How to Deal with Anxiety

how to deal with anxiety

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In the modern world it’s easy to be mentally unwell. If you suffer from anxiety it’s helpful to know that the best way to deal with anxiety is to manage your stress level, practice relaxation techniques, improve family and friend connections for support, exercise more regularly, and get better sleep. Natural approaches to how to deal with anxiety and depression are best, but for some people they will also need to consider prescription medication.

An Itch That Doesn’t Go Away

It’s springtime in North America again, and as always, the streets are beginning to fill with birds. That of course means longer days, more sunshine, and warmer temperatures. But as is the case with most things, with the good has to come the not-so-good. Springtime also means pollen, and mosquitoes. While pollen only affects people that are allergic to it, mosquitoes are a nuisance for everyone. Not everyone’s going to get bit by a mosquito, but some people will. And that’s going to mean itchiness.

Now by this point I’m sure you’re going to be wondering how this connects to anxiety, but we’ll get to that. Before we do though we’ll mention that with the way ticks are becoming more prevalent in America, it may be that mosquitoes are becoming much less of your primary pest concern. Surely, you’d agree that a short spell of intensely itchy skin is preferable to a lifetime of Lyme Disease!

The connection between a mosquito bite and anxiety comes down to the itch. While the itch from mosquito bite is temporary, the ‘itchiness’ in your nervous system when suffering from an anxiety attack does not subside. If you’ve experienced severe anxiety, you’ll understand the association that we’re trying to make here.

Anxiety is a psychological itch that you cannot make it subside. The constant worry and uneasiness of anxiety feels exactly like the itch from a mosquito.

Anxiety Symptoms

Knowing how to deal with anxiety is helpful for many people these days, but before that, you should be able to identify the symptoms of anxiety.  When you have an anxiety attack, you’ll certainly be aware that something isn’t right with you. These symptoms include:

  • An intense and overwhelming sensation of not being in control of your life
  • Surge of overwhelming panic
  • Heart palpitations (fluttering) or chest pain
  • Feeling that you may lose consciousness
  • Trouble breathing or a choking sensation
  • Hyperventilating
  • Chills or hot flashes
  • Nausea or stomach cramps
  • Trembling or shaking

How to Deal with Anxiety: Self-Therapy Approaches

If you can learn how to deal with depression and anxiety more naturally and avoid having to use pharmaceuticals, it is definitely preferable. Managing anxiety involves doing what it takes to prevent your anxiety from overwhelming you. Here are the best ways to deal with your anxiety and manage with it with self-therapy approaches. We’ll start with what you need to avoid:

  • Avoid unhealthy lifestyle choices like substance abuse (alcohol and drugs)
  • Avoid overusing medications
  • Avoid gambling and reckless behaviors

The reason these types of choices should be avoided is because they allow the person to avoid the issues that are the causes of their anxiety. They allow you to ignore developing coping skills that will let you address your anxiety more effectively. And as far as the first two choices are concerned, they’ll also have negative effects on your health.

How to Deal with Anxiety: Lifestyle Changes

It’s a fact that ever-greater numbers of people are beginning to suffer from generalized anxiety disorder. However, there are changes that you can make to your lifestyle and habits that can up to major improvements to your anxiety. Some mental health experts like to refer to these as natural anxiety management tools:

1. Exercise More

Any type of exercise that gets your heart rate up and makes you break a sweat will cause your brain to release endorphins. Endorphins are feel-good chemicals that make you feel much better, and among the many benefits they provide is reducing the severity of negative mood and mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. Indeed, when it comes to how to deal with anxiety and depression there’s so much to be said for getting more active and exercising more.

2. Eat Better

A healthier diet that includes more fresh, whole foods and less processed foods and ones that are high in trans fats can also improve your overall mental health and make you less susceptible to anxiety. And another piece of advice here is to drastically reduce – if not eliminate – your intake of refined sugar. Sugar actually creates plaques on the cells of your brain, and these contribute to the advancement of mental health conditions like being prone to anxiety attacks. You should also drink more water.

3. Practice Relaxation-Friendly Techniques

Yoga and meditation are just two of many personal wellness practices that can help you improve your mental stability and reduce the severity of anxiety. Yoga in particular teaches breathing techniques that are especially effective for countering anxiety. Doing daily meditation before going to sleep and right after waking up can also do great things for people suffering from any type of anxiety disorder.

These are just a few of many.

How to Deal with Anxiety: Medications

Many people with the most severe issues with anxiety will need to take prescription medication to help them manage it. Buspar is one of the most common ones, and in addition to its favourable reviews for effectiveness it’s also used to treat anxiety exclusively. For many people their anxiety comes along side their depression, and for how to deal with depression and anxiety all at once there are some medications that do that quite effectively.

Lexapro is one of the most popular of these types, and it’s part of the SSRI class of antidepressants. Paxil is another, and it’s been a fixture on the scene for decades now and has a real track record for helping people get back to good mental health.


IMPORTANT NOTE: The above information is intended to increase awareness of health information and does not suggest treatment or diagnosis. This information is not a substitute for individual medical attention and should not be construed to indicate that use of the drug is safe, appropriate, or effective for your pet. See your veterinarian for medical advice and treatment for your pet if you have any concerns.


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