So, Shawn
suggested that I research some ways to help cope with stress and anxiety. I’m properly medicated, but there’ve been
moments (up to hours) a few times in the past few weeks that have sent my heart
racing, my hands fidgeting and my general anxiety into overdrive. So, here
I am trying to research some ways to cope.
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Learn to relax.
You may even need "breathing
retraining," Ross adds. "When people get anxious, they tend to hold
their breath. We teach people a special diaphragmatic breathing -- it calms
your system. Do yoga, meditation, or get some exercise. Exercise is a terrific
outlet for anxiety."
I’ve been
getting better at getting to sleep lately, since I’ve been using my meditation
app. While it may not be ideal at work,
I do need to work on breathing training and do it.
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Get moving
Regular exercise is a powerful
stress reliever—even though it may be the last thing you feel like
doing. Aerobic exercise—activity that raises your heart rate and makes you
sweat—is a hugely effective way to lift your mood, increase energy, sharpen
focus, and relax both the mind and body. For maximum stress relief, try to
get at least 30 minutes of heart-pounding activity on most days. If it’s easier
to fit into your schedule, break up the activity into two or three shorter
segments.
Make food choices that keep you going
Low blood sugar can make you feel anxious and
irritable, while eating too much can make you lethargic.Healthy eating can help you get through stressful work
days. By eating small but frequent meals, you can help your body
maintain an even level of blood sugar, keep your energy up, stay focused, and
avoid mood swings.
Drink alcohol in moderation and avoid
nicotine
Alcohol temporarily reduces anxiety and worry, but
too much can cause anxiety as it wears off. Drinking to relieve job stress may
also eventually lead to alcohol abuse and dependence.
Similarly, smoking when you're feeling stressed and overwhelmed may seem
calming, but nicotine is a powerful stimulant – leading to higher, not lower,
levels of anxiety.
Get enough sleep
Not only can stress and worry can cause insomnia,
but a lack of sleep can leave you vulnerable to even more stress. When you're
well-rested, it's much easier to keep your emotional balance, a key factor in
coping with job and workplace stress. Try to improve the quality of your sleep by
keeping a sleep schedule and aiming for 8 hours a night.
HA … I know
that the alcohol reduces anxiety … ahhhhh chillaxin’ with a bottle of wine, but
not the best way to cope. It’s an eye
opener about the food and exercise. I
haven’t been eating my healthy lunches of late … I haven’t been eating poorly,
but I’ve had less leafy greens and water and due to my knees haven’t been able
to work out. I must address these.
So … EVERY
DAY a spinach salad and EVERY TIME I get anxious at home I’ll go do floor
exercises, and at work, I’ll throw on sweats and go for a walk. Hell, if I’m in my jeans I’ll throw on my
work boots and walk around the warehouse.
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1. Repeat your
worry until you’re bored silly. If you had a fear of elevators, you’d get rid
of it if you rode in one a thousand times in a row. At first, you would be very
anxious, then less so, and eventually it would have no effect (except to make
you sick of riding in an elevator). So take the troublesome thought that’s
nagging at you and say it over and over, silently, slowly, for 20 minutes. It’s
hard to keep your mind on a worry if you repeat it that many times. I call this
the “boredom cure” for obvious reasons, but it sure beats feeling overwhelmed
by anxiety.
2. Make it
worse. When you try too hard to control your anxieties, you
only heighten them. Instead, exaggerate them and see what happens. For
instance, if you fear that your mind will go blank during a presentation, fake
it intentionally in the middle of your next one. Say, “Gee, what was I just
saying?” Notice how this makes no difference. It’s nothing to worry about,
right? I did this at a lecture once and no one raised an eyebrow. (Perhaps they
weren’t listening anyway!)
3. Don’t fight
the craziness. You
may occasionally have thoughts that lead you to think you’ll do something
terrible (“I’m attracted to him. Does that mean I’ll have an affair?”) or that
you’re going insane (a client of mine who is an attorney kept imagining herself
screaming in court). Remember―our minds are creative. Little synapses are
firing away at random, and every now and then a “crazy” thought jumps out.
Everyone has them. Instead of judging yours, describe it to yourself like it’s
a curious object on a shelf and move on.
4. Recognize
false alarms. That
fear of your house burning down because you left the iron on has never come
true. That rapid heartbeat doesn’t mean you’re having a heart attack; it’s your
body’s natural response to arousal. Many thoughts and sensations that we
interpret as cues for concern―even panic―are just background noise. Think of
each of them as a fire engine going to another place. You’ve noticed them; now
let them pass by.
5. Turn your
anxiety into a movie. You
can let go of a worry by disconnecting yourself from it. One way is to imagine
that your anxious thoughts are a show. Maybe they’re a little guy in a funny
hat who tap dances and sings out your worry while you sit in the audience,
eating popcorn, a calm observer.
6. Set aside
worry time. All too often we take a “Crackberry” approach to our worries:
They show up unannounced, like constantly dinging e-mails, and we stop
everything to address them―even if we should be doing something else. But what
if you don’t respond right away? Try setting aside 20 minutes every day―let’s
say at 4:30 p.m.―just for your worries. If you are fretting at 10 a.m., jot
down the reason and resolve to think it through later. By the time 4:30 comes
around, many of your troubles won’t even matter anymore. And you will have
spent almost an entire day anxiety-free.
7. Take your
hand off the horn. You
constantly check the weather before a big outdoor event. You replay that clumsy
comment you made, wishing you could take it back. And, yes, you honk your horn
in traffic. When you desperately try to take command of things that can’t be
controlled, you’re like the swimmer who panics and slaps at the water,
screaming. It gets you nowhere. Instead, imagine that you are floating along on
the water with your arms spread out, looking up to the sky. It’s a paradox, but
when you surrender to the moment, you actually feel far more in control.
8. Breathe it
out. You may notice that when your body is tense, you hold
your breath. Focusing on breathing is a common but effective technique for
calming the nerves. Where is your breath now, and where is your mind? Bring
them together. Listen to the movement of your breath. Does your mind wander
somewhere else? Call it back. Concentrate only on breathing in and out,
beginning and ending, breath to breath, moment to moment.
9. Make peace
with time. When you’re a worrier, everything can feel like an
emergency. But notice this about all your anxious arousal: It’s temporary.
Every feeling of panic comes to an end, every concern eventually wears itself
out, every so-called emergency seems to evaporate. Ask yourself, “How will I
feel about this in a week or a month?” This one, too, really will pass.
10. Don’t let
your worries stop you from living your life. Many of them will turn out to be false, and the
consequences of your anxiety―less sleep, a rapid pulse, a little
embarrassment―are just inconveniences when it comes down to it. What can you
still do even if you feel anxious? Almost anything.
WOW …
JACKPOT. I know yoga and
meditation. I have some breathing
techniques, but I could learn some new ones … but here’s a list of things I
haven’t heard before. I’ll let you know
if any of these work for me.
Again,
thanks Shawn, you’re making me an all-around better person!
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