Two Practical Ways To Deal With Anxiety

The last thing people want to hear when they’re anxious is some elaborate exercise to lower anxiety. Feeling anxious is not only uncomfortable; it is also hard to think when you’re anxious. In fact, difficulty concentrating is one of the symptoms of anxiety. Therefore, I want to tell you two of the simplest ways to reduce anxiety; when you hear them you may think that they are so simple as to not be worth saying. But we need to hear them anyway; especially because for most people, anxiety causes us to forget very basic things. Remembering this may be just what is necessary to bring you back to a more stable, clear mind state.

1.) Remove a Stressor.

First, a stressor is simply whatever causes stress, and stress is the bodily response to anxiety. Up to a certain degree, stress is okay; but too much and things start to fall apart.

In some ways this is the easiest way to reduce stress and anxiety — simply put away whatever the stressor is. Of course, there are many cases where this just isn’t a reasonable option. Take kids, for example. Especially when they are toddlers, kids bring a lot of stress into their parent’s life (as well as a lot of joy). But in all cases (except for a tragic few) parents do not remove their kids from their lives — dropping them off with their grandparent’s for a weekend is another matter! One’s job is another example of a stressor that can’t be simply removed even though it often brings considerable stress. Of course, sometimes getting a new job is an entirely reasonable option. But what do we do with the tons of other stressors in life? For example, traffic, obligations to others, household tasks, school work, grocery shopping, budgeting, paying the bills, and everything else that makes up a life.

It can be difficult to decide what to take off, and so it helps to prioritize. Here are some questions to ask yourself: 1.) Is it necessary, for me and/or for my family? 2.) Does it align with my values? 3.) How much would it cost me and my family if this stressor was gone?

2.) Add a Stress-Reducer

This is very often overlooked when people are overly stressed. The tendency is to buckle down and try harder, which of course only makes the stress worse. Stress-reduction, though, is one of the wisest decisions you can make when you find yourself overly stressed. And there are so many ways to do this. This includes everything and anything from going to the gym, going for a walk, deep breathing, praying, eating a healthy meal, limiting caffeine, playing a sport, watching a movie or reading a book, writing in a journal, working in the yard, spending time with friends, and on and on. I’m sure you could come up with several more things you do to reduce stress.

It is important here to mention rhythm. Rhythm is simply an intentional structuring of your week in order to put you in optimal physical, mental and spiritual health. It’s one thing to add a stress-reduction technique whenever you’re feeling particularly stressed out; it’s a whole other matter to build these into your week so that they become almost automatic.