What Helps Anxiety? Five Tips To Decrease Anxiety Symptoms
Most people experience anxiety at some point in their lives. Anxiety can involve worried thoughts, mental tension, and even physical symptoms. It can be uncomfortable to experience, but there are often effective strategies to cope with this. For example, you might prioritize getting adequate sleep, practicing deep breathing, eating a healthy diet, taking note of stressors, and challenging your anxious thoughts. Online therapy can also be a beneficial tool to address anxiety with the help of a licensed mental health professional.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety can be defined as a common feeling that is typically characterized by worry or apprehension, and it often includes physical symptoms like tense muscles, faster breathing, and a rapid heartbeat. If you have a big presentation or an important test, you may be anxious about how you will perform. When you don’t know how an event will turn out, you may be stressed, worried, and anxious about it.
In many cases, anxiety makes sense and may not be a cause for larger concern. However, when you are anxious for a long period, or your anxiety is negatively affecting multiple aspects of your life, this could signal the presence of an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders usually involve anxiety that persists for an extended period of time, and they can include panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and various phobias. Anxiety can also coexist in the presence of other mental health conditions; for example, anxiety and depression can often occur comorbidly together.
Anxiety Symptoms
Recognizing these symptoms can help you see when anxiety is affecting your mind and body.
Here is a look at some of the potential signs and symptoms of anxiety disorders:
Fatigue
Increased heart rate
Panic or intense fear
Nervousness
Trouble breathing
Focusing only on your fear or worry
Avoidance of certain situations
Sleep issues
Gastrointestinal issues
Excessive sweating
Tips to decrease anxiety symptoms and enhance mental health
Experiencing anxiety can be uncomfortable and disruptive, but there are often ways to address the symptoms and find some relief. Included below are a few tips to consider for people who wish to ease anxiety.
Get adequate sleep and build a healthy sleep routine
Getting adequate, quality sleep at night can be important for several reasons. Sleep usually gives your mind and body a chance to reset and rejuvenate energy levels, which can help you believe you are more in control when you wake up. It can stabilize your mood and enable you to get through your daily tasks more smoothly. It may be helpful to try to go to sleep at the same time each night — even on the weekends. After doing this for a while, your body may start to get tired at the same time each day, which may mean you will have an easier time going to sleep each night.
Try deep breathing at the moment you're feeling anxious
Breathing deeply may relieve some of the anxiety. Anxiety often causes faster breathing or short breaths, so when you breathe deeply, you not only give your body a chance to steady your breathing again, but you may also give yourself a moment to change what you are doing and shift your focus. Sometimes, when you take yourself out of a stressful situation for a few minutes, you can gain a new perspective on it. Try to stop and take deep breaths whenever you sense your anxiety or stress peaking.
Eat nutrient-rich meals consistently
Eating a healthy diet can be beneficial for more than just your physical health. It can have mental health benefits as well. When we’re stressed and anxious, many of us reach for sugary foods, junk food, or other “comfort foods.” While this can be understandable, it may not be the best idea. Instead, try to eat a balanced diet and consider limiting caffeine, which may exacerbate anxiety. In addition, certain foods may also ease anxiety. For instance, a randomized control trial in 2011 found that increasing omega-3 in the diet can lessen anxiety in some individuals.
Pay attention to stressors when they arise
It may also be helpful to try to identify what seems to prompt your anxiety. In some cases, these things may be obvious, but at other times, you may have trouble pinpointing them. One approach to consider may be to keep track of your activities and emotions in a journal so that you can try to recognize certain patterns. Perhaps you notice that your anxiety spikes ahead of certain activities or after certain habits or interactions. By identifying what may be prompting these feelings, you may be able to incorporate changes to either remove those stressors or prepare more effective ways to cope with them.
Take time to challenge anxious thoughts
Challenging anxious thoughts may also be a useful approach for reducing anxiety. For example, if your brain tells you that you need to feel apprehensive about a situation, you may be able to recall a time when you did something similar, and it turned out well. This is a technique that may work best with the help of a professional therapist as well. A licensed therapist can explain how this process works, provide further mental health guidance, and offer tips as to how to implement this in your life. If you feel that further interventions such as medication may be necessary, you will need to seek out a psychiatrist or primary care physician who can legally diagnose anxiety and prescribe medications.
How online therapy can help you manage anxiety disorder
While the above tips may be helpful, sometimes managing anxiety can be too difficult to handle on your own. For those who want additional support, seeking professional help through therapy may be another option. Therapy may be able to help you challenge anxious thoughts, manage your anxiety in healthy ways, and gain key tools to help you handle certain situations more effectively.
