestyle medications can help tremendously with anxiety. Most of you have heard all of this before and tell yourself that you have tried it and “nothing works”. Well the trick is, to LET it work. Don’t tell yourself that NOTHING works. This is your anxiety controlling you. Find what works BEST and stick with it. Make it a LIFESTYLE that assists in bringing you to a less anxious state and build on it from there until anxiety is a problem of the past. Pay attention to the following recommendations:
• Exercise regularly – make this a priority
• Stop and smell the roses – take a walk, enjoy nature a little every day
• Meditate
• Start a garden
• Yoga and/or Pilates
• Regular massage
• Acupuncture
• Pay attention to your sleep hygiene.
• Good social interactions – non toxic – be aware of who is in your life and if they deserve to be there. Don’t allow other people to make you feel anxious.
• Find a higher power and BELIEVE that everything happens for a reason.
• Hypnotherapy
• Journaling
• Seek support from a health coach, a counselor or a therapist.
Many people drink or use drugs as a way to control anxiety. Never forget that mind altering substances are a TEMPORARY fix and that when the drugs or alcohol wear off, your anxiety comes back with a VENGEANCE. It will become a very viscous cycle if you allow this to continue. Seek help if this is you.
