*Summary at the end of this article!*
If you know what anxiety feels like then you already know: anxiety is not fun. Anxious feelings are unpleasant.
At best, the anxious feelings won’t be more than mild nervousness before something important or meaningful is about to happen. At worst, the anxiousness will be a full blown anxiety attack over something small or out of your control.
As with all medical problems, see your doctor if anxiety is disrupting your quality of life. And also, all medical problems will come with circumstances that are specific to you and your situation. One size does not fit all.
The numerous anxiety-related disorders pinpoint all the different ways that these uncomfortable feelings and stress responses display themselves.
To have true happiness in your life, anxiety sufferers have to find a way to not be weighed down by it. As with everything, rising above anxiety starts with knowing what it is. This is key to stopping anxiety attacks once and for all.
What Is Anxiety?
The Easy Light Sources definition of anxiety is stress. This can be the stress of the unknown, the stress of not being in control, or anything else that applies.
Stress is a part of life. How you handle it is really what matters. A lot of stressful situations can be prevented by:
- Being organized
- Not obsessing over things you cannot control
- Controlling your thoughts
- Having a hobby or interest to participate in
Unrecognized stress and anxiety can turn into unhealthy coping skills. Uncontrolled anxiety can get progressively worse.
Chemical-Free Anxiety Medication?
Treating yourself without medication is only for the strongest amongst us. Everyone is stronger than they think.
If you’ve been diagnosed with a split brain, or you believe that you need medication to stop you from hurting someone then go ahead and medicate yourself. But just remember, a dependency is not a cure. If you as unable to have the anxiety management drugs, you don’t want to fall apart.
Treating yourself without medication and pills is possible. It’s just stress management using the natural resources available to you!
A word about anxiety treatment with natural substances: CBD Oil is the latest natural supplement for anxiety. People love it and there’s are thousands of testimonials that support the claim that CBD Oil is the bees knees. On a lesser tier, herbs, such as valerian and passionflower also do the same relaxing things in the body. Natural substances are a good way to go but NO substances is the actual way to go for longevity (long-term anxiety relief).
It would be helpful to learn ways to ground yourself with your five senses. Learning these things before you have an anxiety attack will make it easier to use them during an anxious moment.
- Sight – Take several moments to look at something beautiful. Pretty flowers, regal animals, artistic cloud patterns, smiling faces of your loved ones, lush green grass, colorful fruit. Anything that you like that you find pleasant to your eyes… You can also close your eyes and visualize the pleasant things that you enjoy looking at.
- Smell – Make it a priority to smell some fresh air every day. There are other scents too – natural oils, essential oils, fresh flowers, cooking food and/or baked goods, pungent herbs, coconut oil, and more.. It doesn’t have to just be things you like the smell of. The scent of bitter herbs also brings new energy to your experience.
- Feelings – Take a moment to appreciate the texture of different materials around you. The pattern of your jeans, the softness of a cotton shirt, the cool metal of your earrings, your heavy belt buckle, a plush blanket, a soft pillow…. Feelings also come in the form of an emotional expression. Indulge in the feeling of things that you are grateful for, thankful for, and what brings feelings of joy.
- Taste – Because of the tendency for food to become a dependency, anxiety-related disorders should not be treated with food. Sweets, candy, salty foods, chips, all of these things should be enjoyed in peace. Anxiety attacks are not peaceful moments.
- Hearing – “They say music can alter moods and talk to you.” It’s true! Because of this truth, the music that you listen to during anxious moments should be pre-chosen before you have a moment. Use any and all of your favorite songs. If you enjoy hate music – That is, music with negative or harm inducing lyrics, listen to it once or a few times. As you listen to it, have the intention to release your anxiety into the lyrics. Cry if you need to. But balance it out with some “it will be okay, it’s a wonderful day” type of lyrics.
The options are endless! It is worth it to take the time to determine what you like and what adds good energy to your mental state. Keep your resources close to you.
If none of the simple suggestions above help, you may really want to consider whether or not you actually want to be rid of anxiety. You have the give it a try.
