5 Ways To Stop Anxiety Quickly

Excessive anxiety is an increasingly common situation among adults, youth, and even children. It is estimated that in recent decades throughout the Americas the level of anxiety has increased by 1,200%.

Although this number is alarming and we get used to living in stressful situations, Sympa-sympa.com knows that there are ways to fight anxiety and regain control of one’s psychological health. Put these five tips into practice and improve your quality of life from today.

Anxiety comes from an excess of fear of the future. The human being has developed an evolutionary tool that gives him advantages over other species, and that allows him to solve problems, even before they arise: the ability to anticipate and predict things.

However, this ability can also play tricks on us. We are anxious when our thinking is too much about tomorrow, trying to predict and control the variables of what might happen. That’s why we suffer from episodes of anxiety at night, because this is the moment in which our brain is projected on the following days. Very often, when we should rest, we have thoughts like, “What will happen tomorrow?”, “How am I going to solve this situation?” … We have the impression that ‘When thinking about problems, we will find solutions for them, and even avoid them, but in reality we are only increasing their size and not making any progress.

1. Identify and fight anxious thoughts. Anxiety feeds on anxiety. If you let your anxious thoughts go wild, you’ll end up driving yourself crazy. The anguish of anxiety works like a snowball, and you are the only one who can stop it. In the first place, you must intercept these bad thoughts. That means you have to spot them as they happen. When you discover that you are feeding stressful ideas, take a break. Try to direct your thoughts to the present moment, think of the past, not the future; concentrate on a happy and peaceful memory. If it does not work, make a list. Take a pencil and a sheet, and write the things that worry you and at the same time look for a possible solution (concrete and practical) for each one. The writing exercise will help you to rationalize the problems and give them back their true dimension; in other words, you will prevent them from continuing to grow and turn in your head.

2. Meditate and breathe. It’s the most common advice for fighting anxiety, and it’s one of the most effective. If you have frequent episodes, try to register in a meditation class. This habit will greatly improve your quality of life. If you do not like mediation, and if episodes of anxiety are frequent, when there is an excess of anxiety in your mind, breathe. But no matter how, an incorrect technique of breathing could be counterproductive. Concentrate on the air that enters your body and allow it to reach the lowest part of your lungs. If you feel that when you inhale, your stomach swells, you did well. If you are too stressed, it is possible that the air enters superficially in your organism, and that it does not give you the necessary oxygenation. It is therefore important to take a break to fill your lungs to the bottom with completely new air. In doing so, you release accumulated and stress-filled carbon dioxide, and you oxygenate your organs and your blood. Your body will be grateful.

3. Release endorphins and relax your body. To do this, the best you can do is play sports. When you exercise, you release endorphins and serotonin, two enzymes that your brain associates with the sensation of pleasure and well-being, but in addition you warm your body and you relax your muscles. The sensation of heat can alter the neural circuits that control the state of mind. Playing sports is a way of focusing on “here” and “now”. In other words, sport helps you to fight anxiety about the future that causes anxiety.

4. Try natural antidotes. You can prepare chamomile or valerian herbal tea, or rest in bed drinking green tea. These three natural ingredients contain relaxing properties that will allow your body to relax and warm up.

5. Avoid caffeine. When you are anxious, you may feel the need to have a cup of coffee to get some energy and to be able to solve the problems you think you will have to face. But no! Caffeine excites your body, it is a fuel that increases anxious thoughts. Never try to excite yourself nervously if you are anxious. Instead, calm down and move one step at a time.