10 Powerful Tips That Can Help You Lower Your Anxiety Levels
One of the most common issues that psychologists are asked to help their clients with is anxiety.
In truth, anxiety is something that everyone has from time to time, but when it becomes the default emotion and dominates a person’s life it can become completely debilitating, and in extreme cases, anxiety can make a person feel suicidal.
Whilst not everyone who suffers from anxiety will get to the stage where they are contemplating ending their life, it does not mean that their anxiety is any less bearable, but merely that their mindset has not got to the point where suicide seems the only way to escape what must seem like a living nightmare.
Thankfully, psychology has no shortage of ways to help those suffering from anxiety cope with it and also move forward to escape its shackles.
None of these ways will work on their own, and the more techniques that are used the better.
As such here are 10 powerful tips that psychologists share with their clients who wish to alleviate anxiety.
Lower Anxiety Tip #1 – Replace Sorry With Thank: Instead of using phrases that start with sorry, which is a word that often sparks anxiety, switch them around. For example ” Sorry I’m late” becomes “Thanks for waiting”.
Lower Anxiety Tip #2 – Track Your Anxiety Triggers: Take time to evaluate what the main triggers of your anxiety are. Is it bad news? Comments on social media?
A specific relationship? Whatever the triggers are you can reduce or eliminate them from your life.
Lower Anxiety Tip #3 – Do The Opposite: You will find that it is some of your own behaviours that are the seeds of some of your anxiety.
Recognise these and try to do the opposite behaviour. It can be fun having a messy bedroom when normally you would obsess with it being scrupulously neat and tidy, for example.
Lower Anxiety Tip #4 – Change Your Body Language: Your mind influences your body, and your body can also influence your mind.
Think about how you sit or stand and try to make your body language tell the world, as well as your mind, that you are a confident and relaxed person.
Lower Anxiety Tip #5 – Physical Exercise: Another tip that emphasises how much your physical health impacts your mental health.
You do not have to run a marathon, but at least take up some exercise or sport to help burn off excess energy, some of which will be nervous energy.
Lower Anxiety Tip #6 – Use The ‘5-4-3-2-1 Technique’: Whenever you feel anxiety is brewing within you, countdown from 5 to 1 in your mind and for each number focus on the following: 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 smells, and 1 is something positive about yourself.
Lower Anxiety Tip #7 – Follow Your Bliss: Your bliss can be one activity or many that give you great joy, and as such you should follow and partake in these as often as you can whether it be a hobby, a favourite meal, exercise, reading, or meeting friends for coffee, for example.
Lower Anxiety Tip #8 – Learn To Meditate: Meditation allows your mind to be completely still, and as such no anxious thoughts should be able to enter it.
Find a book, video, or online course teaching mediation as it will be one of the greatest things you ever learn.
Lower Anxiety Tip #9 – Put Yourself First: Anxiety often stems from trying to please everyone else all the time, which is impossible.
By all means, think of others but also ensure that you put yourself first from time to time.
Lower Anxiety Tip #10 – Don’t Think, Do!: Stop worrying about making the wrong decision which often leads to no decision at all.
Instead, make the decision that is good enough and brings a satisfactory outcome rather than looking for perfection all the time.