Anxiety Management Techniques

Anxiety in general is a concern over what we see as an impending misfortune, but the word also refers to an abnormal and chronic fear than prevents us from functioning normally. In most cases, this type of anxiety cannot be linked to any specific experience or event but is more often caused by phobias or illogical fears. Severe anxiety may require professional help, but there are measures you can take to manage it on your own.

Manage Your Activities

• People who worry a lot are likely to develop a hyperactive lifestyle because activity takes their minds off their worries. Often, before they realize it they have overfilled their time with tasks and commitments, which produce symptoms of anxiety. Good time management, appointment and task organization, and a simple refusal to take on more than you can do will greatly reduce anxiety from this source.

Manage Your Intake

• Stimulants such as caffeine can contribute to anxiety.

  According to Margaret Wehrenberg's book "10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques," stimulants such as caffeine, sugar, alcohol and tobacco have been shown to play a part in anxiety. In addition, a healthy diet helps to maintain balanced blood chemistry and contributes to our ability to sleep well and relax. Sensible exercise is an excellent way to relieve muscle tension.

Adjust Your Behavior

• Anxious people often avoid socializing and other activities that they believe will make them anxious. There is often a sort of anxiety about anxiety where the sufferer worries about their nervousness being noticed by others. However, social interaction and the sharing of feelings is a good way to relieve anxiety. Sometimes by forcing yourself to participate in an anxious social situation, you can reduce your anxiety.

  Poor communication with others is often a source of anxiety. Shy and timid people are often reluctant to express themselves to others. By overcoming this reluctance and more forcefully expressing themselves, many of the causes of their anxiety can be eliminated.

Use Breathing and Relaxation Techniques

• Yoga combines exercise, meditation and breathing techniques.

  Breathing techniques have been developed that greatly enhance our ability to relax and lose our fears. Yoga, for instance, combines helpful physical exercise, breathing techniques and meditation, all of which are useful in combating anxiety.

Get Professional Help

• If your anxiety is impacting your ability to live your life according to your desires, professional help is available. Where it is practical, seeking professional help is probably the most effective way of dealing with this problem. You should use caution and research any medicines prescribed for anxiety, however. The group Benzodiazepines Co-operation not Confrontation points out that long-term use of some prescribed treatments, notably benzodiazepines, has been associated with several physical and mental health problems.