8 Tools to Keep Anxiety From Taking Over Your Life
Anxiety is an awful disease. It can creep up on you at any time and turn your world upside down. Being anxious can prevent you from enjoying life, being present with friends and family, or relaxing and sleeping soundly at night. Here are 8 tools you can use to keep anxiety at bay:
1. Journaling
You might think of journaling as something you do in high school or college, but it's actually a great way to help you deal with the stress and anxiety that comes with adulthood.
Journaling can help you get perspective on what's happening in your life right now, but also allow you to look back on those moments in the past where you felt like things were out of your control.
When you write down your thoughts and feelings, it helps organize them so they don't overwhelm you. Plus, writing them down makes them feel more real than just thinking about them—which is especially helpful if you're having trouble believing in yourself or trusting your own judgment!
More importantly, journaling can help reduce stress by giving yourself a chance to step back from whatever situation is causing it and gain some perspective on how big or small it actually is.
2. Breathing exercises
Breathing exercises are a great way to cultivate mindfulness and relaxation, which are both important for keeping anxiety from taking over your life. This practice can help you slow down, focus on the present moment, and enjoy the beautiful things around you. This can also help you feel more relaxed, peaceful, and in control of situations that might otherwise cause anxiety.
Breathing exercises can help you develop a regular meditation practice that allows you to relax when necessary and clear your mind when it gets cluttered with thoughts about the future or regrets about the past. To help you do this, here are the examples of breathing exercises:
Deep breathing- Deep breathing can help calm your body and mind. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth slowly until you feel calm. Count to 5 on the inhale and count to 5 on the exhale for about 10 minutes.
Belly breathing- Belly breathing is similar to deep breathing; however, it targets your diaphragm instead of your chest. Your belly should rise as you inhale and fall as you exhale. Practice this type of breathing for 10 minutes or more each day until it becomes easier to do at any time.
Square breath- Square breath is another form of belly breathing where you inhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds and repeat until 10 minutes has passed or until your anxiety calms down a bit more than usual after doing this exercise several times over several days or weeks.
3. Meditation
One thing that meditation helps with is taking your mind off things. When you meditate, you are focusing on something else—like your breathing or a mantra—and this gives your brain a break from processing emotions and other thoughts. This is especially helpful when you're feeling stressed out or overwhelmed by anxiety because it provides an outlet for those emotions so they don't keep building up until they become overwhelming or unmanageable.
Another way that meditation helps deal with anxiety is by improving focus and attention span. Many people report that after beginning a regular meditation practice, they notice that they're able to focus better at work or school. In turn, this makes them more productive overall in their lives which lessens stress levels as well!
4. Yoga
Yoga is a tool to keep anxiety from taking over your life.
I'm not going to say that it will cure anxiety or even make it disappear completely. But what I will say is that it can help you manage it so that you can lead a more balanced life, and if you're not already doing yoga, maybe this should be the year that you start.
Yoga has been around for centuries and has been practiced in India since ancient times. It is not only about physical poses and stretching, but also about spiritual well-being and developing self-awareness, which makes it a great tool for anyone who's suffering from anxiety or depression.
The practice of yoga requires you to focus on your breath as well as on your body movements. This helps calm down the nervous system and helps us feel more calm and relaxed both physically and mentally. Yoga also helps us connect better with our inner selves — something we all need when stress levels are high.
In addition, yoga encourages us to be kinder towards ourselves by being present in every moment of our lives instead of thinking about the past or worrying about the future all of the time — something that many people with anxiety struggle with on a daily basis.
5. Try aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils for healing. It's been around for thousands of years, but has grown in popularity in recent years.
As we've seen from the many studies on the benefits of essential oils, they have a powerful effect on our mind and body. In fact, they can help you manage anxiety and stress levels — which can be especially helpful during times like exams or when you're feeling anxious about an upcoming event.
Essential oils are natural products that are extracted from plants, flowers and trees and then distilled into alcohol-based solutions. These solutions can then be used to create various kinds of products — including soaps, perfumes and lotions — as well as being inhaled directly from the bottle or diffuser.
There are many different types of essential oils available today, but some of the most popular ones include lavender, chamomile, bergamot and frankincense. Each one has its own unique properties and aroma that can help promote relaxation and calmness in your body.
6. Practicing self-compassion
If you're feeling anxious, or if you're in the throes of an anxiety attack, it can be hard to see past the feeling of impending doom and do something about it. But practicing self-compassion is a way to get through those moments, and help yourself feel better.
What is self-compassion? It's being kind to yourself when you're struggling or going through a hard time. You might think that sounds like giving yourself permission to be lazy or give up on things, but it's not! It means taking time for yourself and doing things that make you feel good—whether that's treating yourself to a bubble bath or taking a walk in nature.
Why should you practice self-compassion? When you are experiencing anxiety, it can feel like there is no end in sight. But practicing self-compassion helps you get past that moment of panic and back into your life again. You start by noticing what you really need right now: maybe a good cry or a break. Whatever it is, self-compassion means being kind and patient with yourself.
7. Talking with friends
When you're feeling anxious, it's easy to start isolating yourself. We all have our moments—sometimes the world feels like too much to handle, and we need time to process what's going on in our minds and bodies. But your friends are there for you when you need them, especially when it comes to managing anxiety.
Talking with friends is one of the best tools for managing anxiety because it helps you take back control of your life. When you're feeling overwhelmed, talking with friends can help remind you that there are other people out there who understand what you're going through, which can make all the difference in how you feel about yourself and how much control over your emotions and actions you actually have.
It also helps remind you that there are other people who care about how you feel—and they want to hear about it! More importantly, talking with friends can be a great way to get some perspective on whatever it is that's bothering us so much right now.
8. Listen to music
Music therapy has been used for years as a way to reduce anxiety levels. The idea behind this therapy is that listening to certain types of music can help you relax and reduce your stress levels. Studies have shown that music can have a calming effect on people during stressful situations, such as surgery or even childbirth!
In addition to reducing anxiety levels, studies have also shown that listening to soothing music may actually help you sleep better at night. This could be because the music distracts your mind from all the thoughts racing through it. When these thoughts are playing over and over again in our heads all day long it can cause stress and anxiety which interferes with our ability to fall asleep at night.
So if you catch yourself being overwhelmed by negative thoughts or you’re having a panic attack, don’t hesitate to listen to music.
Whether you're feeling overwhelmed by your daily life or are facing an upcoming event that has you stressed, these tools can help. They'll keep you from stressing about the everyday and allow you to deal with life as it comes your way. We hope they inspire you to take control of your life and face the future with confidence.
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