Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, and anticipated suffering that accelerates heartbeat and breathing, putting us in a state of alert.
If it happens for specific reasons and does not affect your health, everything is fine. The point is that, nowadays, it is common for anxiety to be caused by psychological factors, causing recurring episodes that affect health.
In these cases, in addition to the symptoms already mentioned, anxiety can cause dizziness, shortness of breath, and muscular and paralyzing muscle tension. It can even be confused with a heart attack.
The problem becomes pathological when it causes physical and emotional disorders that the person cannot control, damaging their quality of life.
What Are The Leading Causes?
Chronic anxiety is a multifactorial problem; that is, it can have different causes that are more or less present in each person’s reality. The main ones are:
Stress generated by expectations;
- Genetics;
- Trauma;
- Physical illnesses;
- Hormonal disorders;
- Substance abuse.
Important addendum: anxiety is more common in women because of hormones. Therefore, in some cases, hormone replacement may be interesting to avoid the problem.
What Are The Main Symptoms?
Remember that we are talking about persistent anxiety, which goes beyond the effects that natural anxiety tends to cause in the body. The main symptoms are:
- Muscle tension;
- Palpitation;
- Excessive sweating or feeling of cold sweat;
- Nausea;
- Shortness of breath;
- Tremors;
- Light head feeling;
- Headache;
- Gastrointestinal dysfunction;
- Fatigue;
- Sexual dysfunction;
- Chest tightness.
7 Tips On How To Relieve Anxiety
Now that you have all this information let’s look at tips on how to control anxiety through daily habits and care:
Practice Physical Activities
Physical activities help to release accumulated tension, promoting relaxation and smoother heart rhythms during periods of rest. Therefore, they are great allies in relieving emotional burdens that contribute to anxiety.
What physical activity to do? You can choose according to your preference and physical capacity. I suggest that you make space for some aerobic activity such as walking, running, and swimming and make it a habit.
Include Moments Of Relaxation Or Meditation In Your Routine
Another way to alleviate anxiety is to include moments in your routine that help you relax and live in the present moment, the famous mindfulness.
Anxiety is related to the anticipation of problems and can cause a detachment from reality that leads to paralysis and a lack of emotional control. For this reason, knowing how to position yourself in the present moment is very useful to minimize symptoms and even prevent a crisis from taking hold.
Discover Breathing Exercises
Breathing exercises are often part of moments of relaxation and meditation. The question is to understand which ones can also work during a crisis.
An example is breathing 4-2-6, which should be done as follows:
- Pull air through your nose while mentally counting to four.
- Hold the air in your lungs for a mental count of two.
- Exhale through your mouth for a mental count of six.
Repeat three to five times. This will be enough to send your brain the command to relax. Something that can be of great value in a moment of acute and persistent anxiety.
Value An Organized Routine
The organization is an ally for people who suffer from chronic anxiety because it avoids the feeling that things could get out of control at any moment.
Use devices such as an agenda, to-do list, and others that help you organize your daily life in order to create an environment that minimizes the existence of triggers.
Also, consider establishing fixed times for meals and sleep – in fact, having a sleep hygiene routine makes all the difference! Avoid staying on your cell phone or in front of the TV until late, and begin a gradual relaxation process before bed.
Avoid The Abuse Of Stimulant Substances
To control anxiety, the ideal is to avoid the abuse of stimulant substances on a daily basis. Avoid drinking excessive coffee or drinking other drinks with a high caffeine content, such as energy drinks.
Soft drinks, chocolates, and other stimulating substances should also be consumed in moderation to avoid agitation that becomes even more difficult to deal with or ends up serving as a trigger for your anxiety.
Have An Adequate Diet
And, taking a cue from the previous tip, focus on a healthier and more balanced diet. Sometimes, anxiety leads people to consume excess carbohydrates and sweets in search of a feeling of satisfaction and tranquility.
It is possible to achieve this same goal by consuming other types of food, such as fish rich in omega-3, oilseeds, eggs, and even dark chocolate.
Get Therapy
Last but not least, go to therapy. Therapy is an essential tool for self-knowledge that can help you understand the causes of your anxiety and discover tools to control it on a daily basis.
Also Read: Depression And Food: Find Out If Food Harms Your Mental Health