What Are Anxiety and Stress?
Feeling anxious on occasions is a very humanly thing and can be quite beneficial in certain situations as it alerts us and prepare us and make us more attentive. But the anxiety disorder is different from normal and mundane nervousness, and it is excessive and persistent worry and starts affecting normal day-to-day life. This anxiety often revolves around daily things like job performance, health, keeping up with people around, going for groceries, chores, or car repairs. It is one of the most common mental disorders, and 30 % of the adult population endures anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Although it is a treatable and manageable disorder and a person with anxiety can lead an everyday life after treatment.
Symptoms of Anxiety.
Anxiety includes the anticipation of the future as if worse is going to happen and the doom awaits. It is a reaction to the stress about certain situations. A person with anxiety starts to have muscle tensions and develops a behavior of avoidance. They will try to avoid the situations that are triggering to him, including going out, socializing. Schoolwork, relationship, financial situation, job performance, daily chores can become difficult to perform as they induce anxiety and stress. Anxiety disorder has many types, but social anxiety disorder is the most common. It causes anxiety and discomfort in a person about social interactions; they fear embarrassment, humiliation, rejection, being left alone and isolated, being looked down on and made fun of in social interaction. This stress and anxiety will cause people suffering from anxiety disorder to avoid social situations. If they end up in a social environment, they feel extensive fear of public speaking, eating, or drinking in public, meeting new people, so they try to avoid them. This sort of stress, fear, and anxiety makes daily life a bit dysfunctional and restless.
Some main symptom of anxiety disorder is an overpowering mixture of physical and psychological distress, addition following symptoms occur:
Pounding heart and increasing heart rate
Sweating and perspiration
Shaking hands and body
Chest pain
Nausea
A feeling of detachment from physical surrounding
Fear of losing control and dying
Numbness
Feeling dizzy, light-headed, or headaches
Coping With Anxiety and Stress.
Anxiety disorder is not impossible to manage, it can not only be managed, but a person can get treatment, learn coping mechanisms, and lead a normal and healthy life. The first thing is to deal with anxiety and stress is its diagnosis. Go to your doctor and find out if there is any physical problem that might be causing symptoms. Once the physical issues are eliminated, then find the diagnosis of mental disorder. After seeing that you have an anxiety disorder, seek professional help. There must not be any stigma around seeking professional help for your mental health. There are two main types of treatments that are proved very effective for the treatment of anxiety and stress; psychotherapy or "talk therapy" and medication. Psychotherapy and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) encourage the patient to talk. It helps them learn their own behavioral patterns, the root cause of their anxiety, stress, and fear, a new perspective to look at things and improve behavior and reaction patterns. The medication also helps to relieve the anxiety and stress, but it does not fully cure the problem and is more effective when used with therapy and self-help coping mechanisms.
Self-Help, Coping, Managing anxiety, and Stress.
Learning the techniques to manage stress and anxiety is important as they are more effective. Meditation is also very helpful, along with support groups, seeing a therapist, which provides opportunities to learn coping strategies.
Why not trying the 7 significant tips for coping with an anxiety disorder:
1. Physical activity:
Create a routine to stay physically active most days of the week. Go outdoors, go for a walk, exercise, start from lighter exercises and physical activity, gradually increase the time and intensity of activity. Physical activity is very effective in reducing anxiety and stress.
2. Write in a journal:
Writing down your feelings, emotions, and about your anxieties is important. Make a habit of writing down about your day in a journal. It is a helpful and effective technique.
3. Quit alcohol, caffeine, smoking, and recreational drugs:
Alcohol, caffeine, smoking, and recreational drugs can worsen anxiety. If quitting is not possible, try to avoid and reduce the consumption. Then find a support group and health care provider and take their support and help to quit.
4. Meditation, relaxation techniques:
Visualization techniques and meditation are effective in relaxing your mind and lessening your anxiety. Also, learn about anxiety disorder. Read the material on your disorder and read about how to cope with it. Knowing fully about your mental state will make it easier for you to manage and understand your own self and mental health.
5. Proper sleep:
A night of good deep sleep is a natural healer. The body heals from all the physical and mental stresses and anxieties while sleeping. Make a proper routine of your sleep and if you are unable to sleep, learn how to improve your sleep cycle.
6. Eat healthy foods:
A healthy diet is one of the most important things we can improve and consequently improve our whole physical and mental lifestyle. Eat healthily, cut unhealthy and junk food, add more vegetables, fruits, whole grain food, and water to your diet. It will help your anxiety.
7. Identify triggers:
Identify the situations or actions that trigger your anxiety and stress. Try to learn more about them and talk to your therapist and devise strategies to deal with these situations. Stick to your treatment plan, practice the mental exercises, and meditate. Learn what situations or actions cause you to stress or increase your anxiety. Practice the strategies you developed with your mental health provider, so you're ready to deal with anxious feelings in these situations.
Finally, socialize, surround yourself with your loved ones, don't let anxiety isolate you
from the kind people around you. Don't let worries isolate you from loved ones or
activities.