Being anxious is an overwhelmingly unpleasant sensation. You want nothing more than to escape the feeling and live in a state of total serenity. The truth is that it can be difficult to calm down when you are anxious. You have to learn how to beat the anxiety and stress head-on, even on difficult days. This blog post will give you some tips on how to calm down!
We Live In a Stressful World
Stress from work, relationships, school, and finances. These are all stressful factors that play into your everyday life. There is no way to get rid of all the sources of anxiety in your life, but you can learn to cope with them when it does arise.
If you live in a stressful world, there are still things that you can do to calm down when you feel that anxious feeling coming on. It takes practice, but the options are there on how to calm down.
Why Do We Need to Calm Down?
Being anxious or stressed is a normal response to something that has taken place or something that the person thinks might happen. Most people will feel a mix of both stress and anxiety, but some may only feel that they are anxious. When you are stressed or feeling anxious, it is normal to have fast and shallow breathing patterns.
As a result, blood flow tends to stop from the brain down to your heart. This can cause the heart to weaken and has been the cause of many heart attacks in people who are stressed. The other result is that your body will produce more cortisol and adrenaline. It is normal to have these hormones. However, most people do not need them for anything because there is no perceived danger or stress.
What Are the Risks of Not Being Able to Calm Down?
Suffering from anxiety or stress can lead to a variety of health concerns. If you are stressed all the time, you can easily develop heart disease, high blood pressure, and other issues. Additionally, if you are constantly anxious, you will start to feel physically ill and may have trouble sleeping.
You may also suffer from headaches, migraines, weight gain or loss, and digestive issues resulting from stress. Panic attacks are a whole different level of anxiety. Along with the physical symptoms, you will also feel helpless in some cases. You may feel as if you cannot control your own body or mind.
How Can I Calm Down?
It would help calm yourself down to prevent panic attacks from occurring. Here are tips to help you calm down.
1. Breathe
The first step to calming down is getting more oxygen into your body. Breathing exercises are the quickest ways to get oxygen into your body, but if you cannot do that, try drinking a glass of water and taking a few deep breaths.
2. Exercise
Spending time doing activities that aren’t stressful will help with your mood and anxiety levels. Go for a walk, pick up those books, and go for a bike ride! All of these things will do wonders in helping you relax, calm down and find some quick ways to soothe the anxiety.
3. Change Your Focus
If you’re feeling stressed out and anxious, focus on something that helps you relax. If you’re having a hard time calming down because of a specific source, try and turn your focus on something else. It can be anything at all! You could focus on why you are anxious, but other things may distract you for a short time.
4. Relax Your Body
The last thing that you want is to tense up and make your body feel more stressed. When you feel that anxious feeling coming on, try relaxing your muscles. Taking a short meditation break can help you calm down and ease the stress you’re feeling in your body.
5. Challenge Your Thoughts
Your emotions are often linked to your thoughts. Some people can feel stressed out or anxious when a negative thought goes through their heads. If you’re having trouble calming down and relaxing, try and challenge those thought processes that may be stressing you out.
6. Release the Anger or Anxiety
Anger or anxiety can contribute to your body’s reaction to situations you’re faced with. If you find yourself overreacting and having a lot of anxiety when you’re stressed, try and release some of the build up anger or negative energy by thinking about it. Try to look at the situation or stressor calmly.
7. Eat or Hydrate
Stressed out, people often forget to eat or drink fluids. If you feel stressed, try and focus on eating something because this will help you calm down.
8. Visualize Yourself Calm
Take note of your surroundings. The things you see around you can help you calm down and will probably make you more relaxed! Try to create a mental image in your mind of yourself being able to relax and take it easy.
9. Accept the Situation
Sometimes, when we are stressed or anxious, we get into a cycle where we try and fight the situation or stressor in our lives by resisting it or fighting back. When you accept what is going on, you are more positive and can deal with it better.
10. Don’t Dwell On It
The more you focus on something, the more frustrated or anxious you will get about it. If you find yourself extremely stressed out, try and focus on something that makes you happy. For example, if your dog or cat makes you feel good and can make you smile, think about them! This will help take your mind off of the stressful things in your life.
12. Listen to Music
Music often helps people calm down. Whether it’s relaxing tunes or songs that help you feel good, music can help end the cycle of anxiety or stress that you may be feeling.
13. Get a Pet
Pets can also help with your mood and anxiety levels! They are great listeners and are always looking for something to do!
14. Think It Through
If you get that anxious feeling, try and think it through. Ask yourself what your response will be to the situation, then try and make a plan to help yourself out.
15. Take a Break
All of us need to take breaks to refresh our minds and keep happy from time to time. If you’re feeling more stressed or anxious than usual, take a break! Try taking a short nap, watching some TV, or doing something else that will make you feel better.
The Benefits of a Calm Mind
There are so many benefits that you would benefit from if you can start to calm your mind and inner world. You will have more energy, be more patient, focus, and have more fun! Below is a list of the benefits that you can expect if you can learn to relax daily.
- Better concentration and focus: Your mind will be able to focus better and make quick decisions.
- Better memory: You will remember things faster and for a longer amount of time. This can especially come in handy when you’re studying or have to take a test.
- More creativity: Creative people have already been proven to think outside of the box. If you are working on a creative project, having a calm mind can help you out and allow you to come up with great ideas!
- More patience: You will find that patience doesn’t come naturally to many people, but if you can learn how to relax your mind, you will notice that your patience goes up. You will find that you are more patient when doing things and with other people.
- Less anxiety: When you learn how to relax, your mind is no longer filled with negative thoughts that cause stress and anxiety for you.
- More happiness: You will feel happier and relaxed when you can learn how to calm yourself down whenever you need to.
- A higher quality of life: If you can calm your mind, you will get the chance to focus on life instead of the stress that comes along with it at times. Learn how to relax your mind and change how you live your life today!
In conclusion, learning to relax and calm down can be difficult. However, it is a skill you can learn. If you feel stressed out and ready to get help, you can try the tips in this article or look for a coach who will help you to find your center.
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References
- Wikihow.com – How to Calm Down – 30-08-2022
Link to page on wikihow.com - Healthline.com – how to calm down – 02-09-2022
Link to page on healthline.com - Verywellmind.com – 9 Quick Ways to Calm Down… – 02-09-2022
Link to page on verywellmind.com
