Anxiety & Treatment
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nxiety is a feeling of nervousness, dread, fear and worry that can result in symptoms of sweaty palms, heart palpitations, shallow breathing, upset stomach and more. This disorder can often lead to depression.
It's important to note that a little anxiety in your life is OK. Everyone experiences it at some point (before a presentation, waiting on news from the doctor, etc.) However, anxiety becomes a problem when it inhibits you from living your life.
Social Anxiety
Do you constantly fear what other people will think of you? Does it affect your ability to socialize on a regular basis? If so, you may have social anxiety.
That's what happened with me. I was always a very self conscious child. I remember going to the grocery store with my dad at 8 years old and not wanting people to stare at me.
It made me very uncomfortable and nervous. I had this constant fear that people were thinking bad things about me.
Of course this affected my adolescent and adult life. I hated speaking in front of groups of people and even little things like getting on the school bus was traumatic because all the kids were facing me as I got on the bus.
I always had this fear of being watched and judged. So eventually I began isolating myself at home most of the time. That's how my depression started.
Now that I'm older, I realize that my parents were not very confident people. So of course I picked up on that, and it was passed right down to me. You learn more from how your parents treat themselves than how they treat you. That's a very important concept to grasp.
For example, if a daughter constantly sees her mother calling herself fat, then that child will begin to see that self esteem is built upon how much you weigh. Before long, she learns to define her own worth by her weight.
Coping & Controlling Anxiety
There are several ways to cope and even cure your anxiety. Find what works best for you and your situation.
Deep Breathing
When I get anxious, I get an upset stomach. One time I started worrying that I would not be able to stop being anxious so that made my stomach/nerves even worse. It was an endless cycle and I found myself having trouble relaxing.
I learned that when you are anxious you don't breathe properly. Your breathing becomes very shallow, so that just makes the situation even worse.
I started downloading some of the mp3s from HypnosisDownloads.com and they taught me how to breathe properly, especially when I'm anxious. It really made a difference. At first, it didn't work because I kept telling myself it wouldn't. But the more I tried it, the better I was able to relax.
Once I got the hang of it, I started enjoying it. In fact, I started to notice that my sleep improved when I would listen to the downloads (or meditate) right before bedtime.
If you're anything like I was you may be a little turned off by the name "hypnosis". Don't worry, they really just teach you how to relax, empty your mind and focus on your breathing. This really helps relieve the anxiety. The more you do it, the more effective this technique will become. Any time I am going through a "moment" I grab my mp3 player and listen away.
Get Busy!
Sometimes it helps just to busy your mind. When I went through the upset stomach scenario above, sometimes I would just get in my car and drive. It sounds crazy but the point was to get my mind off what I was worried about.
If you're busy doing something else, it gets your mind off what you were worrying about.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
I've never used this but I've heard it can be quite effective. In a nutshell, it teaches anxiety sufferers to act in a different way than they would normally react in a stressful situation. The treatment teaches you how to change your thinking patterns so the "worry" has less power over you. Eventually, the anxiety goes away.
Pilates/Yoga
Since deep breathing are core practices for these exercises, now you may see why they can be so effective in helping you deal with anxiety. I know several people that use Pilates to help them deal with stress. It didn't do much for my situations, but it did help tone my middle and become more flexible. :)
Calming Words
This works like a charm! If you think about it, anxiety often stems from these horrible thoughts that are in your head. So why not counteract those thoughts by thinking something positive instead? Your mind can only cram so much in so try drowning out all that negativity with some powerful calming words.
Words like Tranquility, Peace and Relaxation are all words you can say to yourself, or even out loud.
Visual Imagery
This is another good one. I learned this one from the folks over at HypnosisDownloads.com. Many of their mp3's begin by telling you to picture a serene setting or a positive image of yourself. It took a while for me to get the benefits from this, but with practice I learned to master it.
Visualization is powerful because as you begin to see yourself succeeding or do whatever you desire, it begins to program the mind to believe you already have what you want. It takes time to get to that point, but it works.
Accept Your Anxiety
This one is kind of deep but it worked for me. I learned this from a book. When you fear something and it gives you anxiety, tell yourself "I am afraid and I accept it, but I am bigger than this fear." Write it down over and over again or say it aloud.
What that does is gives your fear less power over you. You're not trying to deny that it's there. You accept it as part of you and then you affirm that you can get over it by saying you are "bigger than the fear."
Most people do the exact opposite. They try to deny their feelings or pretend they don't exist. This simply creates more anxiety because you are in conflict. But if you simply accept what you're feeling then it becomes more bearable. And it's also important to note that acceptance doesn't mean you have to like it. You are just acknowledging it's there.
Try it. It will amaze you!
You can also try this mp3 called "Control Fear and Anxiety". It worked wonders for me.