5 Ways to Stop Stress and Beat Anxiety by Jay Chase
Anxiety effects us emotionally, physically and mentally. No matter whether you deem it as a mental illness, fear or condition; anxiety is something that can be extremely detrimental to our lives. With millions of sufferers all over the world it has now become part of our everyday language, even if we don’t want to accept or understand it. Anxiety is commonly the result of severe levels of stress and repeat exposure to stressful situations and experiences.
Why Does Stress Lead to Anxiety?
When we are under pressure in some way or stress our adrenal gland releases a hormone called Cortisol. Small levels of this hormone are beneficial for our ability to cope with difficult situations giving us the ‘fight or flight’ tools. The brain receives more energy after glucose levels are raised due to the secretion of Cortisol causing muscle protein to breakdown, releasing amino acids and therefore glucose being made.
However, Cortisol can be extremely detrimental to your health when released in higher or more frequent quantities. Increased levels of Cortisol can effect your memory, immune system, metabolism, weight, bone structure and blood sugar levels causing things such as obesity, diabetes and depression. This effect is why anxiety is increased in association to stress. When your body feels like it is in danger no matter what the reason your brain can misconstrue the information, releasing adrenalin to such a heightened level that you panic and anxious symptoms are experienced.
How Do We Control Stress and Anxiety?
Our lives are so busy that more often than not we accept stress, anxiety and the thoughts, feelings and physicality’s that are associated with it, not thinking to question it or deal with it as it comes part and parcel with our hectic lives and busy schedules. But, anxiety and stress can be managed and we can all take simple measures to cope with stress, alleviate it and change our lives and hence anxiety.
1. STAY HYDRATED:
Drinking enough water sounds like such a simple enough thing but millions of us end up going through the day not drinking enough water and being in a constant state of dehydration. Staying hydrated is absolutely vital as it is something we cannot live without and being dehydrated can heighten stress levels further by making the body feel like it being threatened. Constant hydration aids the body in numerous ways:
- Avoids chronic fatigue
- Increases concentration
- Prevents unnecessary hunger
- Transports the vital nutrients we need to survive around the body
- Dilutes and flushes out toxins in the body
- Improves skin and eye health
- Boosts metabolism and weight loss
- Give you more energy
- Lowers blood pressure
- Reduces cholesterol
- Decreases risk of serious illnesses such as cancer and osteoporosis
- Helps ability to sleep
2. SLEEP
Not getting enough sleep can raise Cortisol levels and leave you feeling more stressed and more tired. Ensuring you get your 7 to 9 hours of sleep a day is vital to you feeling healthy, able to concentrate and the ability to deal with whatever comes your way through the day. For some of us when we are stressed or lead pressurised lives our sleep can become effected by it leaving us over thinking things in bed at night, lying awake and not getting those precious hours in. But, there are many thing we can do to help us sleep.
- Get into a routine: Get up at the same time, go to bed the same, eat at the same times etc
- Stay hydrated
- Have a hot bath before bed time
- Switch off TV and laptop at least 1 hour before bed time
- Make sure your room is cool, dark and comfortable
- Invest in good mattress and pillows
- Make sure your bedroom is used only for sleep and sex
- Eat the right things at the right times
- Avoid alcohol as it dehydrates you
- Concentrate on your breathing
- Have a cup of chamomile tea an hour before bed
3. EXERCISE
Exercise is amazing for releasing endorphins and making you feel good about yourself which alleviates those stress symptoms. There are so many benefits to exercise whether it is via dancing, sex, the gym, rock climbing, running, swimming or tennis etc that it needs to be something we incorporate into our everyday routine to harness that energy.
- Lowers risk of: Heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancers, premature death, arthritis, depression, dementia etc
- Increases energy levels
- Increases concentration
- Lowers blood pressure
- More strength and stamina
- Boosts metabolism
- Tones and shapes the body
- Increases confidence and self esteem
4. TIME TO RELAX
Our lives our so hectic that the onset of stress is inevitable for most of us in some way, shape or form. We fill precious time up with jobs we can delegate, with things we do not like to do or with things that stress us out. What we need to ensure is, that as often as possible even if it is for even 10 minutes a day that we do something we enjoy, do something that lets us switch off and something that leaves us feeling happy.
- Take a walk around the garden
- Walk the dog
- Paint a picture
- Take up photography
- Read a fictional book
- Take a long bubble bath
- Call an old friend
- Get a massage of facial
- Have sex
- Just take some time out to sit, drink tea in peace and quiet away from hustle and bustle
5. EAT WELL
Just as the other points above serve to relieve stress so does the food and drink we put into our bodies. Cortisol is actively released if the body ever feels in danger so feeding it the wrong things such as junk food, alcohol and drugs whether prescription or illegal can make the body go into overdrive trying to process what you have ingested in order to remove it from the system. This puts the mind and body under unnecessary pressure and also prevents the nutrients you need to lead a healthy life that you may have also consumed be ignored and made useless.
Eating a balanced diet, drinking plenty of water, cutting down on alcohol or leaving it out altogether, taking supplements if needs be are all things we need to do to make the body happy and healthy.
- Complex carbohydrates
- Lean proteins
- Healthy fats
- Vitamins and minerals
- Right amount of calories
- At least 2 litres of water a day (A rough guide is to take your weight in pounds and divide it by 2, this gives you the numbers of ounces you should drink a day of water)
This list explains the food groups you need in order to survive and treat your body as that infamous temple. It really is true; what you put in, you get out, so treat your body well and it will treat you well in return.
Stress can be both an overt and covert sensation, so for some of us we may not realise that we are suffering at all from stress or related illnesses but no matter who we are we should all take stock of our lives, look at the things we do, look at how we feel, look at the way we do things, look at how we divide our time and see how happy we are, see how we feel when we wake up everyday and see what changes we want to make but have never really took time to see how it could be done. We control our lives, we just have to choose to do this.
About the Author
To watch a presentation that will show you how to destroy the worry of what others think about you in 5 easy steps visit “Secret Social Weapons”
Secret Social Weapons
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