Anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health disorders affecting daily life. Many people deal with anxiety and chronic stress and experience symptoms like agitation, nervousness, chest pain, and a racing heart. Over 18% of people in the country deal with anxiety disorders every year. In some people, an overactive thyroid might also cause anxiety disorder. Below are some of the best management options to keep anxiety in check.

Scheduling a worrying time
It may seem odd, but health experts recommend picking a worrying time when you can think about all your fears on purpose. You can spare thirty minutes of your time to identify things that disturb you and have your worry session. Try doing the same every day at the same time. Do not think about the what-ifs and focus only on the things that trigger your anxiety.

Indulging in mindfulness
When you feel anxious, you may spend a significant amount of time around the day thinking about all the anxiety-provoking thoughts and ideas. When you become mindful, you learn how to concentrate your attention and bring it back to the present moment, unhooking from all thoughts that may trigger your anxiety. Today, mindfulness is becoming popular as people realize how beneficial it is. You can find different resources to formulate a mindful practice.

Meditate
When you meditate, you slow the racing thoughts. Hence, it is easier to manage your anxiety and stress levels. Different meditation styles, for instance, meditation and mindfulness during yoga, can be helpful. Mindfulness elevates your mood and keeps anxiety in check.

Cognitive therapy
In cognitive therapy, a person must shift their focus onto changing the beliefs and the thinking patterns associated with anxiety or those that trigger it. For instance, if you have a social phobia that aggravates your stress, it worsens further when you feed your brain negative thoughts like ‘Everyone thinks I am a misfit.’

Mainly, the basis of this therapy is that your beliefs start the thoughts, which trigger feelings and generate behaviors. To understand this better, here is an example-

Suppose you are a person who believes that everyone must like you for you to feel worthwhile. Therefore, if someone turns away from you while chatting, you will automatically think, ‘Oh, this person dislikes me.’ It will trigger your anxiety.

With cognitive therapy, you indulge in reality testing, self-talk, cognitive restructuring, cognitive challenging, and attention training. It involves challenging unhelpful beliefs and fears, monitoring your self-talk, and examining the reality of the negative feelings.

Getting adequate sleep
It is easier said than done. Sleeplessness and anxiety are interrelated. Insufficient or poor sleeping patterns can worsen anxiety symptoms, which makes it challenging to stay asleep or even force yourself to get some sleep. If you fail to get adequate sleep, you must consult a doctor about the easiest ways to rest better.

Attending group or individual therapy
You can seek therapy in all styles and forms. It offers some invaluable tools for anxiety management. In individual therapy, you interact with a professional directly and discuss your anxiety issues. Individual interventions can help you cope with it better.

On the contrary, group therapy can also be effective because you will be in a room full of people who are experiencing the same issues as you. They understand what you go through and can help you deal with it better.

Using aromatherapy
Aromatherapy can be carried out with the help of a candle, incense, or essential oil. Natural scents like sandalwood, chamomile, and lavender can induce a soothing effect. In addition, aromatherapy triggers receptors in the brain that can help relieve anxiety symptoms.

Distracting yourself
In some instances, one of the easiest ways to manage anxiety is to focus on things other than anxiety. Indulge in some household chores, speak to a friend or a close family member, or engage in an activity or hobby you love. Alternatively, you can also-

• Watch a movie
• Read a book
• Meditate
• Pray
• Go for a walk
• Indulge in a physical activity
• Do some creative work like writing, painting, or drawing
• Dance or sing

Getting physically active
Exercising is an excellent way to eliminate all the stress and anxious energy in your body. Hence, it is a beneficial anxiety treatment. Exercise burns the stress chemicals and relaxes your mind and body. You must indulge in these physical activities at least three to four times every week. Try different forms of workouts to avoid boredom.

Trying out time management strategies
At times people feel anxious when they have too much on their plate. It might involve health-related activities, professional commitments, meeting friends and family, and finding time for their hobbies. Therefore, you must have a plan and learn to manage everything in your schedule.

It is easier to focus on one task at a time with effective time management strategies. For example, you can use online calendars and book planners to manage your time better. Also, breaking overwhelming tasks into smaller and manageable steps can make things look achievable and keep anxiety in check.

Being assertive
When you are assertive, you know how to communicate your feelings, needs, desires, opinions, and beliefs directly and honestly without hurting anyone’s feelings deliberately. However, someone who experiences anxiety might find it challenging to be assertive as they wish to avoid conflict or believe they have no right to speak up. But, relating passively to someone can trigger anxiety and lower your self-confidence. Therefore, behave assertively, as it will also boost your self-esteem.

Laughing
Sometimes, one can keep anxiety at bay through a simple task like laughing . When you laugh, your body releases endorphins and lowers stress hormones like cortisol, dopamine, and epinephrine. Moreover, laughing also helps you destress and recenter while simultaneously letting go of your anxious thoughts and feelings that may intervene with your happy life.

Trying deep breathing
Practice focused breathing for four counts. Here, a person should breathe in and out four counts each for five minutes. Even when you breathe, your heart rate slows down and calms you down.