Anxiety is a common experience for both teenagers and adults. For some people, feelings of anxiousness don’t play a disruptive role in daily life. However, such feelings make life significantly less stable and less enjoyable for others. Professional anxiety treatment is sometimes needed to restore a sense of well-being. You can also do things on your own to effectively manage anxious feelings. These self-care steps may help you avoid the need for treatment. They may also play an essential supporting role in your treatment plan for anxiety.
Why Is Coping with Anxiety Important?
Anxiety is one of the most universal human experiences. When you feel anxious, many psychological and physical changes can occur. Common psychological changes include feelings of worry and dread. Common physical changes include:
- Increased muscle tension
- An uptick in your normal heartbeat
- Faster and shallower breathing
Specific events or situations can trigger anxiety. However, its objects of focus are often less obvious.
High anxiety levels can interfere with your sense of emotional and physical wellness. They can also make it harder for you to maintain a functional daily routine. In addition, unchecked feelings of anxiousness can ultimately lead to the onset of a diagnosable anxiety disorder.
You can avoid these kinds of outcomes by successfully coping with anxiety. This fact makes effective coping skills highly valuable for the average person. That’s especially true in the modern age, where heightened levels of everyday anxiousness are common.
What Are Coping Skills for Anxiety?
Coping skills are abilities that help you modify your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in ways that support good health. They often center around a specific coping strategy. Depending on your situation, such a strategy might include:
- A single action or behavior
- Multiple actions or behaviors
- A way of thinking that changes how you view a given situation
Coping skills for anxiety are different from anxiety defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms are automatic reactions that often occur at an unconscious level. As a rule, they distort reality to one degree or another. They may also worsen your sense of anxiousness rather than ease it.
In contrast, coping strategies are generally conscious and thought-out. They also tend to address a given area of concern directly. The proactive nature of coping makes it a much more reliable option for producing positive results.
Tips for Managing Anxiety
Experts recommend a wide range of actions to help keep your feelings of anxiousness in check. Some of the top tips for managing anxiety include:
- Learning more about the kinds of things that make you anxious
- Exercising regularly and getting adequate amounts of sleep
- Practicing deep breathing or other stress reduction techniques
- Staying as positive as possible about life’s ups and downs
- Seeking help when your own anxiety relief efforts are not enough
These tips for handling anxiety can be beneficial on their own. However, they may benefit more when working with a larger coping strategy.
Learn More Tips to Handle Anxiety at Memphis Recovery Centers
Want more information on effective tips for managing anxiety? Talk to the professionals at Memphis Recovery Centers. We can help you devise a strategy that makes it easier to control your anxiety. We can also offer expert advice on what to do when your coping efforts don’t provide adequate relief.
Need treatment for life-disrupting anxiety? Memphis Recovery specializes in treating the combination of anxiety disorders and substance problems. Our customized plans provide you with a realistic roadmap to health and well-being. Call us today at 901-272-7751 to get started or fill out our online message form.
