Anxiety is a serious mental problem which if left untreated can lead to extremely high stress levels. What happens when a person gets too stressed out? Usually, they tend to not want to go out anywhere or see anybody till they ?snap out of it?. But every person is unique and each may have a different threshold of finding relief. As I've gotten older I found that treating myself'by myself was not a wise choice. My family and friends could probably have helped, had I let them. Most people don't like discussing their anxiety, stress and depression for various reasons. This, unfortunately just amplifies the problem more times than not. The sooner you can admit to yourself and others that you have a problem, the sooner you can begin to resolve it.
Here are 12 positive ways of coping with stress, anxiety and depression.
1. Listening To Music Music offers us relief from stress in several ways. It often helps us to open ourselves emotionally and let loose feelings that may be causing the stress. Music inspires us to examine our lives, ourselves and our relationships.
2. Playing With Your Pet Having pets often provides one of the greatest stress relief techniques known. Research shows having a pet can help improve your health and even your marriage. According to researchers, when people interact with their pets, it lowers their blood pressure and slows their heart rate reducing stress levels.
3. Laughing or Crying Whenever we are under stress the limbic system is activated and it is one of the major centers responsible for emotions and feelings. The parasympathetic system is stimulated, with the symptoms sometimes being low blood pressure, slower respiration and relaxed muscles.
4. Going Out With a Friend (shopping, movie, dining) Humans are social animals and our social interactions and social behaviors are some of the most important and interesting features of our lives. Simply spending time with a friend doing something pampering can be stress relieving.
5. Taking a Hot Bath or a Hot Shower Generally, hot water quiets and soothes the body, slowing down the activity of internal organs. It calms the lungs, heart, stomach, and endocrine system by stimulating nerve reflexes on the spinal cord. Water seems to have special powers in getting rid of stress and rejuvenating our body.
6. Writing, Painting, or Other Creative Activities One of the factors which may be lead us toward a stressful lifestyle is not being able to express our creativity. Many people find that creative activities help them safely release their stress. You don't have to be formally trained and you don't have to have special, expensive equipment. And, it certainly doesn't matter if you've never done these things before.
7. Praying or Attending a House of Worship Recently, psychologists have become more aware of the positive effects that a person's faith may have on his or her life. A relatively large amount of literature is devoted to the stress-buffering role of different religious variables in coping with significant negative life stresses and daily stress. Though research has shown that stress can have negative consequences on a person's life, stress may actually help one advance in his or her spiritual walk. Faith can also positively affect stress and help a person to cope.
8. Exercising or Getting Outdoors to Enjoy Nature Exercise can decrease the production of stress hormones and counteract your body's natural stress response. The same regular exercise routine that helps prevent disease and builds muscle can also help you better manage stress. It pumps up your endorphins, can be considered meditation in movement and it improves your mood.
9. Quiet Discussions With a Spouse or Close Friend Take a break from the stress and talk out your problems with a trusted listener. Sharing burdens with a loved one helps reduce your stress load, even if just temporarily.
10. Gardening or Making Home Repairs Gardening is work, but it is satisfying work. It can be a great antidote to stress. It helps a person to unwind after a stressful day at work by concentrating on picking out weeds or pruning the plants is great.
11. Practicing Deep Breathing, Meditation, or Muscle Relaxation Meditation, or if one prefers, conscious breathing. is an age-old remedy that can actually counter the body's response to stressful stimuli. The body reacts in the same way for all stressors, real and imagined. In point of fact, the mind can play a significant role in turning off the stress response as well. All one needs do is begin to breathe, consciously.
12. Having Sex (a great stress reliever) Brace yourself for some startling news: Having sex is relaxing. Participants in a recent study were less stressed out by public speaking or a math test if they'd just had sex than if they hadn't. In addition to effectively taking your mind off of your worries for a decent period of time, sex provides some other stress management benefits such as mood enhancement, reduced blood pressure and heart rate, deep breathing, a physical workout plus a sense of touch and social support.
Some negative coping responses for stress, anxiety and depression are listed below.
1. Criticizing Yourself (negative self-talk) Negative thoughts may be mild or mean, and when mean, it's difficult not to believe them. When thoughts are mostly negative due to low self-esteem, feelings of anxiety, anger and sadness are experienced more often.
2. Driving Aggressively Aggressive driving can be caused by your own mood, reactions, and ability to deal with stress on and off the road. Aggressive driving is triggered by anger...yours or another driver's. Aggressive drivers are more likely to speed, make unsafe lane changes, ignore the right of way, and violate traffic signals.
3. Chewing Fingernails Nail biting is generally described as a common stress-relieving habit. The habit of biting one's fingernails occurs especially during periods of nervousness, stress or boredom.
4. Becoming Aggressive or Violent (hitting someone, throwing or kicking something) Scientists have found biological evidence that stress and aggression feed off of each other, contributing to a ?cycle of violence? that can be tragic.
5. Eating Disorders or Drinking Excessive Amounts of Coffee When we encounter stress, we tend to seek things that are less stressful. A common theory is that eating disorders are (unhealthy) ways to regulate difficult emotions. These emotions include anxiety, sadness, loneliness, boredom, anger, shame, guilt, hopelessness, and more. The eating disorders themselves are self-destructive but yet offer the sufferer some perceived relief.
6. Smoking or Other Tobacco Use If you smoke to reduce stress, you are only adding to your stress, according to psychological studies in the October issue of the American Psychological Association's American Psychologist. Evidence shows that the apparent relaxant effect of smoking only reflects the reversal of the tension and irritability that develop during nicotine depletion. Far from acting as an aid for mood control, nicotine dependency seems to increase stress.
7. Consuming Excessive Amounts of Alcohol Stress is considered a major contributor to the initiation and continuation of addiction to alcohol as well as to relapse. In addition, the younger someone starts drinking alcohol, the more likely he or she is to reach for a drink to relieve stress when older.
