Anxiety is a normal part of life. It is a human emotion that occurs when you are about to face a stressful situation. Whether it is public speaking, a job interview, or meeting someone for the first time, it is your brain’s way of reacting to stress and alerting you of potential danger ahead.
While occasional anxiety is fine, an excessive or persistent state of it can have devastating effects on your physical, mental and emotional health. Over time, it can lead to the development of anxiety disorders like panic attacks which can significantly interfere with your daily life.
Although living with anxiety can be difficult, there are several effective steps you can take to ease down the symptoms effectively. From taking medications to implementing a few self-care tips into your daily routine, here are five helpful ways to manage anxiety and cope with panic attacks.
Opt for OTC medications
While medications can’t cure an anxiety disorder, they can help improve the symptoms and help you function better. Some commonly used medicine includes anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants, and beta-blockers.
For example, antidepressants such as mirtazapine can decrease your anxiety levels by tweaking your brain on how to use certain chemicals to improve your mood. These chemicals include serotonin, noradrenaline, and dopamine whose levels need to be high in order to alleviate your stress symptoms. To avoid overpaying for this antidepressant, look for discount Mirtazapine prices on online pharmacy search engines to save money on your medications.
Practice meditation
One of the most powerful methods for managing anxiety and coping with panic attacks is meditation. This practice triggers the body’s relaxation response which is the opposite of the “fight or flight” response that occurs when you are facing a stressful or harmful situation.
Employing various meditation techniques such as breathing, mindfulness, and visualization help tell your body and mind you are safe now while decreasing your anxiety symptoms at the same time. The best thing about these techniques is that you can use them immediately while you are experiencing a panic attack and are looking for the most relief.
Maintain a healthy lifestyle
Making some lifestyle changes such as engaging in regular physical activity and eating well can help manage your anxiety. In fact, there are certain foods and substances such as fried food, caffeine, sugar, and alcohol that can contribute to increased levels of stress.
Therefore, it is important that you follow proper nutrition filled with foods from the five food groups as well as eliminate caffeine and alcohol from your diet to help keep stress levels low.
Also, remember to stay physically active as exercising releases chemicals in the brain which may help improve the ability to focus and deal with stressful situations.
Get a good night’s sleep
Unfortunately, anxiety disorders are often connected to sleeping problems. Excess worry, fear and overthinking can make it harder to fall asleep at night, leading to sleep deprivation, insomnia, and other sleeping issues.
The good news is there are numerous simple strategies you can try out to help relax your body and mind and ease yourself into sleep.
For example, practicing good sleep hygiene is one of the most effective techniques and refers to various habits that are necessary for good sleep quality. Some of these include limiting screen time before bed and no major physical activity or heavy meals close to bedtime.
Keep a diary
You may also find that keeping a thought diary can help manage anxiety and panic attack symptoms. Writing down your thoughts gives you the perfect opportunity to notice your thought patterns and track how they change over time.
To get started, create a journal page with these five columns:
- Case in which you will note the current situation you are in
- Feelings where you will write down the feelings you are experiencing as a result of the case
- Thinking where you will notice your thinking patterns
- Illusions where you will identify any illogical ideas
- The reality which will include the realistic outcome of your case
Final thoughts
Although occasional anxiety can be good for you, prolonged states of it can significantly affect your physical, mental, and emotional health. Not managing it right can lead to severe anxiety disorders which can easily interfere with your daily life.
Fortunately, there are many effective ways you can manage anxiety symptoms and reduce the occurrence of panic attacks. From maintaining a healthy lifestyle and practicing mindfulness to keeping a journal and taking the right medications, you have plenty of self-care options to choose from to cope with various anxiety issues.
