Anxiety relief eludes many people, despite their efforts to find it. Are you one of those people who can't seem to get a grasp of what will make those debilitating anxiety attacks go away?
One secret to finding anxiety relief involves being able to recognize the triggers. But there's more. Just knowing what causes the attacks isn't enough. In fact, knowing can make them worse. Why? Because anxiety sufferers begin to expect an attack whenever that trigger occurs.
Let's say you've discovered that taking the elevator causes them. What do you think will happen once you realize this? Naturally, you will become apprehensive whenever you have to take an elevator. Knowing that elevators are the trigger, your mind builds up fear because it goes back to that first attack that just happened to occur in an elevator.
It's important to separate the attack from the elevator, because it really wasn't the elevator that caused it. Perhaps at that time, you were tense about something else entirely or had just gone through an ordeal of some sort. Your breathing was rapid and ineffective, making you feel anxious.
Then, you stepped into the elevator where the air space is even more restricted. The added closeness triggered the attack. From that moment on, you established a connection between your anxiety and the elevator.
This is just one example. See if you can identify what situations cause your anxiety. Dissect it as I have done to see exactly how it works.
The next thing you'll want to do is disconnect your anxiety from what you believe is the trigger. The best way to do that is simply by retraining your thoughts with exposure. Before you step into the elevator, take several a deep breaths to relax yourself. Review what you have established, that the elevator is not the problem. Tell yourself that you are fine.
Remember to keep breathing deeply. Anxiety sufferers tend to have shallow breathing which aggravates the situation, because the brain is not getting sufficient oxygen. This causes the body to become tense. It senses that this vital need is lax.
During tense times, you are better off practicing your breathing before you enter stressful situations.
Sit quietly in a comfortable chair. Relax your shoulders, tense muscles, legs, arms and stomach. Take a deep breath and hold it for 2-3 seconds and then exhale slowly through your mouth. If you find that you're breathing from your chest instead of your diaphragm, you need to correct it.
A simple way is to get on the floor on your hands and knees. Pull your stomach in while you take a deep breath. This will naturally move your diaphragm. After a few breaths in this position, you'll see the difference between proper breathing and the less effective chest breathing.
Focus on diaphragm breathing. It will help you tremendously when you are under stress or suffering an anxiety attack. Use it next time you encounter the event that stresses you. When sufficient oxygen is running through your muscles, they will begin to relax normally. With practice you will see how easy it can be to find anxiety relief.
One secret to finding anxiety relief involves being able to recognize the triggers. But there's more. Just knowing what causes the attacks isn't enough. In fact, knowing can make them worse. Why? Because anxiety sufferers begin to expect an attack whenever that trigger occurs.
Let's say you've discovered that taking the elevator causes them. What do you think will happen once you realize this? Naturally, you will become apprehensive whenever you have to take an elevator. Knowing that elevators are the trigger, your mind builds up fear because it goes back to that first attack that just happened to occur in an elevator.
It's important to separate the attack from the elevator, because it really wasn't the elevator that caused it. Perhaps at that time, you were tense about something else entirely or had just gone through an ordeal of some sort. Your breathing was rapid and ineffective, making you feel anxious.
Then, you stepped into the elevator where the air space is even more restricted. The added closeness triggered the attack. From that moment on, you established a connection between your anxiety and the elevator.
This is just one example. See if you can identify what situations cause your anxiety. Dissect it as I have done to see exactly how it works.
The next thing you'll want to do is disconnect your anxiety from what you believe is the trigger. The best way to do that is simply by retraining your thoughts with exposure. Before you step into the elevator, take several a deep breaths to relax yourself. Review what you have established, that the elevator is not the problem. Tell yourself that you are fine.
Remember to keep breathing deeply. Anxiety sufferers tend to have shallow breathing which aggravates the situation, because the brain is not getting sufficient oxygen. This causes the body to become tense. It senses that this vital need is lax.
During tense times, you are better off practicing your breathing before you enter stressful situations.
Sit quietly in a comfortable chair. Relax your shoulders, tense muscles, legs, arms and stomach. Take a deep breath and hold it for 2-3 seconds and then exhale slowly through your mouth. If you find that you're breathing from your chest instead of your diaphragm, you need to correct it.
A simple way is to get on the floor on your hands and knees. Pull your stomach in while you take a deep breath. This will naturally move your diaphragm. After a few breaths in this position, you'll see the difference between proper breathing and the less effective chest breathing.
Focus on diaphragm breathing. It will help you tremendously when you are under stress or suffering an anxiety attack. Use it next time you encounter the event that stresses you. When sufficient oxygen is running through your muscles, they will begin to relax normally. With practice you will see how easy it can be to find anxiety relief.
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