Monday, March 26, 2007

Anxiety

We have all experienced feeling worried or nervous at some point in our life and for most of us, it is a part of our everyday life. These feelings are not all together bad. As a matter of fact, mild to moderate feelings of anxiety can help us focus our energy, attention, and be motivated. However, when anxiety becomes severe, you can experience feelings of helplessness, confusion, and extreme worry. Anxiety causes both physical and emotional symptoms. A few of these symptoms are trembling, sweating or cold, clammy hands, sleep problems, irritability, inability to concentrate, and/or constant feelings of sadness.

Although sometimes professional treatment is needed, here are some simple tips to help manage anxiety by managing stress in your life:

1. Managing your time by setting priorities, say no when you need to, and avoid procrastination by using a planner or breaking down large projects into smaller chunks
2. Building healthy coping strategies by writing thought and feelings in a journal or using relaxation techniques
3. Build a good lifestyle by finding balance, getting plenty of sleep (7-9 hours a night), and finding a sense of purpose in life
4. Have a good social support system filled with people you love and trust
5. Change thinking to more positive and practical thoughts to avoid triggering the bodies stress response
*Information from WebMD

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