DEALING WITH ANXIETY

Worrying and fear of what the future awaits, with what’s happening in the world right now, maybe most of us have to think of it every once in a while.

Feeling anxious that leads to stress and overthinking because of the pandemic or any personal problems?

Dealing with anxiety is somehow complicated especially within these trying times, but there are ways to cope and slowly lift our spirit from being down.

• Emotion Acknowledgment. Acceptance of what you feel. If you’re feeling sad, anxious, angry, fearful, or whatever emotion it is, listen to your mind and body. Let the emotion sink in and live with it even just for a moment. Feeling down lately? You can cry. It’s best to write up what you feel, keep on track the flow of your emotions. How often do you feel this certain emotion? Write it up to see the changes in your mood and see the pattern.

• Know your triggers, now that you’ve tracked the pattern of your emotions, you can identify what is the cause of that certain mood. When you felt sad on a specific day, identify what is the root cause of that emotion. The next time you will have that feeling again, then you can easily specify what triggers you. Triggers can manifest into a person, event in your life such as memories, actions, or even words. These are the factors that cause your anxiety or change of mood/feelings.

• Eliminate or avoid the culprit of anxiety. If being around with a certain person makes you feel uncomfortable or worried, then cut your connections with them. If can’t be avoided, better lessen the communication towards them. A toxic environment can be the main cause of your anxiety, as much as possible stay away from those kinds of surroundings. If a specific memory, word, or action triggers your anxiety, then better tell people around you about it, so they will be aware and avoid manifesting it.

• Divert emotions. Find a new hobby, or develop a new skill. We need to move to avoid overthinking. If you lay-down all day scrolling on that phone then surely you’ll be fed up and drained after. Build a habit that you can practice most of the time to lessen the time from worrying and being anxious. Try exercising, baking, cooking, painting, writing, cleaning up your home, or whatever movement that can divert attention from worrying and make you feel relaxed and occupied.

• Share your thoughts. Socializing is somehow a release of anxiety but not for all. Some people prefer to keep it within themselves. If you’re not comfortable sharing it with others, then write it up like what I said in #1 above. If you’re the vocal type of person, better share it with someone close with you. Seeking a professional’s help would be also the best recommendation to do. When you can’t handle your thoughts and experiencing serious anxiety attacks, kindly press this link to contact a certain professional mental health worker to help you. Mental health is as important as our physical body’s health. Whenever we get sick, the first thing that comes in our mind is to see a doctor. Then why not with our mental health as well.

• Meditate, the simplest way to calm and take care of our mental health. Making a habit of a 5-10 minute mindful breathing with relaxation music is a good exercise for our mental and spiritual being.

• LOVE YOURSELF! No one can help you from battling with your thoughts but YOURSELF. Believe in the power of your mind, if you think you can conquer any obstacles and worries that you are experiencing then definitely it will. A positive mindset can bring hope and freedom from our anxiety and worries.