Call: or This holiday season alone, millions of people will turn to HelpGuide for free mental health guidance and support. So many people rely on us in their most difficult moments. Can we rely on you? All gifts made before December 31 will be doubled. Cookie Policy. These tips can help calm your worried mind and ease anxiety.
How much worrying is too much? Why is it so hard to stop worrying? For most chronic worriers, the anxious thoughts are fueled by the beliefs—both negative and positive—that you hold about worrying: Negative beliefs about worry.
It should be the same every day e. The rest of the day, however, is a worry-free zone. Write down your worries. If an anxious thought or worry comes into your head during the day, make a brief note of it and then continue about your day. Also, writing down your thoughts—on a pad or on your phone or computer—is much harder work than simply thinking them, so your worries are more likely to lose their power.
Tip 2: Challenge anxious thoughts If you suffer from chronic anxiety and worry, chances are you look at the world in ways that make it seem more threatening than it really is. These types of thoughts, known as cognitive distortions, include: All-or-nothing thinking, looking at things in black-or-white categories, with no middle ground. Noticing the one thing that went wrong, rather than all the things that went right. Everyone must be laughing at me. I should have warned him to drive carefully in the rain.
Is there a more positive, realistic way of looking at the situation? If the probability is low, what are some more likely outcomes? Is the thought helpful? How will worrying about it help me and how will it hurt me? What would I say to a friend who had this worry?
Is your worry solvable? Do you tend to predict bad things will happen just because they are uncertain? What is the likelihood they will? Given the likelihood is very low, is it possible to live with the small chance that something negative may happen. Ask your friends and family how they cope with uncertainty in specific situations. Could you do the same? Tune into your emotions. Worrying about uncertainty is often a way to avoid unpleasant emotions. Tip 4: Interrupt the worry cycle If you worry excessively, it can seem like negative thoughts are running through your head on endless repeat.
Relaxation techniques can change the brain While the above relaxation techniques can provide some immediate respite from worry and anxiety, practicing them regularly can also change your brain. Basic mindfulness meditation Find a quiet place Sit on a comfortable chair or cushion, with your back straight, and your hands resting on the tops of your upper legs.
Close your eyes and breathe in through your nose, allowing the air downward into your lower belly. Let your abdomen expand fully. Breathe out through your mouth. Focus on an aspect of your breathing, such as the sensations of air flowing into your nostrils and out of your mouth, or your belly rising and falling as you inhale and exhale.
If you're not sure if stress is the cause or if you've taken steps to control your stress but your symptoms continue, see your doctor. Your healthcare provider may want to check for other potential causes.
Or consider seeing a professional counselor or therapist, who can help you identify sources of your stress and learn new coping tools. Also, get emergency help immediately if you have chest pain, especially if you also have shortness of breath, jaw or back pain, pain radiating into your shoulder and arm, sweating, dizziness, or nausea. These may be warning signs of a heart attack and not simply stress symptoms.
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It's a primitive signaling system that hasn't evolved much the past millennia. When tripped, the brain sends cortisol a stress hormone coursing through your veins: you breathe faster, your thoughts speed up, your hands can sweat and tremble, and your chest may tighten up. Your brain and body do not know if the threat is a nothing-burger or potentially cataclysmic.
If a mini-worry grows uncontrolled or joins up with a gang of like-minded worries, it can activate a full-scale alarm in your body and you're in for a wild ride.
It's the same basic signaling system that in the extreme version triggers anxiety and panic attacks. When triggered, the threat-signaling system in your brain initiates a cascade of biological reactions that push your body from a balanced resting state into a heightened state of alertness and preparedness.
It's like it's the fourth down in the last quarter of a football game with only a few seconds left on the clock and the only way you can win is if you pass yards for a touch-down. But, instead of the suspense ending after a few seconds, this Hail Mary state-of-mind lasts for days, weeks, and months. And to pour fuel on the worry, this is not a game, your life depends on it! Let me be frank and state the obvious: a hypervigilant state of alertness without solid time-outs over time will break your system.
Research and clinical experience have shown that problems such as disrupted sleep, headaches, problems concentrating, remembering, making difficult decisions, nausea and digestive issues, muscle tension, exhaustion, irritability, skin and hair damage, fertility issues, lower libido, and heart problems can often be traced back to elevated levels of the stress hormone that comes from chronic worrying. So, don't ignore it, do something about it!
The first line of defense for a worry or your tendency to worry is gaining an awareness of what is happening to your mind and body; then, apply a strategy to defuse the activation by channeling the energy behind it somewhere else. Like when you feel a sneeze building when you're on a date. If you sense an oncoming impulse to sneeze, you can react by putting your nose in your elbow so you don't spray the gook all over the person you are trying to impress. However, adopting effective strategies to deal with the worry and train your brain to deal with it requires thought and practice.
Tabloid headlines and social media conspiracies are a classic source of worry. Yes, they grab your attention, pique your curiosity, and then you worry. Racing heart. When your brain receives stress signals, it triggers your adrenal glands to produce adrenaline and cortisol.
As these hormones are released, your heart responds by speeding up your heartbeat, which explains your racing heart. Shortness of breath.
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