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Everybody is worried about something. However, 18.1% of adults in the United States deals with anxiety. Symptoms include shortness of breath, nausea, sweating, heart palpitations, shaking and the world around you begins to look unreal. Without knowing how to cope with these symptoms, anxiety can be incredibly scary. Below are five ways to deal with anxiety.
1. Ground yourself.
Start touching things like your pants or the chair you’re sitting on. This will remind you that you are okay, and you are just having a bout of anxiety.
2. Start breathing slowly.
A good technique is the 4-7-8 breath. First, close your eyes. Then, inhale through your nose for a slow count of 4. Hold your breath for a count of 7. Finally, exhale through your mouth for a count of 8. This will slow down any anxious breathing and steady your heart beat. You can repeat it as many times as you need to feel better.
3. Distract yourself.
Find something to distract yourself for the remainder of your anxious feelings. You could listen to music, count to ten many times or just close your eyes and imagine yourself somewhere else. This will help you get out of your head for a bit, which can help you feel better.
4. H.A.L.T.
When your symptoms start to go away, identify what made you anxious. A helpful acronym is H.A.L.T., which stands for hungry, angry, lonely and tired. Ask yourself which one applies, and then address the issue.
5. Plan for the future.
Make plans for when your anxiety flares up in the future. Despite a desire for anxiety to go away, it will likely always be there, so having a specific plan for attacks will lessen the effects when it does happen. This can mean having a friend to reach out to while it happens or going to an empty room to calm down.
While these steps will not solve your anxiety, they can lessen the effects to make it less scary. If your anxiety is frequent and persists for long amounts of time, you should seek professional help from a therapist.
Text Anxiety Hotline: Text CONNECT to 741741 Anxiety Hotline: Call 1-866-295-8541