Now we should really talk about social anxiety.
What Causes Social Anxiety?
Social anxiety has two components:
You
Other people
Other people can be mean, they can be jerks. For some reason there are some people who are mean spirited on purpose. They want other people to feel pain and hurt. Being on the receiving end of this energy can certainly cause people problems socially.
Being teased will certainly prevent someone from wanting to share their thoughts and ideas with others because of the fear of being ridiculed.
It’s understandable but it’s also a weak position that hinders you from progressing socially and otherwise.
A person with social anxiety would benefit much better to accept more responsibility for their social anxiety.
The harsh truth comes down to the fact that most socially anxious people have insecurity at their core. Sure, the insecurity may be caused by someone else’s actions toward you but it takes a strong person to decide to control their own feelings. Be that strong person.
Strength and believing in yourself has many forms and it looks different depending on the situation.
Being able to adapt is a key skill to live without anxiety. But first, let’s see what strength and believing in yourself looks like:
- Saying no when you want to say no.
- Letting someone know when they’re being a jerk.
- Speaking your opinion and/or speaking facts that you know to be true.
- Dressing in a style that you find appealing.
- Leaving a room that is hostile towards you.
- Entering a room that you belong in.
- Not believing negative things that people say to you or about you.
- Choosing to be happy.
- Practicing self-care to increase your personal value.
- Always doing your best.
When it comes to adaptation, there is strength in flexibility. Being too rigid makes it hard for other people to work with you. Just how you have your own thoughts and ideas about things, so do other people. Only wanting to do things your way is unfair to other people. It is also unfair to you because that means that you’re blocking your ability to expand your mind via other other perspectives.
Control issues is a form of anxiety, too. Wanting to control everything causes stress because 1) you’ll be stressed if things don’t go according to how you want it to. And 2) you’ll be uptight as you hold on too tight.
Just. Relax.
Drugs and Anxiety
Drugs cause anxiety. If you can’t get the drug, you’ll be anxious. You can become anxious as you worry about the quality of your drugs. The way that a drug reacts with your brain cells may cause anxiety. Being high and not in control can cause anxiety. Taking a break from drugs can cause anxiety as your body cleanses itself.
And so on. Remember, any substance can cause anxiety. Especially if you can’t get any and you don’t know how to cope with sobriety.
Why Does Depression and Anxiety Commonly Go Hand-in-Hand?
The unfortunate truth is that many people who have depression also have anxiety. Depression, for many, is a lower energy form of anxiety.
To be frank, each of these emotional disorders are bad enough on their own. Combining them into a common phrase -depression and anxiety – subliminally encourages people to put them together and claim both problems.
However, unfortunately, lots of people who have one of these disorders will have the other. That’s because they share a root cause of perspective: pessimism.
So, What Are Some Proper Solutions / Anxiety Coping Skills:
There are some coping skills listed earlier in this article geared toward the 5 senses. So instead of repeating those great suggestions, it would be helpful to mention something that is not popularly stated when it comes to treating anxiety. That is –
SELF-CONTROL.
Anxiety is an emotional and thought-driven disorder. You can control your thoughts. JUST THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE.
Before you say “It’s not that easy” ask yourself this question: “would you rather think about what’s causing your anxiety attack or would you rather think about something else?” Stop reliving bad experiences.
If you must think about the trigger then CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE about it. In any unfortunate situation, determine how you can win or benefit from it. Whatever it is, frame it in a way that it works to your advantage.
If you can’t do that then your mental fortitude needs to be strengthened.
**SUMMARY**
- Anxiety is an unhealthy response to stress.
- Grounding yourself is a good way to curve anxiety attacks.
- For long-lasting anxiety relief, it’s imperative to learn how to cope without the use of any substances (natural/unnatural).
- At the root of social anxiety is insecurity.
- Drugs cause anxiety.
- Depression and anxiety both have pessimism as a root cause.
- Anxiety solutions include getting an anxiety bracelet, getting counseling, meditation, controlling your thoughts, being organized, and going with the flow.
