Anxiety can be debilitating, and can make a person question everything, from relationships to future events. When someone suffers from anxiety, they often feel unsure of the cause for it. This can cause the person to build on another layer of anxiety just because they do not know why they are feeling that way! There are several powerful ways for a person to manage their anxiety without the use of drugs. These may include therapy, support groups, meditation, yoga, and self-care activities, just to name a few.
Therapy can be very beneficial because it allows the person to work through any deep-rooted fears with their therapist. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a common technique the therapists will use to assist the individual with finding healthy ways to manage their anxiety and relax more, as well as to help the person change their thought patterns. One example of a CBT exercise would be for the person to rewrite their fear in a more rational way when they are feeling anxious. This helps the person break down their worry into a more realistic point of view.
Support groups can help an individual relax if they have anxiety, primarily because they can share their worries and concerns with others who understand what they are going through. By voicing one’s fear out loud, oftentimes individuals recognize that their worries are not as “big” as their anxiety makes them seem.
Meditation provides yet another way for an individual to relax. Meditation can be practiced formally or informally, and allows the person to ground themselves. By staying grounded, the person can more clearly see what is happening and can watch the anxious thoughts come and go, without giving special attention to any one thought. Yoga strengthens and relaxes the body, and its primary use it to harmonize the body with the mind and breath through breathing exercises, yoga poses, and meditation.
Self-care activities that help with relaxing anxiety are: doing something active – like jumping jacks to break up thought patterns, touching ice to ground oneself, counting down several things that one can see, touch, hear, smell, and taste, taking a nice shower, working on a relaxing hobby, or cuddling with a loving pet, just to name a few.
For some individuals, medication assists them with relaxing if they are feeling anxious. However, each person reacts differently to medication and should determine with their doctor the best route for them. Relaxation is possible when one is experiencing anxiety – and there are many resources that can be used for support.
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References
What is yoga? (n. d.). Retrieved on September 1st 2017, from https://www.artofliving.org/us-en/yoga
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