Anxiety is a natural element of life. It's part of the fight-or-flight response, which helps you react quickly in an emergency. Feeling an appropriate level of anxiety for the circumstance may help you avoid accidents. However, at a certain point, stress becomes overwhelming and is more of a hindrance than a help. If you have experienced debilitating anxiety, you're probably wondering what's the best way to relieve your symptoms without harmful side effects. To start, let's talk about the different types of anxiety disorders.
What Are the Common Symptoms of Anxiety?
Although it's easy to think of anxiety as being synonymous with nervousness or fear, it often manifests in many different ways. You may not have thought of some of these common symptoms as being anxiety related:
- A sense of impending doom
- Heart palpitations or racing heart
- Sweating
- An overwhelming need to escape
- Nervousness
- Irritability
- Fatigue
- Difficulty concentrating
- Hyperventilating
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling suddenly weak
- Trembling
No prescription.
What Are the Different Types of Anxiety Disorders?
There are many types of anxiety disorders, ranging from specific phobias to unspecified anxiety. Still, the four that are most commonly diagnosed are panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Panic disorder
Panic disorder involves panic attacks that are intense, repeating, and often seem to come out of nowhere. Not everyone who has experienced a panic attack has panic disorder. Still, if you've ever experienced one, you can imagine how debilitating it would be to have them frequently, often with no warning. Many people who have had a panic attack in a particular situation or location avoid putting themselves in that circumstance again because of the fear of having another attack.
Generalized anxiety disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder, as the name implies, involves general worries about everyday things. This type of anxiety is often triggered by certain things, such as going to the doctor or dentist, going to school, or the prospect of public speaking. People sometimes refer to this as situational anxiety disorder, especially when they're aware of their specific triggers.
Social anxiety disorder
Social anxiety disorder, sometimes called social phobia, involves anxiety about social situations. The symptoms may include a high degree of self-consciousness and embarrassment to the point of being terrified of social encounters. Some people have anxiety about all social situations, whereas others are fine in specific settings but have overwhelming fear in others.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, often called OCD, involves repeated, intrusive thoughts and related behaviors that may help relieve the anxiety but also interfere with a person's daily life. Common obsessions include germs, safety, and order. Once the obsessive, intrusive thought begins, it initiates anxiety, which the compulsion (washing, checking, organizing) temporarily relieves. However, the invasive, anxiety-inducing thoughts soon return, and the vicious cycle begins again.
What You Can Do To Improve Your Symptoms
Although there may be no outright cure for anxiety, you can reduce your symptoms by incorporating the Holistic 5 Pillars into your life:
Proper Nutrition
Although poor nutrition may not be a root cause of excessive anxiety, it can exacerbate an existing anxiety disorder. On the other hand, proper nutrition can help reduce symptoms of anxiety. If you're having trouble visualizing what a nutritious meal or snack looks like, start by filling your plate with minimally processed foods and cutting back on refined sugars. Steer clear of additives such as food dyes. Add in brain-boosting foods such as fatty fish, dark chocolate, and blueberries when you can.
Adequate Sleep
You already know how difficult it can be to function correctly when you haven't gotten enough sleep, but have you ever stopped to think about why that is? Your brain is on the go all day, making decisions, learning new things, and remembering what you should be doing at any given moment. When does your brain get to rest and recharge? During sleep. In addition to all the conscious thought it's involved with all day, your brain is busy running subconscious routines, including regulating your heart rate and breathing patterns, reminding your eyes to blink, and so on. Your brain also controls your mood, and when it's overtaxed, your mood suffers. To ensure you get enough sleep, shut down your screens two hours before bedtime, and try to stick to a regular bedtime and wake time. The Brillia blog has many helpful suggestions about how adults and children can be sure to get adequate sleep.
Mindfulness and Relaxation
Practicing mindfulness is a simple, scientifically proven way to reduce anxiety on a daily basis. Consciously relaxing your body and mind has a positive, calming effect that can help reduce anxiety in the moment when you need it most. If you're new to mindful relaxation, it's OK to start small. The best part about a mindfulness practice is that you can start with as little as one minute and still see benefits. The more you practice, the more comfortable and more intuitive mindfulness becomes.
Controlling Screen Time
In this day and age, trying to do without any screen time at all is not practical or necessarily beneficial. However, limiting the type of on-screen content you consume and the time you spend consuming it can help you be calmer, less restless, and less anxious. It's easy to think about limiting screen time in a child's life, but adults can reap the same benefits. To start, set a time limit on how much screen time you indulge in, especially before bedtime.
Taking Brillia
Brillia's active ingredient targets the S-100 protein, which, when overactive in the body, can increase irritability and anxiety. Brillia works without harmful side effects, which are often an issue with prescription medications.
Whether you've been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder or not, following these steps daily can help ease your everyday anxiety without harmful side effects or worries about dependency. Taking a holistic approach to embracing calm enables you to address the many different causes and manifestations of anxiety in your life. The more you take control of your whole body, mind, and routines, the less your fears and anxiety can rule your life and dictate your actions. Adding a unique, non-prescription product, such as Brillia, gives you an extra layer of support to start feeling better from the inside out.
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