Here are five tips to deal with anxiety.
BUILD SOCIAL CONNECTIONS
Strong social networks - especially if they include some close confidants - help you regain emotional balance and control your anxiety. Social media has become even more important when ambient stress increases sharply. Social engagement itself also promotes the functioning part of the brain we use for regulating our emotions and making thoughtful decisions.
BECOME MINDFUL
Remember, you can also protect ourselves from the stress epidemic by exercising conscious mindfulness that allows us to focus on what is happening in the present, rather than indulging in past anger or remorse or fear of the future. Practicing mindfulness on a regular basis improves the brain functions that enhance your ability to avoid excessive stress responses. This doesn't change the underlying stress physiology, but it allows us to interrupt the stress cycle by consciously controlling your reactions.
RETAKE CONTROL
You can look for opportunities to expand your sense of control, both at work and personally, through asserting yourself and through seeking beneficial partnerships. There are limits, though: perceiving that we have control when the reality is the opposite. But even planning to exercise more control and taking initial steps to enact a plan can have beneficial effects.
STAY PHYSICALLY ACTIVE
Physical activity directly reduces the stress hormone - also known as the "fight or flight" hormone, since its job is to make more energy available in stressful situations. This works to dispel stress that might be lingering from problems at work or at home. It also provides a host of direct benefits to stress-related difficulties - like obesity and diabetes - and an increase in the brain function that supports self-regulation.
AVOID ALCOHOL AND COMFORT FOOD
Certain choices we make might reduce anxiety temporarily, but have long-term negative effects on health and well-being. Comfort foods with high kilojoules and fat do counteract stress but at the risk of increasing the chance of heart diseases and other disorders. In the same way, substances like alcohol and other drugs can briefly alleviate the feeling of being over-stressed and agitated, but at a risk of becoming a "go-to" solution that can cause serious problems down the road.
