What should you do when you feel anxious or panicked? Well, there are two ways to deal with it. One is to take remedial measures right at that time and the second is to take steps that help you deal with anxiety on a long-term basis. Here are 9 tips on how to overcome anxiety or panic attacks
Anxiety or panic attacks is not a mental condition or a disease – it is just a phase that can be dealt with if you are ready to face it with the help of a healthy daily routine and peer support but you can read all the anti-anxiety advice in the world yet none of it matters unless you take action where to feel more relaxed to sleep soundly at night and to put energy into what matters, you have to stop wasting time on tasks that don’t matter. Your brain is the control room of the body and this means your brain controls everything including the body – its functions, how you feel and think.
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In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Vaneeta Batra, Transformational Life Coach, shared, “Anxiety is an advanced level of worry which further evolves into a constant worst case scenario with unrelenting nagging, doubts or fears which drastically saps your emotional energy. By training your brain you can learn techniques and principles that will enable you to overcome anxiety.”
She suggested to relax your mind and control your thoughts by being aware and following the tips below:
1. Relabel what’s happening –
In situations of anxiety, it makes you feel like you are going to die but that’s when you have to remind yourself— it’s just a panic attack and it’s harmless and it’s temporary.
2. Breathe in and out —
Deep breathing helps to calm down. Focus on inhaling and exhaling evenly. This helps to re-center your mind.
3. Stand up straight —
In a panic attack we hunch over and we protect our heart and lungs but that’s not good. You should pull your shoulders back, stand or sit with feet apart and open your chest. This is a very helpful exercise.
4. Less or no sugar —
Eating too much sugar worsens anxiety feelings. Instead of reaching out to chocolates or candy or sugar filled sweets go for proteins or drink a glass of water .
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According to Sonal Jindal, Founder of Medusa Exim anxiety can happen to anyone in this day and age, when everyone is rushing through life. She revealed, “Work-life balance is skewed and there is just so much more to do every day that more often than not, one finds oneself short of time. Or it could be an upheaval in your life that pushes you to the brink of a panic attack. The symptoms of an anxiety attack are easy to identify. Your heartbeat races ahead, you feel dizzy, and you start shaking or sweating, trying to draw short breaths. It isn’t a pleasant feeling, for sure.”
So, what should you do when you feel anxious or panicked? Well, there are two ways to deal with it. One is to take remedial measures right at that time and the second is to take steps that help you deal with anxiety on a long-term basis. Sonal Jindal recommended the most important 5 aspects of your life, which you need to take care of if anxiety is the bane of your existence:
1. Talk – Keeping things bottled up inside usually results in the dams bursting once the water tips over your head. All of us deal with life differently because our circumstances are different. Also, the mental makeup of every individual is different. Therefore, some of us might need a helping hand in dealing with the vagaries of life. If you are under the weather for some reason, talk about your situation to a friend, family member, and colleague or health counselor.
2. Calm Breathing – You would be surprised to know how beneficial a simple body activity like breathing can be in keeping anxiety away. To make calm breathing a part of your daily routine, spend a designated amount of time every day to meditation. It would not only help you gather your thoughts before you jump into the hullabaloo of life but will also teach you to slow down from time to time.
3. Exercise – We aren’t talking about hard-core iron pumping or running a 50 KM marathon daily (although you can do that too every once in a while) but simple activities like walking, slow jogging, swimming, and yoga. Choose any activity and develop a routine because these exercises help your body relax as well as prepare ahead for any panic attacks lurking round the corner.
4. Sleep – It has been seen that lack of proper sleep or struggle to sleep on time can have an adverse effect on your mental health, which could lead to anxiety attacks eventually. To avoid that, find out if you are getting enough sleep. And if that is the case, enlist help in the form of proper bedroom facilities, a soothing cup of tea, relaxing fragrant candles, or music.
5. Diet – A balanced diet can be the answer to most of your health problems. The same is true of anxiety as well. Regular meals, containing all the important food groups, will keep your energy levels stable throughout the day.