f you suffer from any kind of anxiety and are in the process of seeking treatment, do not be surprised if your doctor or healthcare provider includes a regular exercise regimen in your prescription. Exercise and regular physical activity have been proven to help ease and soothe the frazzled nerves of people suffering from anxiety. More than minimizing anxiety attacks, exercise also makes it easier for people to manage symptoms of anxiety.
How exercise works to ease anxiety?
Some of the most common symptoms of anxiety include shortness of breath, heart palpitations, hyperventilation, dizziness, and stress. These symptoms are easily remedied or minimized by exercise. Regular cardiovascular exercise strengthens the heart and lungs ? organs affected by the symptoms. By making the heart stronger, exercise helps lower blood pressure and regulate heartbeat. A stronger heart also ensures that enough oxygen is supplied to the brain which minimizes dizzy spells. Cardiovascular exercise also increases lung power which prevents hyperventilation and shortness of breath. Exercise also reduces stress by encouraging the release of endorphins or feel-good hormones in the body.
Aside from improving your body's capability to handle anxiety symptoms, exercise also offers benefits that can make your general condition better.
Other benefits of exercise in easing anxiety
The benefits of exercise are not limited to improving your physical condition. Your overall emotional and psychological well-being can also benefit from exercise which can help ease anxiety symptoms. Below are some benefits exercise can give you in minimizing your anxiety:
- Exercise gives you distraction.
Instead of dwelling on your worries, getting into exercise can provide you with the necessary distraction. The music you listen to or the outdoor view can help your brain disengage from your worries and shift your attention to more pleasant things.
- Exercise boosts your confidence.
Aside from the obvious benefit of making you fit and look good, exercising can also boost your confidence. Treat excess pounds as hurdles you have to overcome and each pound lost, as an accomplishment. By doing so, exercise can make you feel accomplished aside from making you look good.
- Exercise allows you to socialize.
Anxiety can make you a recluse and shy away from other people. But exercise, like taking a walk or jogging around your neighborhood, can provide you with opportunities to be around other people and interact with them. Interaction can be as simple as an exchange of smiles or being reacquainted with other people around you.
- Exercise gives you an outlet to vent and cope.
There are many ways of coping with anxiety but not all of them are healthy. Some people resort to excessive drinking, drugs, getting into bad relationships, or overeating. These strategies are unhealthy and can do more damage to their mental health. On the other hand, exercising allows you to vent your anxiety into physical activity which helps you feel better and be healthier.
Exercising can contribute a lot to anxiety treatment and therapy. Aside from minimizing symptoms, exercise also allows you to improve your sense of well-being which is crucial to your recovery.
Are Symptoms Of Anxiety
Clinical anxiety often manifests itself through both physical and emotional symptoms. It is easily treatable through counseling or psychotherapy. Being able to identify its specific signs will help you get the psychological treatment that is best for you.
Emotional Symptoms
If you are reading this, you are probably experiencing so much fear or apprehension that it significantly impairs the quality of your life. There is a wide variety of symptoms that may be troubling you.
These can include uneasiness, restlessness,fearfulness, foreboding, or torturous obsessions, which seem to be triggered by even the most ordinary things. You may also have problems concentrating, problem solving or you may even avoid doing important things out of fear.
You may also experience an uncomfortable fidgetiness, edginess, irritability, self consciousness or nervousness. Also, people who are dealing with the clinical form of anxiety may obsess on the thought that they are going to die or go crazy. Remember, it does not have to be only one of these signs, but can be a combination of many of them.
Physical Symptoms
Clinical anxiety also can display physical signs. You may be experiencing back pain, worrisome heart palpitations, cold hands,shortness or shallowness of breath, indigestion, bowel dysfunctions or skin problems.
Some of these may be familiar to you if you have had panic attacks. The intensity of symptoms often vary as well. If you experience any number of the above signs or symptoms, call a physician or psychologist for an initial consultation to discuss the possibility of treatment.
Types of Anxiety Disorders
There is not just one type of anxiety disorder; there are actually five main ones. The first type can feature a vague chronic apprehension accompanied by an ever-present tension and worry which often seems provoked by nothing in particular. This is known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Obsessive-compulsive Disorder is another type; it features recurrent, repetitive, sometimes odd behaviors following the occurrence of irrational fear-laden and unwanted thoughts. The compulsions or symptomatic behaviors can include excessive hand washing and/or frequent ritualistic forms of checking or counting.
These wasteful and odd behaviors are triggered by a severe, though irrational fear of harm and the desperate hope that the sufferer is going to prevent it from happening.
Another type of anxiety disorder is panic disorder which is characterized by discrete, repeated and unexpected episodes of intense fear that one is going to collapse, die or go crazy. These episodes manifest themselves unexpectedly, for no rational reasons and display many of the above anxiety-manifesting symptoms.
PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is triggered by a traumatic incident which took place in the patients life. These traumas can include the occurrence of life-threatening motor vehicle accidents, episodes of military combat, natural or human-engendered disasters and violent physical assaults.
The last main type of anxiety disorder is Social Anxiety Disorder. It manifests itself by the presence of overwhelming apprehension, worry and extreme feelings of self consciousness in typical social situations.
Millions of people in America are afflicted with various types of anxiety disorders, ranging from lesser to almost catastrophic intensity. The good news is that if you are one of them, counseling, psychotherapy and other drug-free approaches can be very effective in relieving your symptoms.
Get an initial consultation with a counselor or psychologist today.
Both Kristine Gonzaga & Mike Shery are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Kristine Gonzaga has sinced written about articles on various topics from Getting Pregnant, Health and Birth Control. Kristine Anne Gonzaga is a content writer and researcher who specializes in health topics and health-related issues. She delights in finding tips and ideas on simple and practical healthcare and sharing them through her writing.Choose Variety of High Qual. Kristine Gonzaga's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.
Mike Shery has sinced written about articles on various topics from Addictions, Cure Anxiety and Family. Dr Shery is in Cary, IL, near Algonquin, Crystal Lake, Marengo and Lake-in-the-Hills. He's an expert psychologist. Call 1 847 516 0899 and make an appt or
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