How to Reduce Anxiety in 5 Easy Steps

Anxiety is an emotion associated with fear and nervousness, and it develops into a disorder when such feelings are experienced irrationally. Symptoms of anxiety disorders include chest pains, sweating, hot flushes and nausea, amongst other. However, these symptoms are very common and are often overlooked or wrongly diagnosed as some other illness such as heart attacks.  

There are many different types of anxiety disorders, such as post trauma anxiety disorder, panic anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. If you suspect that you suffer from anxiety disorder, it is advisable to seek out a professional opinion and get treatment.

Below are some guidelines on how to reduce anxiety in 5 easy steps, but this is not meant as a cure or a treatment. Proper medical care should be sought, and these tips can be used in addition to help you to cope with anxiety attacks.

Step 1: Relaxation Techniques

Learning to relax your body will help you to combat the symptoms of anxiety attacks, such as racing heartbeat, sweating, tremors and muscle tension. Pick up techniques such as meditation or muscle relaxation, and use it to relax your body when you feel an anxiety attack coming along.

Step 2: Exercise

Exercising is always recommended for keeping your body fit and healthy. A healthy body will also have a positive effect on your psychological health, and will help you to maintain a healthy lifestyle. You should also ensure that you get sufficient rest for your body, and that you have a relaxed environment where you can get uninterrupted rest for your body to recuperate at night. 

Step 3: Balanced Diet

A balanced diet is essential to providing your body with the necessary nutrients needed to function optimally. Avoid taking in stimulants such as caffeine, or substances such as drugs, alcohol or cigarettes. These stimulants cause your heartbeat to speed up, and may trigger symptoms of your anxiety disorder.

Step 4: Seek Emotional Support

It is important to recognize that you have a problem, and not be afraid to seek help from your family and close ones. Share with them the cause of your anxiety disorder, as this will help them to assist and support you in recovering from anxiety disorders. If possible, you should see a professional for counseling to eliminate the root of your anxiety problem. Support groups are also a good alternative to share and learn from others who suffer from the same illness.

Step 5: Self Monitoring

You know yourself best, and this makes self monitoring a highly effective process. Once you have identified the cause of your anxiety attacks, look out for the triggers that cause an attack to occur. This will help you to look for alternatives or solutions to avoid or solve possible situations which will trigger an attack.