Ease Your Anxiety and Get Back On Track
By Sandy Schroeder
Do you worry constantly? Do stress and anxiety and eat away at your joy, invade your thoughts and reduce life's little pleasures? If you are like me, stress. worry, and anxiety hang around most of the time.
- When you drive over a bridge do you always stay in the middle lane?
- Do you tense up when you have to speak up in work or in other groups online or in person?
- Do you expect the worse when the phone rings, or a surge of emails arrive?
- Do you brace yourself for the next text?
- Do you have a lot of obsessive behaviors?
Harvard Health says more than 40 million Americans have some form of anxiety disorder. If you feel you need help, speak with your doctor to see a specialist to assess the level of your anxiety.
Meanwhile, there are ways to push back on anxiety, lower stress, and reduce worry.
Exercise all of your options - Create a daily routine of stretches, weight lifting, walking, jogging or biking. Add a cycle or treadmill and yoga mat to your family room. Build morning and evening exercise options into your day. Your body will benefit and your worries may lift.
Relaxation techniques - Learn more about breathing exercises that you can do anytime, anywhere. Try moving meditations with tai chi or yoga. Or simply create a 10-minute meditation early in the morning and later in the evening. As you let go of tension, your stress and worry may lessen too.
Eat better - Skip the pizza and take-out for a bit and order fresh produce, low-fat dairy, lean meats, and your favorite fish. Find some new recipes and involve the whole family in cooking and baking. Then sit down to supper without electronics. Good conversation may leave little room for worrying.
Make sleep a priority - Make sure you get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Go to bed at the same time every day including weekends. Make sure your pillow and mattress are comfortable. Avoid alcohol, electronic stimuli and spicy foods right before bedtime. Create a simple night time ritual with warm baths, soft music and healthy snacks.
Start laughing again - Nothing does more for the spirit than a hearty laugh. Watch for funny stories, and jokes. Break out the popcorn and enjoy funny old movies.
Wherever you are with worry, it never hurts to improve the situation. Take a few minutes to see how you feel about everything and then consider seeing your doctor to find a specialist to get help if you need help to work through everything.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Euless, Tex,