Anxiety

Since I know a lot of people, even too many people, with some level or form of anxiety, I wanted to study it. How can I help them? What could they do to overcome it? The following items in this list are some things I found that may help. They also may not. It sounds like there’s only a little bit that doctors know about anxiety. Trying each of these in turn is your best bet.

1. Prayer and meditation. Taking time out from a busy day to find your peaceful center and talk to God will give you confidence you never knew you had. Gratitude is excellent for positivity, confidence and peace. How many people wish they had peace in their lives but never settle themselves down long enough to meditate? How many prepare for bed by watching television, instead of getting quiet?
2. Get the proper amount of sleep. Anxiety is compounded by lack of sleep. You’ll think more clearly if you get the right amount of sleep. Try a sleep experiment: Go to bed at the same time for three weeks. For that same three weeks, get up at the same time every morning. Avoid caffeine. Caffeine intake upsets the body’s natural rhythms. Get plenty of sunshine when you wake and splash water on your face, but don’t go for that cup of coffee. At the end of three weeks, you should be able to continue the rhythm without any artificial stimulants such as an alarm clock.
3. Exposure therapy. It may be necessary to do the things that give you the most anxiety. Public speaking is number one on people’s fear index. Public speaking builds confidence like no other anxiety therapy. And one way to do it, even if you feel introverted is to think of it as speaking to yourself.
4. Don’t be a hermit. Hiding from the world will not reduce anxiety. You can run away from the world, but you can’t run away from yourself. Hiding from the world is always temporary. Eventually you will have to interact with other humans. When that eventuality happens, how will you be prepared?
5. Follow your role models. Find some people who have done things that you wish you could do. Find out how they did it, and then follow their lead. Role models, especially positive ones, help us have confidence in ourselves.
6. Express your emotions. Uncork. We are all a shaken champagne. Don’t hold in the pressure. Sometimes just letting it out is exactly what you need. But if you’re going to yell, do it outside.
7. Exercise. Exercise is the best way to balance the chemicals in your body. The appropriate amount of endorphins will boost your mood, make you more active, and enhance your appetite for healthy foods.
8. Eat right. You’ve heard it before. The scientific community keeps finding new reasons that we should eat the healthy stuff instead of that candy bar and that soda. We know this. Our bodies tell us to eat healthy foods by giving us cravings. The hard part is exerting our will over the junk foods. When hungry for sweets, look for fruit. When hungry for something filling, look for proteins.
9. Develop real relationships. Online relationships are good for friends who live far away. However, you still need the one on one, face to face interactions. Humans are social creatures. It may be beneficial for you to find a group of people who share your anxiety. By discovering that you’re not alone in your feelings, you can heal.
10. Help others. Serving others in your home or in your community is a great way to boost your own self-esteem.
11. When helping others, listen, don’t judge. Remember that we are all on the same path through life, though some may be at a different stage of the path. Try not to be judgmental of those at a different stage. And don’t compare yourself to them, either. No one starts out with all the skills. We have to learn the skills along the way.