Anxiety is a feeling that you must be pretty familiar with: you get butterflies in your stomach, your heart beats a mile a minute, your mind starts racing, and your knees go weak. Maybe you feel it before a big public speech or simply start getting restless with the thought of socialising. These days it seems like there is always something to get worried or anxious about. But before popping the pill to control anxiety, try using these hacks on a daily basis to remind yourself that you are safe and in control of your life.
The Fear of Leaving Knobs and Switches On
"Did you leave the stove burner on?" How many times did this thought cross your mind every time you left your apartment for an extended period of time? Irrespective of how many times you checked and re-checked your home, the doubts always take away your peace of mind. One easy way to calm you down is to take pictures of the stoves and switch before leaving the house. So whenever those intrusive feelings come up, you can simply look at your phone and feel relieved. Why Mental Health of Youngsters Should Be Taken Seriously.
Travel Pictures of Instagram Influencers
We all can agree to the point that all the wanderlust pictures on Instagram can make us feel pretty bad about ourselves. If you are going to look at your Instagram feed from time to time, you can get bouts of anxiety. The best idea is to restrict your brain to a few minutes of social media daily. While completely removing the application may be too much to ask for, restricting your social media time to only a few minutes (say the time you travel from work to home) can make you feel less horrible and more satisfied with your life.
Inability to Concentrate At Work
If you have been the queen of procrastination, you must be breeding the habit of leaving your work for later, no matter how anxiety-driven consequences they might have. One great hack to help you focus at work is to keep your phone on DND mode so that you can pay attention to the work at hand. Your friends might have to wait for a few extra hours for you to reply to the meme but at least your work will be complete. How to Open Up about Your Mental Health: Tips to Deal with Depression, Anxiety and Emotional Issues.
Insomnia Struggles
If you have always been a light sleeper, someone who wakes up with the slightest of noise, sleep can seem like a real struggle. Invest in everything from black heavy curtains to white noise machines, earplugs, eye masks and whatever else you need to make sure that you get at least seven hours of sleep in a day. Breast Cancer and Mental Health: 5 Psychological Effects Seen in Survivors.
Social Anxiety
If you have been painfully shy as a kid, you must have had moments where you feel extra conscious about social interaction or faux pas. When such situations crop up, imagine how you would feel when you watched your close friend make the same mistake. Imagining yourself as your best friend can prevent social anxiety from flaring up. This little visualisation can make you feel much better.
What other things do you do to keep your anxiety in control? Let us know in the comments below.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 03, 2019 01:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).