How to Control GAD

If you have generalized anxiety disorder, every day events can become overwhelming. The National Institute of Mental Health states that a person with GAD has extreme worry about every day tasks. This worry is not prompted by any significant reason. GAD does not have to be debilitating. There are several ways to control that intense anxiety.

Instructions

• 1

  Breathe deeply and slowly. Familydoctor.org provides these steps to deep breathing: lie on a flat surface, place one hand on your stomach and one on your chest, and breathe in and out slowly.

• 2

  Exercise helps to relieve anxiety.

  Exercise frequently. Everydayhealth.com recommends exercising for 30 minutes each day. Exercise releases endorphins that help to elevate your mood and reduce anxiety.

• 3

  Your body needs sleep to function properly.

  Get enough sleep. When you allow your body to get the proper amount of rest, you will physically feel less tense and less anxious. While sleepfoundation.org explains that there is no magic number to how much sleep a person needs, they do recommend 7 to 9 hours for adults.

• 4

  Avoid alcohol and drugs, including caffeine. Stimulants will worsen your body's physical reactions to anxiety. Depressants, such as alcohol may make you feel less anxious in the short run, however anxietysupportcenter.com explains that long term use makes dealing with anxiety more difficult.

• 5

  A therapist can help when GAD becomes too much to handle by yourself.

  Seek therapy. If your GAD is too overwhelming for you to control on your own, a state licensed therapist can help. A therapist can be a counselor, a psycho-therapist, a psychologist or a psychiatrist. A therapist might also recommend medication to help balance the chemicals in your brain, but only a medical doctor such as a psychiatrist or a family physician can prescribe those medications.