8 Practical Means To Overcome Anxiety

The current fast paced and stress laden life has transformed us human beings into a race of overanxious individuals. Right from the time we get up to the time we go to sleep, we are chewed up with anxiety.

We are anxious about a million things; our jobs, children, spouse’s health, finances and future just to name a few. Excessive anxiety gives way to multiple health complications which causes us to become more anxious. In short extreme anxiety traps us in a vicious cycle which can ruin the quality of our life completely.

Anxiety ruins our mental peace and destroys our health. It can leave us feeling drained of all energy. So how do we define anxiety? Anxiety can be defined as a feeling of foreboding, uneasiness, nervousness, or fear of the possible outcome of an event which is likely to occur in the immediate future. Anxiety can leave us feeling irritable, feeling fearful constantly, can affect our sleep and can cause us to feel physically sick.

While most people are able to control their personal anxieties others are not. Excessive anxiety causes a person to talk constantly about their fears and worries which can ultimately alienate them from their friends and family. Increasing anxiety levels often causes people to seek medical help even though there are many simple steps that each person can adopt to control their anxiety levels.

No individual can go through life without a certain degree of anxiety. That is totally normal. However when a person is constantly anxious 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a years then anxiety takes on a more menacing role and is called a disorder. There are many simple lifestyle changes that one can make to overcome the problem of anxiety without taking powerful medications. Let us explore some of the simple yet powerful ways to curb the problem of excessive anxiety.

If we allow our minds to be crowded with negative thoughts constantly, then we tend to be in an anxious, depressed state perpetually. One must understand that every single person on this earth have their own problems and worries, But what differentiates a happy person from a constantly anxious person is their ability to control their thought processes. Instead of thinking of only negative thoughts, make it a point to fill your mind with happy ideas. As negative thoughts are slowly weeded out, anxiety levels also come down drastically.

Practicing deep breathing exercises first thing in the morning is a fantastic way of clearing ones mind of all worries. Once a person has mastered the art of deep breathing, they need to visualize the particular thought or worry that is plaguing them.

With each breath of fresh air that is taken in, psyche yourself into believing that positive energy is flowing in and with each exhalation think that all your anxieties or negative energies are escaping from your body. Deep breathing exercises are a wonderful tried and tested method for reducing anxiety levels in people. In fact deep breathing exercises can even help to prevent panic attacks and reduce extreme fear among young children.

There are two ways to use positive affirmations or assertions to reduce anxiety levels. One is to use positive declarations on how you would want your day to be. Instead of using negative words like sad, pressurized and stressed out, use words which will define your day to be happy, productive and fruitful. The other way to reduce excessive anxiety levels it to use positive affirmations, to describe oneself. Instead of constantly running oneself down by using words like loser, failure and the like, use words which will bring out your positive traits like hardworking, punctual, and industrious.

If you really want to reduce your anxiety levels then set achievable and realistic goals in life. Never set targets for yourself that is not attainable. This will not only cause you to lose face in the end but will increase your anxiety levels as well. Extreme anxiety caused by setting unachievable targets will undermine ones personal confidence.

There is a saying that an ‘Idle Mind is A Devil’s Workshop’. This could not be truer in the case of people who worry constantly. People who are busy have no time to worry incessantly. It is those people who have a lot of time on their hand that turn into worry warts.

These people are not only anxious about personal issues, but they spend a lot of time being anxious about issues happening through out the world. Identify your personal interests or hobbies and convert leisure time into some fruitful endeavor. This way one can reduce anxiety levels and become a more cheerful person.

It is very important to communicate your fears or anxieties with a close friend or family member. Keeping your anxieties bottled up will only cause it to become worse. In fact most people who suffer from excessive anxieties have confirmed that communicating openly with someone they trust about their personal anxieties have helped to reduce their anxiety levels vastly.

The old adage ‘A healthy body in a healthy mind’ is extremely apt for controlling anxiety levels. People who lead sedentary lives and suffer from multiple health complications are twice as likely to spend their time worrying about their health and allied matters than individuals who exercise regularly and are fit and healthy.

Exercising helps in releasing certain hormones into the body which act as natural stress busters. In fact doing simple exercise like walking or aqua jogging twenty minutes every day can cut anxiety levels by almost half.

