Guest post by David Wilson of happylifeguru.com.Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults in the US age 18 and older. That's 18% of the population! If you are one of the millions of people who suffer from anxiety attacks, you know how debilitating they can be. Anxiety is often not associated with happiness, but it plays a significant role. This is why the Happiness Index includes a question about anxiety alongside the question about how happy you feel. Medically, anxiety is has a similar impact on the mind and body as depression, and can be thought of as form of depression when chronic. In this blog post, we will discuss 10 effective ways to get rid of anxiety attacks and live a happier life! Number 1: Accept the feelingsThe first step to getting rid of anxiety is to accept the feelings. Anxiety is a normal emotion that everyone experiences at some point in their life. It's important to remember that you are not the only person who feels this way. There is nothing bad about anxiety. We sometimes need anxiety to prepare our bodies for a stressful situation, but sometimes we have too much anxiety, whether because of too many things in life that are stressful or a past trauma causes ongoing anxiety, and then anxiety can be debilitating and harmful to your health. This happens also when anxiety is chronic. When anxiety gets bad once it starts to interfere with our daily lives, our happiness and health. That's when it becomes a problem. Number 2: Don't try to control everythingThe second way to get rid of anxiety is to stop trying to control everything. We can't control everything in our life, no matter how hard we try. This is something that we need to accept. Trying to control everything is a major cause of anxiety. It's important to learn to let go and accept that some things are out of your control. This tip can be particularly useful when you feel anxiety because of a lot of things, or a life-changing event, that are not in your direct control, such as the loss of a job or relationship, moving, the death of a loved one, or other circumstances and situations. Number 3: Avoid drugs and alcoholThe third way to get rid of anxiety is to avoid recreational drugs and alcohol. Drugs and alcohol can actually make anxiety worse. They can also lead to other problems, such as addiction, which can contribute to anxiety. Avoiding recreational drugs and alcohol if you suffer from anxiety can be very hard, because you may feel relief from your anxiety when you have a smoke, hit or drink. The problem is that once you are no longer high or tipsy, the anxiety comes right back, and when it is chronic, it can get worse and worse over time This is how recreational drugs or alcohol can make a problem worse. There are medications that can be very helpful in managing anxiety that your doctor can prescribe. Medications give your body - and your mind- a break from anxiety. They are particularly helpful in conjunction with talk therapy, which helps to understand the root cause of your anxiety and find ways to resolve it. Sometimes, as in the case of past trauma, this is talk therapy. Sometimes, as in the case of over-working or a bad boss, this is making a life change. Number 4: Get rid of negative thoughtsThe fourth way to get rid of anxiety is to get rid of negative thoughts. Chronic anxiety can cause a feedback loop that causes more anxiety and lots of negative thinking y. If you can learn to change your thinking, you can change your anxiety. Learning how to change your thinking often takes understanding why you are thinking a certain way and a lot of awareness of your own thoughts, Mindfulness can be a very helpful way to develop awareness of your thoughts, and talk therapy can be helpful in understanding why you thing the things you do, Negative thoughts are usually based on fears and other negative feelings.. When you talk about your feelings, they become clearer to you, and when you do not talk about them, the thought that fuel them can become exaggerated and then the feelings grow. Sustainably replacing negative thoughts with positive ones without awareness of when negative thoughts arise combined with compassionate understanding of why they arise is often not possible. NOTE: If you have thoughts about suicide, contact a crisis line or call 911. Number 5: Change your lifestyle habitsThe fifth way to get rid of anxiety is to change your lifestyle habits. Unhealthy lifestyle habits can make anxiety worse. This includes things like poor diet, lack of exercise, and not getting enough sleep. It's important to make sure that you are living a healthy lifestyle if you want to reduce your anxiety. Eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep are all important. The most profoundly important thing you can do is get enough sleep. If you suffer from insomnia (not being able to get to sleep, or waking up too early and not being able to get back to sleep - the latter of which is often called stress anxiety), medical interventions can be a tremendously helpful, Your doctor can help you find a medication that you can use for a period of time that is not addictive. Another profoundly helpful habit is to get 15 minutes of cardiovascular exercise a day. You can join friends and go for a run, or just go for a walk in the nature. Just enjoy moving your body. Number 6: Seek professional helpThe sixth way to get rid of anxiety is to seek professional help. If you find that your anxiety is interfering with your daily life, it's important to seek help from a mental health professional. There are many different types of treatment available for anxiety. Talk therapy is where you talk about your feelings, thoughts, dreams and reflections to gain insight and develop awareness. An important aspect of talk therapy is the therapeutic relationship, which gives you the experience of a healthy caring relationship, It is important to find a therapist whom you trust and does not judge you, and you feel likes you. With the changes in the healthcare