When was the last time you had a free moment to simply breathe? If it’s been a long time and you’re riddled with worry and racing thoughts, then you might be experiencing some anxiety.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, about 18 million Americans experience anxiety in any given year. The good news is that there are some positive actions that you can take to relieve the intensity of the constant worry.
Practice Meditation or Deep Breathing
Some of the more popular methods for treating anxiety are categorized as mindfulness. This is any relaxation technique designed to bring you back to the present moment and become aware of what you’re thinking and feeling. This can be monumental for anxiety in particular, as most of your worries are probably centered around the future.
Many people who practice mindfulness do so via meditation or deep breathing sessions. By focusing on counting your breaths and listening to the voice on the meditation track, you can bring yourself back to the here and now and minimize the anxiety you’re currently feeling. In just a few short minutes, you’ll feel more focused and ready to take on the next task.
Figure Out a Healthy “Escape”
Anxiety on its own can be debilitating and absolutely ruin your quality of life. Unfortunately, anxiety might feel even worse if you don’t have a physical location where you can deal with it best. After all, you might not feel comfortable doing your yoga stretches or screaming into a pillow while you’re at your work desk.
If you have severe constant worry, you want to designate a location where you can cope best. Nature lovers might prefer to walk a certain trail at the local park. Fitness gurus might rather go to the gym and sweat out their anxiety in a metaphorical sense. Or maybe you want to dedicate a certain room in your house with a comfortable chair and no distracting stimuli.
Create a Gratitude Journal
When worry and anxiety are overwhelming, it’s difficult to focus on anything else in life. Your mind immediately goes toward what’s wrong or what will go wrong instead of what’s actually going right in your life. You know how aggravating it can be for somebody to tell you that it “could be worse” when you’re struggling more than usual.
What you can do is create a gratitude journal. This can be written on a loose-leaf sheet of paper or even on a Word document on your computer. The goal of this is to create a list of the things you’re thankful for in life. So instead of focusing on how you didn’t get that job, you can write about how thankful you are for your large caring family or your physical health.
A Few Extra Tips
There are more than enough positive actions you can take for your worry to go around. If you’d rather do something different, here’s a more comprehensive list of what your options are.
● Go swimming, go to the gym, or go for a run to relieve pent-up stress.
● Go fishing, kayaking, snowboarding, or hiking to experience the calm of nature.
● Get into contact with somebody close to you so that you can vent your feelings.
● Express yourself via the written word, visual arts, or music.
Figure out what works best for you and stick to it!
Final Thoughts
If you live with constant worry, then you probably know that you wouldn’t wish it on your worst enemy. Luckily, there are many things that you can do to relieve this worry and improve your quality of life. If you notice that your constant worry is making it hard to do normal tasks and routines, you might want to pursue professional intervention instead.