Anxiety can be difficult to control, and it is an imminent problem for many people. There are many different types and levels of anxiety – some of which are even subversive to your daily life. While the causes of anxiety are largely beyond our control (which you probably know if you live with an anxiety disorder*), there are habits that can amplify or worsen the symptoms. Mild tension can escalate into a complete and debilitating experience once there are external factors that can make the anxiety worse. It is wise to avoid the things below if you are someone with anxiety - they are not worth the risk.
Complain
In the short term, complaining may seem like a good idea. Error! Complaining increases the extent to which you are working on the negatives. The more negative thoughts you experience, the worse the effects will be. Instead, try to focus on something positive and shift your focus.
Using your phone all the time
Phones have become a seductive distraction from our daily lives, providing ongoing social interaction and stimulation. However, its effects can be more harmful than beneficial. Social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook have been shown to increase symptoms of anxiety and depression in those who use them.
Diets
A chronic diet is all too common in today's world. These yo-yo diets have been shown to negatively affect health outcomes in the long run. It increases the risk of heart disease, permanently alters your metabolism and can have serious consequences for your mental health. Dieting can exacerbate existing mental health problems, such as anxiety.
Drink alcohol
People drink to deal with anxiety – it's a simple fact of life. But contrary to their expectations, drinking to reduce anxiety is like drinking coffee to fall asleep. That glass of wine feels like it relaxes you in the moment, but it can have a detrimental effect on your mood later on. Alcohol acts as a sedative in the short term, relaxing your muscles and eliminating some of the physical symptoms of anxiety. But it's also a depressant – it messes with your serotonin levels so you could actually experience exacerbated anxiety and depression when you're sober.
Drinking coffee Coffee is healthy in some ways, but it also makes you tense – you've probably felt the effects firsthand. It can make you jittery, hyper-aware, and stressed. These are all symptoms of anxiety and they are not fun. The reason coffee makes us feel this way is its effect on our heart rate; essentially it speeds it up so we feel more alert. But as a side effect of this, we often also feel nervous and restless. Try substituting coffee for tea.
Drinking diet soda Zero calories don't mean zero impact – and in this case it's actually the exact opposite. The intense sweetness of a diet soda primes your body for sugar. Then when it stops happening, your blood glucose crashes in response. A blood sugar crash is a recipe for tension – especially if you are someone who is anxious.
Eat fast food
It's no secret that fast food is bad for you. Fast food is low in omega-3 fatty acids and high in refined carbohydrates. Refined carbohydrates create high blood sugar, which can seriously disrupt your hormone levels and anxiety. Omega-3 fatty acids, on the other hand, play a vital role in alleviating anxiety by supporting brain health. Instead of these types of fats, fast food tends to lie below the other types that don't do as much for your brain.
Eat a lot of sugar
Sugar in small, healthy doses is all right. But if we eat a lot of sweets, the consequences can feel miserable. High sugar levels and subsequent crash can cause tremors and tension, which can make anxiety worse.
Eating too salty
Large amounts of salt or other types of sodium in your system can seriously damage your neurological system. Since this is the mechanism your body needs to make you anxious, sodium is bad news for anxiety. While your body needs some sodium, stay away from sodium-laden foods.
Exposing yourself to BPA BPA, or Bisphenol A, is a chemical found in plastic and metal food containers that has been shown to result in risky health outcomes, including impaired anxiety. It is best to avoid the chemicals that come from plastic.
Not eating enough
If you don't eat enough, your body gets really stressed. It starts to conserve its energy, so it doesn't use energy for things like stress reduction and dealing with emotions. When you're in a calorie deficit, anxiety becomes harder to handle. Overeating can also lead to increased anxiety – the best way to relieve symptoms is to eat intuitively, eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full.
Not sleeping enough Sleep is so crucial to your health – and your mental health is no exception. A lack of sleep makes it much more difficult to tolerate and process emotions and can amplify similar levels of anxiety through comparison. Researchers also linked sleep deprivation with an increase in anticipatory anxiety, meaning it increases worry and stressors about future events.
Postpone Achieving something, or even just ticking an item off your to-do list, can do wonders for anxious emotions. These small achievements release dopamine in your system, leaving you feeling happy and rewarded. By putting things off, you're also averting that emotional reward (and staying stuck in the anxious mess of anticipatory thoughts). Divide your workload into smaller tasks and tackle them one by one.
Skip meals Despite being touted as a weight loss solution and a great way for millennials to save some money, skipping meals is a really bad idea. It wreaks havoc on your blood sugar, resulting in energy dips and crashes that can not only make you overeat later, but act as a magnifying glass for anxious feelings.
Skip the gym Skipping the gym for a day won't make much of a difference, and it may even be a good idea if your body is feeling sore or under stress. However, if you skip it every day, your mental health can start to take a toll. Studies have shown that a lack of exercise – such as sitting all day, for example – can lead to an increase in anxiety. Every movement, no matter how intensive, is beneficial for balancing your stress hormones.
Spending time alone
To the socially troubled, especially, spending time itself can seem appealing when you're under a lot of stress. Regardless, regardless of your levels of extroversion, isolation definitely makes things worse. Social support has been proven to reduce anxiety, and maintaining close relationships is a critical part of anxiety treatment. Isolation, on the other hand, only serves to leave you alone with your anxious thoughts – effectively shifting your focus and making them worse.
Use drugs
There are many health reasons you should avoid drugs – but fear is a big one. Many users report trying to reduce their anxiety by taking drugs; however, this is a very bad idea. In most people with anxiety, drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin worsen the condition. In addition, drug abuse can lead to addiction and other psychological problems.
Track your food Counting calories and tracking other forms of food have become commonplace for many people – further made possible by fitness and health apps on many smartphones. However, this comes with a dark side that not many people talk about. These forms of tracking can be both time consuming and addictive. For some, the practice stretches to extremes, resulting in anxiety and stress when food cannot be tracked or the person exceeds their limit of daily intake.
Using food or exercise as a coping mechanism
A common symptom of people who are anxious is to use food – whether it's to try to control your eating, binge food, or use food as a distraction to deal with it. daily life. Not only is it ineffective, but it can be harmful to your physical and mental health by destroying your blood sugar and making you more preoccupied with food that can be turned into something much worse.
Watching TV before going to bed
Watching a television or computer screen before going to sleep is a very bad idea if you ever want to fall asleep. The light from these screens signals to your brain that it is daytime and that it needs to stop producing sleep hormones to make you feel tired. The result is a lack of sleep duration and quality – both are bad if you're prone to anxiety. If you're having trouble sleeping, turn off the TV and try natural remedies to help you sleep.
* In an anxiety disorder, fear is unfounded:the circumstances do not give rise to the fear. An anxiety disorder eventually leads to avoiding ordinary situations. It becomes difficult to lead a normal life. The consequences of an anxiety disorder can be very serious (such as loneliness and alcohol abuse), also for partner/family members.