People who sleep less or suffer from various sleep disorders are more likely to suffer from increased anxiety levels as compared to others. A healthy adult should try to get a minimum of eight hours of proper sleep every night, to get up in the morning feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Poor sleep can cause a person to get up in the morning feeling depressed and with too many negative thoughts.

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10 Simple Means Of Improving Memory

Sifting through the archives of our memory we can recall various events which took place in our lives. So what exactly is memory? Memory is the ability of any human to save, maintain and recall various experiences and information.

Memory comprises of cognitive abilities which help us keep information intact and recall it as and when we need for purposes which are rooted in the present. Memory should not be mistaken for imagination. Imagination is what we conjure in our minds which may not always be true.

However, memory is based on actual facts which took place in the past. Memory often merges with emotion. Sometimes recalling a certain event of the past will open the flood gates of emotion like grief, happiness or sadness.

While language or the spoken word helps us to store events in our brain in some cases, in others, a simple yet powerful visual image helps to retain facts which can be remembered at some later point in ones life.

When we talk of memory we understand that there are three distinct phases to it. The first phase is called sensory memory. Sensory memory can be defined as our ability to recall an event just as we perceived it within an extremely short period of time say about 500 milliseconds after seeing it. Sensory memory is more of a transient kind of memory.

Through practice, people can perfect the process of retaining sensory memory and converting it into long term memory. When events are retained and recalled within a short period of time it is referred to as short term memory. An example of short term memory is the ability of an individual to recall telephone numbers or car registration numbers within a short time of actually seeing it.? Sound more than imagery is used to retain and recall information in short term memory.

Long term memory is the ability to recall events which took place in the distant past. People use the method of sequencing or connecting similar objects to help them recall it at a later date.? Repetition and practice can help to transport events which are captured in the short term memory to long term memory.

There are different techniques or methods which can be adopted to help people remember things for a longer period of time. Perfecting certain simple techniques will not only help us to improve our memory but it is also a great way to exercise the brain and keep it in top shape.

You may have heard the adage ‘Practice Makes Perfect’. Well nothing works better than this to help us improve our memory. Repetition helps to ensure that information is stored in the memory. One of the best ways of bolstering the memory is by repeating what we have just seen or heard, to others.

You can start off by repeating some small packets of information like telephone numbers. Later move to bigger things like a passage from a favorite book. You will soon understand that repeating information will ensure that it never fades away from memory.

Utilize your environment to your advantage to help in the process of improving the memory. To help recall events, your surrounding can be used to maximum benefit. As an example, if you have a book to return to the library, change the position of something that is familiar in your surroundings to help your remember the original event.

You can move your alarm clock from its normal place or keep a particular chair out of place. By just looking at the out of position object one can remember the main event i.e. returning the book to the library.

The method of loci is the process of remembering things through location. This process of improving memory was all the rage in ancient Greece and is so even today. People use landmarks to remember events. For example, a certain building that you regularly see on your commute to work can be used to remember some other event. Here location is used to recall information.

Chunking or lumping information together is the process of breaking down larger portions of information into smaller more manageable parts. If you want to remember a nine digit telephone number easily, break it down into three segments of three digits each.? If you want to remember the names of four people in your group easily chunk together the people whose names start with the same alphabet.

One of the best ways to improve ones memory is by playing the name game. Associate a person name with a certain favorite item. For example if you have just met a girl whose name is Candy, try to associate her with your favorite candy. This way you are sure to remember her name the next time you meet her.

If you want to remember something, pay complete attention to your surrounding and what the other person is saying. Don’t let your mind wander in such situations. Pay careful attention to the event and you are sure to remember it at a later date.

One of the best ways to retain and later recall information is to think in pictures. If someone has asked you to buy five pens, think of the pens as five tall trees. So that when you reach the shop and the shop assistant asks you how many pens you need, your mind will immediately think of the five tall trees and you can easily recall the number five.

If you are a slothful kind of person, then it sure to have a negative effect on your memory as well.? Physical activity helps to keep your body in shape and your mind razor sharp. Running around your block or swimming a couple of laps will help to improve your memory.

Negative feelings like anger, stress or depression can not only take a toll on your physical health but can affect your memory as well. People who are depressed are unable to store, retain or recall facts with as much accuracy as compared to people who are of a happy disposition.

Binge drinking can have a very negative effect on your memory. So go slow on alcohol consumption and drink in moderation.

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However, memory is based on actual facts which took place in the past. Memory often merges with emotion.

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