Anxiety is the feeling of fear or apprehension that is intense enough to disrupt your daily activities. It hits anyone at any point in their lives, regardless of sex and age. If you suffer from anxiety and you let anxiety overcome you, you then let stress and unhappiness overrule you, through being paralyzed by anxiety. You need to learn how to overcome it or at least reduce its effects. Here are eight tips that can help you conquer anxiety:
1. Be the master of your thoughts. Inability to control what you think strengthens your tendency for anxiety. Anxiety gains momentum when you entertain negative thoughts.
2. Practice self-discipline and control over your feelings. Anxiety is like taking a ride on a rollercoaster. Once you start entertaining negative thoughts and fears, they become a mantra that will perpetuate themselves. The best thing to do is to cut them off right then and there. Distract yourself, divert your thoughts, or go talk to someone and have him or her correct your fears. Most of the time, anxious thoughts are distortions of reality. It is best to have someone tell you the objective facts, and show you that you are grossly exaggerating your fears. If they are valid, you can seek reassurance of a happy outcome or have the other person suggest ways to work around the problem/s you face.
3. Think positive. As they say, try to think of the glass as being half-full. Thinking it is half-empty will only result in a never-ending cycle of negative thinking. Thoughts give birth to thoughts, and what you fill your mind with will spill over into reality. Our mental mantras become self-fulfilling prophecies. When we allow thoughts to perpetuate in our minds, they burst forth into reality as, as was said, self-fulfilling prophecies. The key is not to go "I won't think negatively. I won't think negatively." Rather, you should force yourself to fixate on positive thoughts. Write a list of the things you want to be and the things you want to happen in your life, enough that you can say every single morning within 3 minutes, to yourself. Then every morning, when you wake up or before you leave for work or school, say your affirmations to yourself. Example: "I am beautiful, articulate, and I will make that sale today!" Then all throughout the day, when you catch yourself worrying, stop in your tracks, and force yourself to enumerate 5 things you are thankful for today. Repeat as needed.
4. Keep yourself busy and on the go. Never allow yourself to have idle moments. The moment you get out of your bed, keep yourself busy right away and keep moving throughout the day. Volunteer to clean the house for the day or tell somebody that you will do the dishes for dinner. You can also read books or magazines, engage in exercise, or meditate; to keep yourself from worrying/anxiety. Being idle will not solve your problems and the moments when your mind isn't busy doing something worthwhile will only invite more anxiety.
5. Work out a plan and try to accomplish it.Whether it's how to improve yourself or a plan to solve the very problem that is causing your anxieties, doing this exercise will let you see that you can do something about your situation. This will also help you realize that you have control over yourself. Increasing control over your own life leads you to feel less anxious, because anxiety is an issue of control: the lack of it.
6. Consult someone that can be trusted. Sharing your worries with another person lightens the worries and puts them in the proper perspective. The premise is that you talk with the aim to lessen your anxiety.
7. Laughter is the best medicine. Laughter can ease your burdens. Be in the company of amusing friends or indulge in activities that can bring laughter into your life, like watching The Three Stooges.
8. If current issues make you anxious, switch off the television. Reduce the time you spend watching news and avoid watching shows that depress and make you more anxious before you go to sleep. Though professional help is needed in extreme cases, anxiety is manageable, if you know how to get around it. Do follow these helpful tips and you will see your anxieties eased.
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