Look around you and name three things you see. Then, name three sounds you hear. Finally, move three parts of your body — your ankle, fingers, or arm. Whenever you feel your brain going 100 miles per hour, this mental trick can help center your mind, bringing you back to the present moment, Chansky says.
This technique asks you to find five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. Using this with someone who feels anxious will help to calm them down and reduce their feelings of anxiety.
A little anxiety is fine, but long-term anxiety may cause more serious health problems, such as high blood pressure (hypertension). You may also be more likely to develop infections. If you're feeling anxious all the time, or it's affecting your day-to-day life, you may have an anxiety disorder or a panic disorder.
Typical anxiety can last for days, or at least until you've dealt with whatever is making you anxious, but anxiety disorders can persist for months or years without relief. Often, the only way to control anxiety is through professional treatment.
Anxiety typically goes away on its own once you're no longer exposed to the threat. Anxiety disorders, however, tend to stick around. Ignoring an anxiety disorder can cause all sorts of damage and impinge on your quality of life.
Anxiety disorders are the most common of mental disorders and affect nearly 30% of adults at some point in their lives. But anxiety disorders are treatable and a number of effective treatments are available.
The number of attacks you have will depend on how severe your condition is. Some people have attacks once or twice a month, while others have them several times a week. Although panic attacks are frightening, they're not dangerous.
Anxiety in older adults. Adults 60 years of age and older are more likely to experience physical symptoms of anxiety than younger people. This age group also has a higher risk for medical problems, and they may take more medications. Both of these things can raise the risk of developing an anxiety disorder.
The even better news: Many people respond well to anxiety treatment without medication. They find that their condition can often be managed entirely, or at least in part, with lifestyle changes and holistic therapies.
Recovery is possible with appropriate treatment such as exposure therapy, attention training, and a range of anxiety management techniques that can help you manage your symptoms.
In some cases, medications have a role in treating anxiety disorders. Yet research shows behavioral treatment, alone or in combination with medication, is a highly effective treatment for most people with an anxiety disorder.
The best stress-relieving drinks include ginger, chamomile tea, valerian, black tea, coconut water, milk, green tea, coffee, lemon balm tea, water, and vegetable and fruit juice. Aromatherapy is another self-soothing practice shown to have benefits for mental health. You can read more about it here.
Foods (and drinks) that are stress- and anxiety-provoking
Caffeine. Sugary drinks and foods. Processed foods, such as chips, cookies, frozen foods and ready-made meals. Foods high in trans fats and excessive saturated fats, such as fried foods, red meat, full-fat dairy, butter and baked goods.
Carbohydrates are thought to increase the amount of serotonin in your brain, which has a calming effect. Eat foods rich in complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains — for example, oatmeal, quinoa, whole-grain breads and whole-grain cereals.