Tips to Help Calm and Manage Anxiety

Many of us experience anxiety on a regular basis. Anxiety can show up in various ways and times and sometimes at really inconvenient moments! Most individuals can identify with the physical and emotional symptoms that can be associated with anxiety, such as feeling overwhelmed, unable to think clearly, feeling panicky, shortness of breath, racing heart, difficulty sleeping, restlessness, shifts in mood, eating more or less than usual, irritability, to name just a few of the ways anxiety can manifest.

While learning to understand your anxiety with the help of a professional (where the anxiety may stem from and what it means), there are ways to help limit anxious feelings or symptoms when they arise. Acknowledging the presence of anxiety is an important place to start. Be mindful that you are feeling anxious and that the anxiety does not have to define you in the moment. While it may feel overwhelming, there are several tips to help you manage and take more control over anxiety producing situations. 

Tips to help manage anxiety in the moment:

-Deep breathing techniques--can be done in any place at most any time (take a deep breath in through your nose or mouth for as long as you are able and then push that breath out until you feel the need to breath in again; repeat for 10 long breaths in and out, counting each inhale and exhale as a completed deep breath. Continue as long as necessary until feeling more calm.

-Talk to someone-it can be helpful to talk about how your anxiety makes you feel and help you to feel not so alone in it.

-Distractions- turning your attention to something else is helpful to take you away from the anxiety; such as playing video games, Sudoku, word-finds, coloring books, listening and singing along to music, taking a walk outside.

While anxiety can be uncomfortable it does not have to stop you from enjoying your life to its fullest. If you find yourself struggling with anxiety and would like to see if meeting with a professional counselor could be helpful for you reach out to us at Gaithersburg Counseling Center 240-274-5680, admin@healingllc.com or www.healingllc.com.

Overworked, Under Appreciated and Stressed Out at Work?

Managing work-related stress can be particularly challenging – especially during tough economic times…

With so much downsizing and “reorganizing”, the workplace is changing and becoming more stressful than ever before. Whether you were laid off, or still working, but doing the work for the people who were laid off – managing work stressors are particularly difficult. This article will examine what work related stress looks like and what can be done to help alleviate the stress.

Work related stress affects both your professional and personal life. Work stress can spill over and affect your family at home just the same as family stress can spill over and affect your actions at work. Have you ever come home from a stressful day on the job and raised your voice at a spouse, your client or a friend when they haven’t done anything wrong? This can happen when we don’t recognize how work stress affects us and learn what we can do about it.

The following are examples of how work stress can affect you as an employee:
1. Decreased Productivity
2. Increased Absences due to illness, anxiety or fatigue
3. Decreased Attention Span/Focus
4. Increased Interpersonal Issues (fighting with boss/coworkers)
5. Tardiness

Here are examples of how work stress can affect your family and home life:
1. Increased negativity and pessimism
2. Decreased Positive Communication
3. Moodiness
4. Decreased Patience
5. Increased Fighting

So, what can we do about it? Following are some steps to take control of your work stress and get your life back in balance.

1. Separate your work and home life by setting up a boundary between them.
a. For example, you can change your cloths when you get home, or listen to calming music, or even journal about your day. Then, after your activity, recognize that work is over and family time has started. Having a specific behavior or activity can help you to put the workday behind you so you can focus on your life.
b. Turn off your work phone and email when you get home. Do not check your work phone or email until you get to work the next day. This way, you are not inviting work into your home.

2. Take care of yourself.
a. Find a hobby or activity you like to do. Playing soccer or joining a women’s group can help fill your life with meaningful, fun activities. This way, you are more than your job.
b. Talk to others when you are feeling particularly stressed. Be open about your feelings and do not bottle them up inside – or they will explode at a time when you do not want them to.

3. Use Humor – carefully.
a. Using humor can increase moral and a feeling of cohesion both at work and at home. It can also increase positive communication.
b. Smiling and laughing actually releases “feel good” chemicals in your brain that will help lift your mood if you are having a tough day.
*note* Humor can exclude and alienate if not used with caution.

4. Improve Your Time Management
a. Get Organized! If you need help, ask a friend or coworker to help you organize your workspace and your priorities. You will find yourself becoming more time efficient the more organized you are.
b. Take short breaks throughout the day – that way you are refreshed when you are working and use your time productively.
c. Set a goal and a plan for working towards them. This way you are working smarter, not harder.
d. Practice deep breathing or another relaxation technique if you find yourself overwhelmed with stress and anxiety.

5. Get Help
a. If you need help at work – talk to your boss, find a mentor, or confide in a coworker who understands and can help you to work through them.
b. If you are having difficulties at home – talk about them with your family. Opening up lines of communication will promote understanding and can lead to positive change and acceptance.
c. If you are feeling overstressed with work and cannot find a way to manage the stress, or if you begin to feel anxiety or depression that interferes with your life, call a counselor, therapist or coach in your area for help.

Stress Reduction Techniques for Everyday Practical People - One for each day this week!

Are you feeling stressed? Are you constantly worrying? Are you exhausted and just want to relax? There is a way to break this cycle and start feeling better now! Following are seven good ways to REDUCE YOUR STRESS. Try using one of these techniques for each day this week.

1. Breath. We rush around in our daily lives, between getting the kids off to school, traffic, meetings etc., we rarely “stop to smell the roses”. Perhaps this phrase is more than just to remind you to appreciate the beauty around you, but to also remember to breath! Practice deep breathing... in through your nose, and out though your mouth...
2. Practice saying “no”. Save your precious time and energy for the things you really want to do.
3. Turn off your cell phone/email/blackberry/computer/pager for some period of time each day and enjoy the quiet.
4. Don't be afraid to ask for what you need, you might get what you want!
5. Stop trying to change that which you do not control.
6. Exercise for at least 10 minutes a day. Go for a walk with your spouse, a friend, kids or pets. Park at the far side of the parking lot and walk to the building. While watching TV, get up and do a few jumping jacks or stretches, or get up and dance during the commercial breaks etc.
7. Write in a journal. Sometimes it helps just to get the feelings out of your head so you can move on. Ask yourself, “How am I feeling” and “What am I thinking”.
   

Practice these seven techniques for one week and email me to let me know if you notice a difference! You can email Amy Hooper at AnotherLook@HealingLLC.com.

Or, for more helpful information, contact Another Look at Healing, LLC – A Counseling and Wellness Center today. Call our office at 240-274-5680 or email us at AnotherLook@HealingLLC.com.