It’s 3 a.m., and you need to be well rested for a big day at the office tomorrow. So why are you still awake, then? Why are you watching the mi...
It’s 3 a.m.,
and you need to be well rested for a big day at the office tomorrow.
So why are you still awake, then? Why are you watching the minutes tick by on your alarm clock?
The worrisome thoughts began to trickle in a few minutes earlier, and now they’re all roaring at you all at once – mental checklists, endless to-do lists, and rhetorical questions about could go wrong tomorrow (or the next day) – a deluge of thoughts all piled on top of one another in a giant tangle.
You toss and turn in your bed, but nothing you do helps you relax. Hands sweating, that tightness still squeezing your chest and not letting go, you slump down into your pillow and resign yourself to another poor night’s sleep.
Hundreds of millions of people struggle with anxiety, and the saddest thing about that is how many of them don’t have any idea how to handle it. One of the most frustrating parts about anxiety is its sporadic nature; you can be getting along just fine, and before you realize what’s happening those unwanted thoughts start to run circles in your head. Because so many victims feel powerless against these moments, they lean on “emotional band aids” – binge eating, reality television, or more serious issues like substance abuse, to name a few – in order to lessen the effects and make themselves feel better.
Here are some tips how to get over anxiety when it shows up in your life:
Don’t try to fight anxious thoughts with logic. It’s common for people to attempt to face their unwanted thoughts using conscious thought exclusively. How often have you tried to wrest control of your runaway mind by trying to think the unwanted thoughts away? The huge downfall to this approach lies in its uneven match up: you’re pitting rational, logical thoughts against primal, emotional states. Simply accepting your anxious feelings, however counter-intuitive, frees up energy for you to focus your efforts on some of the more effective actions below.
Try conscious breathing exercises. Even something as basic as conscious breathing can alleviate tension and slow down a racing heart rate. Try 10 breaths with a 4-4-4 count (in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and out for 4 seconds). One caveat to remember: make sure the breaths come from your diaphragm (the bottom part of your chest) instead of your upper chest… that way they’ll be deeper. Conscious breathing seems straightforward enough, but when you’re in the middle of a bout of anxiety it’s the straightforward solutions that are often forgotten.
Indulge in simple pleasures. When it comes to melting your anxiety symptoms away, enjoying a warm bath complete with candles and scented bath salts is hard to top. For more mild anxious times, sometimes popping in your favorite comedy program or calling up an old friend is all you need to make the unwanted thoughts disappear.
Clear your mental inventory. Quick… grab a sheet of paper and scribble down every thought that’s swirling around in your mind. Don’t worry if what you’re writing seems ridiculous. The main thing is to get all of it out there on the page, because this separates you from your thoughts and allows you to view them objectively. To take this to the next step, review the page and cross out anything on the list related to things you can’t control. You’ll be amazed at how many you can find… and how easy you can let go of them.
Learning how to manage your anxious moments places you in a superior position compared to most people who deal with this mental health condition. But if you really want to overcome this problem for good, taking a holistic approach can help you identify and reverse the root cause of your anxiety problems without risking the side effects of dangerous pharmaceutical drugs.
