Over time our bodies have evolved and developed to deal with most of the various changes that take place in our lives. Sometimes however changes in our lifestyle or physical functioning, can bring unwanted stress to us. While stress in small amounts is quite normal and our bodies are designed to be capable of dealing with this pressure, large amounts of continual stress can actually harm our mental outlook. A prolonged, continual amount of pressure within a person’s life can lead to anxiety and stress as these factors work together to bring down the individuals’ level of self esteem.
At such times, feelings of depression can also occur because of this excessive stress that we need to cope with. While there are specialised therapies and even medications that can deal with full blown anxiety disorders, if you find yourself in the early stages of being stressed out and having difficulty coping with lifes’ pressures, you might want to practice a few techniques for coping with anxiety and stress.
Remember, these methods aren’t substitutes for skilled medical advice or medications. They are simply methods that you can use to try to reduce your low level anxiety and stress. For people who experience anxiety disorders the best treatment that you can get is from your doctor.
Some basic techniques for controlling your low level anxiety and stress are as follows. Learn to be flexible in your approach to life. Accept what you can and can’t change. Enjoy laughing, watching a funny movie, telling a joke or even reading comics. Learn to breathe slowly and deeply from your diaphragm. Pace yourself in the tasks you undertake, learn to delegate appropriately to others, and learn to say "no".
Understand that everyone makes mistakes. We are human and part of being human is to be imperfect, accept that perfection is impossible and that trying to achieve that goal will simply make you miserable. Regularly make time to have some fun by playing with friends, family and any pets that you have. Having fun is a natural way of lowering your body's anxiety and stress. Another way to have fun and improve your mood is to do some light exercise. Exercise produces endorphins, which are natural pain-killers and pleasure-producers. Don’t overdo it however, the aim here is to feel invigorated and pleased with yourself, not exhausted and irritated with yourself because you tried to do too much.
Make sure that your diet is healthy as well as delicious. Try to avoid foods and drinks that are more likely to trigger anxiety and stress hormones. Coffee, tea, alcohol and cigarettes might be enjoyable but it is now known that they can increase your stress levels.
Share your problems with people you know you can trust, especially those who can help you to put things into a different perspective. Managing life’s burdens alone can make sufferers of anxiety and stress even worse off. Therefore work on solving your problems one at a time. Try not to put off dealing with a sticky issue and then let them pile up until they seem overwhelming. Set goals that you can achieve easily and reward yourself when you do achieve them. This way you will not become discouraged and stressed out because of the many problems facing you and you won’t allow yourself to fall into the black hole of helplessness and inactivity that comes with problem avoidance.
Finally accept that everything and everyone in life changes. Sometimes this change is good and other times it’s painful. No matter what the outcome is we all need time to adjust to change and to what it brings to our lives. By setting aside a time for adjustment we can reduce the anxiety and stress that will occur due to our new routine. In conclusion then, don’t let anxiety and stress get you down, go out and have some fun and enjoy life – after all you only live once and balance is the key.