system due to Covid, there are more talk therapists available online. Mindfulness is another powerful intervention, whereby you develop awareness of and insight about your feelings, thoughts and patterns, as well as compassion for yourself. There are many different resources for learning mindfulness online, The trick is to find the one that best suits you. Some talk therapist integrate mindfulness into their therapy too, Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can be anie t effective treatment in combination with talk therapy and mindfulness. CBT can help you to change the way you think about anxiety and how you react to it. Number 7: Take Care of YourselfThe seventh way to get rid of anxiety is to take care of yourself. This includes things like eating a healthy diet, getting enough exercise, and getting enough sleep. It's also important to find ways to relax and de-stress. Self care is crucial for a happy life, yet something many people put last, particularly if they value helping others. Putting yourself last can cause anxiety in the long run, and leaves you less able to help others. Self care is not selfish, it is actually generous. Do a wellness day and just live life a little bit. There are many different things that you can do to take care of yourself. Find what works for you and make sure to do it on a regular basis. Number 8: Connect with othersThe eighth way to get rid of anxiety is to connect with others. Social support is one of the most important things for all people whether plagued by anxiety or not because humans are evolutionarily designed to need other people. Connecting with others can help you to feel less alone and more supported. Make sure to spend time with friends and family who are loving and supportive to you, and to whom you are loving and supportive to. You can also join a support group, such as Al-Anon (which is for people who have problems with codependency, or see a therapist. Number 9: Practice Relaxation TechniquesThe ninth way to get rid of anxiety is to practice relaxation techniques. This includes things like deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and visualization. Mindfulness, yoga, dancing, playing sports, singing, walking, hiking, boating, fishing and other activities can be helpful to relaxation. You can find lots of resources for yoga and other activities online - on YouTube and other sites. Relaxation techniques can help you to feel more relaxed and less anxious. They can also help you to sleep better. These nine tips are just a few of ways to alleviate anxiety. The best ways for you to alleviate your anxiety is based on your preferences, genetics, life circumstances, and is unique to you. Try out different things and see what works for you. Remember, it is always a good idea to seek professional help if you find that your anxiety is interfering with your daily life. You can talk to your doctor and/or find a therapist. We hope you liked this blog post. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Thanks for reading!
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Grief comes from many sources - the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, the breakup of a relationship, realizing a truth that you wish were different, a traumatic experience - and it also has many manifestations. There is grief that never or barely shows up in tears. This type of grief that can hum along, barely noticeable but most always there, tinting your world a little greyer. This grief stuck in denial can last for years, and a person can get so used to it they do not notice, and they may even suppress or repress the source of their grief, convincing themselves it is resolved because it is in the past or few tears were cried. A person can come to believe that they have a sadness to their nature, when in actuality, they have a grief they have not processed. On the other side of the spectrum is the kind of grief that sweeps over a person and has them sobbing, howling, and keening. This kind of grief is immediate, visible and visceral. A person with this kind of grief has moments or even hours and days where they may function, but the tears and sobs come back. Another manifestation of grief is an irritability or even anger that comes up too easily or in disproportionate response to a situation. A person with this kind of grief may lash out at loved ones or strangers for whom they actually bore no resentment. They may not respond with much feeling to the source of their grief, but with great resentment or fury at other things. While there are commonalities in the sources and kinds of grief, each person is unique and each person experiences a kind of grief when they lose something that is unique to them.
Some of the manifestations of grief can be physical and others psychological, but all affect your health and happiness. Manifestations of grief can be:
These are just some of the manifestations of grief. Grief is not just a psychological thing. It has implications for your physical body too.The best treatment for grief is to process your grief, but that is not always easy in part because processing grief takes lots of talking about your feelings and often this takes time and patience with yourself. Sometimes it is important to treat the physical manifestations so you can process your grief, but most of the time the physical and psychological are intertwined. Some things you can do to begin the process of processing your grief are:
Medicine can also help with insomnia and other aspects of grief. The most important thing for processing your grief is to feel your feelings and talk about your feelings, thoughts, regrets and reflections with someone who listens without judgment and with compassion to you, someone who is not trying to fix you or resolve your problem but will be there for you as you process your grief. A good friend, your doctor, a sponsor, and a therapist can be good people to talk to. |
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