Anxiety Self Help

Studies show that teenagers who smoke a pack or more of cigarettes a day are more prone to anxiety disorders as young adults. The study goes on to link that teens with anxiety disorders were more likely than those without anxiety disorders to become heavy smokers as adults. Other research implicates cigarette use as a possible cause, rather than a result of problems with anxiety and depression. An expansion of the study found that generalised anxiety disorder, panic attacks, agoraphobia (fear of public places) were much more common in those who had smoked heavily as teens.

If and when anxiety or stress floods your emotional world or the pace of life threatens to spin out of control, here are three ways to ward off the kamikaze attack:

Do nothing: At least once during the day take five or ten minutes to sit quietly and do nothing. Focus on the sounds around you, your emotions and any tension in your chest, arms. Just sitting quietly counters stress's blitzkrieg. It can change your perspectives and increase your sense of control over events. The past is done, the future has yet to arrive. The only thing we need to control is the present moment.

Laugh out loud : Keep something handy that makes you laugh. It could be a collection of your favourite comics, television comedies or even your own humorous or funny stuff in your scrapbook. Turn to this every so often during your day. Good laughs throw stress napkins out of your systems and to the winds.

Think happy: Focus on someone or something you feel deeply about for anywhere from 15 seconds to five minutes. Picture scenes of blue skies, rolling away meadows, lily fields or even words, phrases, quotes that lift you up or stir you on. Anxious habits and stress flood us with negative emotions - anger, hurt, revenge and grudge. Thinking the other way can have an opposite effect.

Manage stress or suffer.Don't take your troubles to bed.Any one of the steps above could, if practiced often enough, turn the tide back on the tormentors if you want to call anxiety that.

Financial Anxiety?

Cally Rao