by Sophie Letts of Meditation Help.
Photo credit Alex Green from Pexels
Anxiety or panic attacks are feelings of terror that come without warning. They may occur at any time, day or night. Someone experiencing an anxiety attack might feel like they are about to die, others feel like their chest is closing up or are having a heart attack; this might actually be true because some of the symptoms match. These feelings can last up to 10 minutes.
However, It’s important to note that not everyone that worries too much has an anxiety disorder, most of the time, you are stressed because of a demanding schedule, an approaching deadline, or lack of sleep. Studies have shown that individuals with anxiety disorders have overactive brain activity compared to those without.
Anxiety disorders build up over time and may become worse if not dealt with. Preventing anxiety attacks is a gradual process that’s affected by your day-to-day activities.
Below are effective ways of preventing anxiety attacks;
Eat Right
Ensure that you eat enough, not too much or too little. Always eat a balanced diet and avoid foods that don’t agree with your body or can cause an allergic reaction because they can trigger an anxiety attack. Also, it’s advised that you avoid unhealthy food, like processed food, fast food, junk, and a lot of sugar.
Lastly, steer clear of smoking and caffeine. Alcohol and illicit drugs might seem to calm you down, but they might interfere with your medication, affect your sleeping pattern, or throw off your emotional balance.
Interact with others
Being lonely and isolating yourself from others is not helpful when you have an anxiety disorder. It will only trigger an anxiety attack or worsen your anxiety. It will be helpful if you talk to a loved one about your feelings, join a support group, or regularly meet out with friends.
For someone with social anxiety, it’s important that you take things slow as you build up. Remember, it’s never too late to build a new friendship or relationship.
Attend yoga classes
Studies show that yoga can help reduce anxiety, depression, improve overall health and self-esteem. It can be helpful to someone who experiences anxiety attacks because you aren’t being asked to make sense of your feelings. Instead, it’s a tool that lets you get in touch with those intense feelings, identify them, and develop effective calming methods.
In short, yoga helps you regulate your feelings and build resilience to anxiety. Yoga includes poses, breathing, and meditation. The poses focus on physical flexibility and strength. Physical stress can help improve mental stress; being flexible also lets you live a stress-free life and gives you a sense of freedom.
Breathing exercises are also key when dealing with anxiety attacks. Most of the time, when you experience an anxiety attack, you are asked to take deep breaths. Breathing in yoga helps you control your breathing which helps control your mind.
Meditation lets you digest your feelings, and doing them helps quiet any chaos in your head. It also helps you be more mindful and not judge yourself too harshly, which triggers anxiety attacks. Luckily, InTune Yoga Wellness is readily available for you and will help you control your anxiety attacks.
Get enough sleep
Lack of sleep makes you tired. It triggers anxious feelings and thoughts, which may, in turn, cause anxiety attacks. Experts recommend up to 9 hours of sleep for adults.
Avoid stress
Avoiding stress and worry is a significant factor that will help deal with your anxiety attacks. Most of the time, worrying is what causes the attacks. Separate yourself from situations that alleviate stressful thoughts. You can also learn to accept uncertainties.
For instance, if you are always worried about something at work and have constant anxiety attacks because of it, a career change might be necessary. Consider going back to school for a career change. Luckily, you can enroll in an online program and start while you are still at your current job. We have a variety of fields you can major in and get a degree, for example, a degree in Computer Science will help kick off a career in IT.
Other fields you can study online are…
- Healthcare management
- Accounting
- Human resource management
- Marketing
- Master of business administration
Conclusion
Managing your anxiety attacks is important for school, work, social relationships, and your overall health in general. Ensure that you exercise regularly, eat healthily, talk to someone and maybe make major life-changing decisions for a healthy lifestyle. With time, these attacks will reduce, and you will be able to manage them.
Sophie Letts is a guest blogger. To learn more visit her website at Meditation Help.