Anxiety is a normal and healthy emotion that helps us cope with challenging situations. However, when anxiety becomes excessive, persistent, or irrational, it can interfere with our daily functioning and well-being. In this blog post, we will share some tips on how to cope with anxiety during stressful times.
- Identify the sources of your stress and anxiety. Sometimes, we may feel anxious without knowing exactly why. It can help to write down the situations, thoughts, or feelings that trigger our anxiety and stress. This can help us gain some clarity and perspective on what is causing our distress and how we can address it.
- Practice relaxation techniques. Relaxation techniques are proven to reduce anxiety and stress by calming our nervous system and lowering our blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate. Some examples of relaxation techniques are deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, yoga, tai chi, and listening to soothing music.
- Challenge negative thoughts. Anxiety often involves negative and unrealistic thoughts that exaggerate the threat or danger of a situation. We can challenge these thoughts by asking ourselves questions such as: Is this thought based on facts or feelings? What is the evidence for and against this thought? How likely is this outcome to happen? What is the worst that could happen and how could I cope with it? By challenging negative thoughts, we can replace them with more balanced and realistic ones that reduce our anxiety and stress.
- Seek social support. Talking to someone we trust can help us cope with anxiety and stress by providing emotional support, validation, and advice. We can reach out to our friends, family members, colleagues, or professionals who can listen to us and offer us guidance. We can also join support groups or online communities where we can share our experiences and learn from others who are going through similar challenges.
- Take care of yourself. Anxiety and stress can take a toll on our physical and mental health, so it is important to take care of ourselves by eating well, sleeping enough, exercising regularly, and avoiding substances that can worsen our anxiety such as caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and drugs. Taking care of ourselves can help us boost our mood, energy, and resilience.