Anxiety attacks affect millions of people across the globe. In the United States, nearly 20 million adults have been officially diagnosed with this mental disability. When people let anxiety take over they experience sheer panic, rapid heartbeat, and irregular breathing. It feels like the whole world is coming to get them.
Luckily, there are ways to relieve the symptoms related to anxiety. The proper medications and regular therapy help. However, there are still moments in a person’s daily routine that trigger anxiety attacks that don’t seem to end.
For these, there are 4 ways to ease anxiety throughout the day.
Step Away
When you fixate your thoughts on a difficult problem it’s hard to remove yourself. You stare at the computer screen and desperately search for a solution. This increases anxiety to the point of hopelessness.
Step away from the situation to decrease stress and panic. Granted, the problem still exists. However, by taking a walk or finding a distraction, the anxiety eases. In turn, you have a clearer head to come up with a solution.
Breathe
It’s amazing how much better people feel with some deep breaths. Especially if they didn’t realize how shallow and rapid their breathing was. As the heart rate goes up so does the number of breaths taken per minute. This results in lightheadedness, a heavy chest, and a feeling that you’re having a heart attack.
In this situation, anxiety is eased by slowing down. Close your eyes and take a deep breath into your nose. Make sure it starts from your stomach. Then, exhale through your nose. A few of these breaths lowers your heart rate and blood pressure. Furthermore, it helps release calming chemicals into the brain.
Focus On Something Else
Taking a walk in the midst of an anxiety attack might not do much. Though the exercise releases items like dopamine that help relax you, your thoughts about the problem continue to spin in your head. Counteract this by focusing on something else.
This doesn’t mean shifting your thought patterns to another problem. Rather, force yourself to focus on the environment around you. Count the number of steps it takes to get to your destination. Mentally name the plants and birds you see along the way. The redistribution of your thought patterns reduces anxiety.
Mindfulness
The worst thing anxiety attacks do is push your mind into the worst-case scenario. Even the smallest issue becomes a mountain of a problem in the midst of panic. To ease this, you need to bring things back to the moment at hand.
It’s worthless to focus on the future because, frankly, we can predict what happens. It’s better to return to the present through mindfulness. Think of the moment you’re in instead of creating illusions of tomorrow. State to yourself what you hear, see, smell, and taste. This lifts the fog in your head and provides a clearer perspective.
Anxiety attacks happen. Even people who were never diagnosed with this illness are subject to one at some point in their life. They can be physically and emotionally painful if you don’t have the coping tools to address them.
Never let an anxiety attack take over your life. Conversely, don’t ignore it. Acknowledge the moment and let it go. Use the methods above to ease its effects. Though the feelings won’t entirely disappear, they’ll be reduced to the point that you can function enough to resolve the issues.
