Keep Calm and Carry On…Easier Said Than Done…
Tips to Manage Anxiety In These Difficult Times:
Anxiety is an uncomfortable feeling which many of us have experienced during these difficult times of 2020. Fears and catastrophic thoughts that put the body in an alarm state are often the consequences of common anxiety. However, just because it is happening, it doesn’t mean we should let it control our lives. That said, you want to manage your anxiety, the following tips will help.
- Start understanding your anxiety better
Sure, your anxiety sometimes feels uncomfortable, and you want to get rid of things that feel uncomfortable. However, if you throw it overboard without taking a look at it, you will lose a lot of important information. Dare to look at what actually scares you? If so, question yourself first. Which situations trigger anxiety for you? What exactly was it that made you restless or anxious? For me, I usually get anxiety over things that I cannot control. So that is what I personally try to work on….
How realistic is it that your fears are true? Alternatively, what could happen – and how likely would that be? As far as possible, these considerations should be tested in reality or checked in conversation with others. The constant weighing of probabilities helps to deal with inappropriate and exaggerated fears.
Also, check critically against reality, whether you consider your anxiety to be justified afterward. With such questions, you can take a step back out of the situation. You gain distance from the feeling of fear by looking at it from the outside.
- Get moving
Regular sporting activities and relaxation exercises not only make you feel more youthful, but can also help reduce anxiety reactions in the long term. With some disorders, they also help in acute cases, among other things because physical relaxation and exhaustion are difficult to reconcile physiologically with an anxiety reaction. However, the effect can be reversed during a panic attack!
If there is panic-related hyperventilation (strong breathing due to shortness of breath), breathing in a bag is recommended so that the ratio of oxygen to carbon dioxide in the blood returns to normal.
- Stop your thoughts
It can also be about stopping thoughts that scare you. You are the master of your thoughts. You can also choose to put thoughts back in their place. Make a clear “stop”. Think about helpful and appropriate thoughts. Thoughts that satisfy your need for security and calm you down.
If that doesn’t help, distraction is allowed. What would you do now? Watch a film? Read a newspaper or a book? Or phone a good friend. Focus consciously on something else instead of the fear-triggering thoughts.
- Take natural calming herbs
Calming herbs such as valerian are commonly used can be used as a tea, tincture, or powder for all conditions of nervousness, anxiety, and insomnia.
In the case of insomnia, a tea made from valerian tea is recommended before going to bed, which is slowly drunk in small sips. To do this, pour one or two teaspoons of valerian root with a cup of water. The tea is left to steep for about twelve hours. Then you filter off and heat the tea to drinking temperature.
Additionally, CBD oil also offers a calming effect and is commonly used to reduce anxiety-related symptoms. For more information, you can find the nearest Harvest House of Cannabis.