3 Effective Ways to Manage Your Anxiety Symptoms

Anxiety is a normal part of being human. As we do not know the future, we are often anxious about upcoming events. In normal doses, anxiety keeps us on our toes as we prepare ourselves for things to come such as meeting new playmates, tests at school, job interviews, a romantic date, or life as a married person with kids.

But suffering from the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a different matter altogether. When you suffer from generalized anxiety, it means that almost everything causes you to worry much more than other people.

Trivial things like the wrong clothing color combination or something in your teeth can cause you great fear of rejection, while larger anxiety symptoms like forgetting an answer on a test or possibly being a few minutes late for an important meeting can truly cause you to lose control.

Though people around you may think you are just being silly, the sense of dread for a GAD sufferer is very real. Work or school becomes difficult as worries are always nagging at them, affecting their concentration. These worries also keep them up at night as they fear the worst, leading to irritability in the morning and possibly even depression.

Though only 3.1 percent of the U.S. population suffers from GAD, it still translates to 6.8 million affected adults which is a big number indeed. Fortunately, GAD is an issue that can be addressed.

Classifying the Anxiety Symptoms

The anxiety symptoms may be divided into three groups, allowing for a counteractive response to each one. The first concerns uncomfortable physical arousal which often causes panic. The second involves stress, tension, and dread. The third is about constant worrying.

This remainder of this article is centered on the role of Body Management to combat the first set of anxiety symptoms.

Using Body Management for Physical Arousal and Panic

When anxiety hits, the physical symptoms are quite noticeable as they are the things you often feel when you dread what will happen next. Recall how you feel when you watch a horror or a suspense movie. You might experience stomach pain or feel a pit begin in your tummy; your hands may become sweaty; your muscles may tighten as your body is ready to run or fight.

When it is a panic attack, the breathing often quickens, or you may experience shortness of breath; you may also feel dizzy or have tingling sensations. The heart starts pumping faster and you may feel like it is ready to jump out. For others, there is tension in the shoulders, neck, or jaw. And of course, it becomes harder to think.

These need to be controlled lest stress and tension become a constant part of a sufferer’s life.

Taking Care of the Body

Physical issues need physical solutions and the first of these is to control one’s body. One way is to take care of it and keep it in good health. For this, exercise, proper food intake and sufficient rest are necessary – things that many people now have difficulty doing. Caffeine and alcohol intake must also be reduced as these keep the body in an anxious state.

If the body feels weak or tired every day, then the easier it may be to feel afraid of the small things you encounter in daily life (e.g. fear of getting sick because someone sneezed on you). But if your body feels strong and in control then it will be easier to fight off the urge to panic.

The Role of Diaphragmatic Breathing

The next method is to incorporate diaphragmatic breathing into your routine. This deeper way of breathing allows you to calm down and relax – something seen in meditation practices. When practiced regularly, the body becomes used to this relaxed state, helping minimize anxiety issues. However, when the anxiety arousal symptoms do occur, diaphragmatic breathing can then lessen or even stop the stress response.

Practice mindful awareness

The final technique is to practice mindful awareness. Instead of always thinking about your situation negatively, focus on what can be done to prevent them. Typically, the more a person dwells on the negative, the easier it becomes to succumb to anxiety and panic. Moreover, rather than being reactive, a GAD sufferer needs to be proactive in dealing with their symptoms.

This is done by becoming more mindful of how your body moves – how you breathe, how your heart beats, and even how your stomach feels. You then shift attention away from yourself and onto the environment – what are the sounds, the smells, the temperature, and even the feel of the clothing and breeze on your skin.

By doing this regularly, you experience more control and awareness over your body, allowing you to possibly prevent an attack from occurring as you are conscious of what may trigger your anxiety.

One does not have to be a slave to the general anxiety disorder. By dealing with it proactively and in a methodical manner, a person can control their body and mind and not the other way around.