10 harmful behaviors that can aggravate your anxiety
If you're a nervous person, you're most likely accustomed to your patterns and the situations that make you really feel even worse. Nevertheless, there are some things that might nto also cross your mind, yet they can still add to your anxiousness.
Because there is hope: when you suffer from chronic anxiety, there are lots of practical things you can do to improve your condition and your life. And that includes banishing bad habits. Here are a few of them.
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1. Always being on your phone
Whether it's the news that's almost always alarming, social networks like Instagram that make you feel like your life is in the bag compared to everyone else's, notices or even just emails that constantly remind you of what you have to do, being connected all the time is really hard on the morale.
As psychotherapist Whitney Hawkins says: "Social networking constantly pushes us to compare ourselves and plunges us into thought patterns that intensify anxiety". More and more studies are linking the use of platforms such as Facebook and Instagram with an increase in anxiety and depression symptoms.The situation is even worse when you're in bed beforehand, as light from electronic devices disrupts the production of melatonin, a hormone essential for sleep.
Have a look at our suggestions on exactly how to lower your mobile phone display time.
2. Drink too much coffee
The thing is, coffee shops don't have the same effect on people with anxiety as on those without. As it's an energiser, it can not only help you wake up, but also cause an increase in heart rate, tremors and an inability to stay put. In this way, coffee can also act as a super 'stimulant' for your anxiety. So help! Replace your morning elixir with tea or herbal tea, which are better for your figure and mental health.
3. Associating with toxic people
Being there to give support to loved ones or friends who are going through a difficult time, even if it's stressful, is selected... But being 24/7 in the company of people who completely undermine your morale, diminish you, criticise you constantly and turn you upside down is quite another.
It's not always possible to cut them out of our lives, but psychologists recommend "limiting exposure to their energy" and setting limits. It's okay to choose and it's even healthy.
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4. Going to bed too late
All the experts agree that sleep and mental health are intimately linked. Everyone has their own rhythm: for some people, going to bed early is much easier than for others.
Even if you're a natural night owl, it's essential to prioritise your sleep and guarantee you're getting adequate rest. Most of the moment, this indicates hitting the hay earlier instead of later.
A consistent sleep routine is also important: it's much better to sleep for roughly the same number of hours each night than to try to "get your act together" by inactively collecting 15 hours at the weekend.
5. Worrying about details
Anxious people evolved this way because a certain amount of anxiety was a beneficial attribute for human beings: more sensitive and perceptive, these people could recognise dangers earlier than others and thus get out of trouble.But in our busy, over-stimulated modern lives, anxiety can come from so many different sources that it becomes completely paralysing. So even if it's easier said than done, it's really vital to get the balance right and not let anxiety get the better of you.
There's a specific job to be done of letting go; obsessing over the smallest details won't help. Instead, save your energy for the more important things: your self-care, the well-being of your loved ones, feeling at the right place in life, and so on.
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6. Not taking the time to breathe
It may sound silly, but when you're stressed, it's like forgetting to breathe. Of course we breathe, but not in a way that allows us to refocus and recharge.In the middle of a stressful scenario, stopping for even a minute to take a few deep breaths and focus on your breathing can change everything, as it actually creates a leisure response in the body.
7. Constantly adjusting in to our adverse self-talk
Our internal doubter loves to pip up when we're feeling nervous, exhausted, and prone. And child, does it understand how to make things even worse! It taunts us, exaggerates every situation, and drags us down into a vicious circle of self-loathing and sadness ...
It's not that simple to shut her up, however the keynote is to pay attention to her, welcome our fears and judgments, until we're able to gain back control and realize that this voice doesn't show reality. We can additionally make a checklist of all the positive points in our life to counteract the adverse that's dragging us down.
8. Having too many things on your agenda
Having too many obligations or commitments can quickly become difficult to manage for someone with anxiety. More than anyone else, you need time to yourself, time to recharge your batteries.
The idea is not to become a hermit at home, but just to measure out what you have on the agenda and find your own comfort zone.
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9. Do everything at the last minute
It may be precisely because you're anxious that you procrastinate, but there's no other solution than to break this damaging pattern. Always putting things off won't improve your anxiety - quite the opposite, in fact.
A useful suggestion to make whatever a lot more workable is to create checklists and and check off something at a time. It is really gratifying and motivating to do so.
10. Eating badly
Eating is ULTRA important when you have anxiety! You have to work out what works for you: eat at the most regular times possible, never skip meals, give priority to healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, omega-3s in fish, and so on), make sure you get enough protein, drink enough water, avoid excess sugar and don't restrict your calories.
Once again, everybody has their very own unique rhythm, which doesn't mean it'll coincide for others. Just be in harmony wiht the signals your body sends you, eat when you're hungry, and try to keep a favourable relationship with food.