For people with anxiety, the prospect of finding a therapist, going to a new location, and navigating an unknown situation can feel very daunting. Online therapy typically has the benefit of being available from wherever you have an internet connection. You can simply match with a therapist online and then have therapy sessions from wherever you feel most comfortable, potentially including your own home.
Research has shown that online therapy can be an effective treatment option for a range of concerns, including anxiety. For example, a 2019 study published in JMIR Formative Research examined an internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy program for social anxiety disorder. The researchers found that the online treatment was generally effective for individuals with social anxiety disorder, and that “there was evidence to suggest that the patient’s clinical outcomes were sustained at 3-month follow-up”. Online therapy may be able to provide lasting results for those experiencing social anxiety.
It is possible to find relief from stress, anxiety, and panic attacks.
Takeaway
Anxiety can feel uncomfortable and cause significant disruptions in your life, especially if you have an anxiety disorder or panic attacks. However, there may be steps you can take and approaches you can try to manage your anxiety and find relief. If you are experiencing anxiety, you may consider taking deep breaths, challenging your anxious thoughts, eating healthy foods, and getting plenty of sleep. Taking note of stressors can also offer insight. For further support, reach out to your primary care physician or an online therapist with a mental health organization, such as BetterHelp.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Are there foods that generally worsen anxiety?
There may be several foods and drinks that can make you feel more anxious than usual, potentially including alcohol, caffeine, and sugary foods. You may consider monitoring alcohol intake, and if possible, it may be beneficial to switch to drinking coffee with no caffeine and caffeine-free sodas. Sugary snacks and drinks can also have a negative impact.
Can mental disorders have physical symptoms?
Yes, individuals living with mental disorders can experience physical symptoms. Some physical symptoms may include:
Trembling or shaking
Heart palpitations or racing heart rate
Headaches
Excessive sweating
Stomach aches
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Muscle tension throughout the body
Insomnia or getting too much or not enough sleep
Chest pain and shortness of breath
While some individuals may experience many of these physical symptoms, others may not. Physical symptoms can also range in severity and frequency.
How can you reduce the physical symptoms of mental disorders?
If you are experiencing physical symptoms, you might consider some of these approaches to reduce them.
Ways to reduce anxiety symptoms and improve mental health
Avoid triggers
Increase time spent outdoors
Practice deep breathing
Gradually increase amounts of physical activity
Get adequate sleep
Avoid eating certain foods or drinks, such as caffeine, that can make anxiety worse
These methods may help reduce anxiety symptoms.
What’s the difference between anxiety and anxiety disorder?
Most everyone feels anxious from time to time as a direct response to stress or perceived threats. It's often characterized by feelings of worry, nervousness, or unease. However, an anxiety disorder involves more intense and persistent feelings of anxiety that can interfere with daily life. It's marked by excessive worry or fear that's disproportionate to the situation and can lead to physical symptoms such as a rapid heart rate, sweating, trembling, and difficulty concentrating. Unlike occasional feelings of anxiety, anxiety disorders persist over time and may require professional treatment to manage effectively.
What kinds of anxiety disorders are there?
Multiple disorders fall under the umbrella of anxiety disorders. These include:
Generalized anxiety disorder
Panic disorder
Social anxiety disorder (previously known as “social phobia”)
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Separation anxiety disorder
Treatment options for ongoing stress, excessive anxiety, or other mental health conditions can be found through a healthcare professional who administers services to individuals or in the context of a support group. Relaxation techniques and certain medications can also be effective treatment options for individuals with anxiety disorders. Always consult a physician before altering your prescription medication.
What is a panic attack?
A panic attack, which is similar to but distinct from an anxiety attack, is a sudden episode of intense fear or discomfort. Panic attacks can occur unexpectedly or in response to specific triggers and can vary in frequency and intensity from person to person, lasting anywhere from a few seconds to 30 minutes. Panic attack symptoms might cause an individual to experience:
Heart palpitations
Sweating
Trembling
Chest pain
Shortness of breath
Dizziness
The belief that they are doomed or are otherwise losing control
Who gets anxiety disorders and how common are they?
Anxiety disorders can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, or background. They are among the most common mental health conditions, affecting millions of people worldwide.
Does panic disorder go away?
Panic disorder doesn't usually go away on its own, but with proper treatment like therapy or medication, many people can manage their symptoms and reduce the frequency and intensity of panic attacks.
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