How to Manage Stress and Anxiety in Your Life

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Stress and anxiety can make your life unbearable. They can cause you to lose sleep. They can make you snappy and irritable. And, if they are left unmanaged can lead to depression. 

But what are stress and anxiety, and how can you manage them in your life?

In this article, we’ll talk through some helpful tips to fight stress and anxiety in your life. 

What Are Stress and Anxiety?

Stress and anxiety are natural reactions. They are caused by your body creating too much of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. It is your body’s natural way of preparing you to face danger. 

The feeling of being “on edge” can be useful when it comes to needing to take flight or to deal with a bad situation. 

The problem with stress and anxiety is when your body produces that hormone all of the time because you are thinking about situations that worry you. Have increased levels of cortisol causing stress can lead to health problems.

It is possible to help lower stress and anxiety by charging your thought processes and increasing the levels of other hormones to counteract the adrenaline. 

Puzzles 

One way to slow down your anxious mind and destress is to complete some puzzles. 

Puzzles such as sudoku and crosswords can be useful in giving you something else to focus on when you are stressed. 

Having sudoku and crossword books close to hand can be helpful. 

Deep breathing

Deep breathing can help you to fight anxiety. 

If you are feeling anxious, simply breathe in through your nose over the count of four, then breathe out through your mouth over the count of five.

Keep repeating this process for a few minutes. 

Meditation

Sit down in a quiet space in your home. Make yourself as comfortable as possible. Close your eyes and start to gently breathe in and out. You should do this is a similar manner to the deep breathing exercise. 

Focus on your breaths in and out. 

Alternatively, find a guided meditation online and have someone guide you through the process until you reach a relaxed state. 

Exercise 

To help balance out the hormones in your body that cause stress and anxiety, you can work on producing more endorphins instead. 

You can do this through exercise. By doing a small amount of exercise that you enjoy and feel comfortable doing, you’ll be able to lower your stress levels. 

Try and exercise as often as possible. 

Learn About Your Triggers

Everyone has their own triggers for stress and anxiety. Learn to identify yours. 

It might be helpful if you keep a notebook handy at all times. When you start to feel stressed or anxious make a note of what you are doing and what has happened. Then, pay attention to patterns. 

You might not be able to completely avoid your triggers, but you may be able to manage them. 

Find The Right Mix For You
When dealing with stress and depression, everyone is different. It is important that you try a range of different stress-busting techniques until you find the method that works best for you.