8. Yelling at Your spouse, Children, or Friends Some people attemp to rid themselves of stress by yelling at others. Some yell at those closest to them. Other yellers randomly choose different victims for each stressful event. Although it may relieve the yeller, yelling causes a vicious ripple of stress in anybody within hearing distance.
9. Taking Recreational Drugs Certain drugs, both recreational and medicinal, can lead to symptoms of anxiety due to either side effects or withdrawal from the drug. Such drugs include caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, cold remedies, decongestants, bronchodilators for asthma, tricyclic antidepressants, cocaine, amphetamines, diet pills, ADHD medications, and thyroid medications.
10. Avoiding Social Contact Data from a new Swedish study shows strong new evidence that high levels of stress combined with a lack of close friends or family can significantly reduce life expectancy. The researchers propose that stress, if not buffered by emotionally reassuring relationships, may lower resistance to disease.
Think about your responses to see how you cope with stress and anxiety. What positive ways of coping can you choose instead of negative ones? Negative methods of coping have harmful side effects. By choosing positive ways to control stress and anxiety, you can avoid harmful side effects and improve your overall quality of life.
From a broader social point of view, it is an interesting phenomenon. After all, in privileged developed countries that have high standards of living, you would think that anxiety and depression rates would be low. Not so! In fact, the opposite is true with many health professionals stating that anxiety and depression are part of the malaise affecting modernized societies across the world.
The problem of depression and anxiety is part and parcel of the failure of modern day materialism and consumerism. Despite having all the things we want and need, people everywhere are still failing to find happiness in their day-to-day lives.
And it isn't surprising really when you consider the costs of our material wealth. Too often these days people are spending more and more of their time working, and losing precious time with their families and friends.
Our urbane existences are hectic, fast-paced and individualized with little opportunity for meaningful social interaction. It's no wonder so many people feel anxious or develop depression. Thankfully, many people who suffer from these conditions are finding meditation a very effective way of treating the signs and symptoms.
Do you suffer from an anxiety condition?
But firstly, what are the signs of anxiety conditions? The symptoms of anxiety illnesses are varied and diverse that includes any one (or a combination) of the following problems:
1) Breathing problems, or shortness of breath 2) Hot flushes or cold sweats 3) Numbness or tingling sensations. 4) Heart arrhythmia, palpitations or chest pains 5) Dizziness or lightheadedness. 6) Morbid thoughts, or terror or sudden fear that something terrible will happen. 7) A sensation of loss of control 8) Agoraphobia 9) Inability to socialize 10) Avoidance of crowds or open spaces 11) General tension and anxiety and an inability to relax most of the time.
Do you suffer from depression?
The symptoms that accompany depression include: 1) Feelings of sadness, tension, confusion or irritability 2) A diminished interest or pleasure in usual activities or hobbies 3) Loss of energy, feeling tired despite lack of activity 4) Unusually lowered or increased appetite, with corresponding weight gain or loss 5) Over sleeping or insomnia or lack of sleep 6) Listlessness, restlessness or feeling slowed down 7) Decreased ability to concentrate or make decisions 8) Feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, or guilt 9) Suicidal ideation
How meditation can help both anxiety and depression
Obviously if you experience anxiety or depression-related symptoms in an ongoing way, or in a manner that interferes with normal life, then the very first step is to see a doctor. There is no doubt that medical attention and treatment is crucial to coping with anxiety or depression. That said, you can use meditation to help alleviate the symptoms and perhaps even cure yourself of both these life-affecting problems.
Unfortunately many people think you have to be part of a particular religion or spiritual tradition to meditate. Indeed meditation is too often associated with unconventional or offbeat eastern or new-age spiritual practices. This is a common misconception that overlooks the enormous mental benefits that mediation brings to peoples lives every day.
You certainly don't have to be a Buddhist or new-age hippie to get the benefits of meditation. In fact, for people suffering from either anxiety or depression, the great weight of medical research suggests that the relaxation techniques taught through meditation are invaluable for coping with the symptoms of both conditions.
How do I incorporate meditation into my day?
If you have decided to explore how meditation techniques can help your anxiety or depression, here are a few tips on including meditation into your day.
Start by telling your family that you are going to start practicing meditation every day, at a particular time during which you do not want to be disturbed.
Step 1: Find a quiet space in your house, preferably a room that can be closed off, giving you maximum privacy and seclusion. If you wish, you can play soft, relaxing music. Get comfortable either in a cross-legged position or by lying on the floor with your head supported by a pillow or bolster.
Step 2: Close your eyes and systematically work through every muscle in your body, relaxing each one in turn. Start with your toes, then work up you legs, and so on, relaxing every single muscle so you feel loose, tranquil and as if you are melting into the floor. Even relax your jaw and eyelids!
Step 3: Once you feel completely relaxed, focus on slow, deliberate breathing. With every in-breath think of a word (for example, ?deep?) and say to yourself inwardly. In the same way, recite a word inwardly when you exhale (such as ?gentle?). Recite these two words as you inhale and exhale (?deep? then ?gentle?; ?deep? then ?gentle? and so on) for approximately 20 minutes.
Step 4: Control your mind by not letting it slip into analysis, planning or reflection. Simply focus on your breathing, and tune out all other thoughts. This is all it takes to meditate.
If you suffer from anxiety or depression, you can help manage your problem by simply incorporating the deep relaxation techniques of meditation.
Both Micheline Moreaux & Cucan Pemo 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.
Micheline Moreaux has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cure Anxiety, Panic Attacks and Cure Anxiety. I'm Micheline Moreaux, my articles and recommended products can be found at: .For more information about Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Pani. Micheline Moreaux's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.
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