Research suggests that hot showers alleviate anxiety as a result of the heat prompting our brains to release oxytocin — a “happy hormone” — which, in turn, reduces stress. Cold showers, on the other hand, are believed to enhance blood circulation, leading to stress reduction.
Mental Health Benefits of Cold Showers
A chilly zap from cold water signals to your brain to release endorphins, the feel-good hormone. This may create: A decrease in depression symptoms and anxiety.
In fact, bathing has been linked to improved mental health. This is because taking a warm shower can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. The body's reaction to being warm naturally relaxes your muscles and thoughts. Because of this mechanism, the risk of depressive symptoms is lower following a shower.
Go and jump in the shower. Make sure it's really hot- not scolding so you're not going to burn your skin but something that's really going to shock the system. Going really hot or really cold can help you manage those panic attacks to get you more grounded and back into the present moment.
The 5Cs are competence, confidence, character, caring, and connection. The anxiety dimensions are Social anxiety, Physical symptoms, Separation anxiety, and Harm avoidance.
If you are feeling anxious, a bath can physically force your body to change how it processes that anxiety. Not only can immersive bathing help alleviate anxiety, but it's also been suggested that taking a bath can positively impact the symptoms of depression.
Dehydration and anxiety
In short, dehydration causes stress, and when your body is stressed, you experience depression and anxiety as a result. Therefore, you want to ensure you are properly hydrated daily, especially if you are naturally anxiety-prone.
Showering and bathing have numerous mental health benefits, including reducing stress and anxiety, improving sleep quality, enhancing body image and self-esteem, and promoting self-care and relaxation.
Hot water increases the body temperature and relaxes the muscles in the body. This soothes us physically and mentally.
Indeed, their study suggests that people subconsciously self-comfort against loneliness through the use of warm baths and showers.
Additionally, due to the high density of cold receptors in the skin, a cold shower is expected to send an overwhelming amount of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain, which could result in an anti-depressive effect.
Since your vagus nerve is the main nerve that is in charge of relaxing your body after it's under stress, icing it may help with anxiety. According to research from 2008 , cold exposure causes a shift in your parasympathetic nervous system, which is controlled by your vagus nerve.
“Certain viruses – like the flu – trigger your immune system to produce inflammatory proteins, which help fight off the infection. However, they can increase your risk of fatigue, poor concentration and even cause you to experience low mood and feel more anxious.
A big event or a buildup of smaller stressful life situations may trigger excessive anxiety — for example, a death in the family, work stress or ongoing worry about finances. Personality. People with certain personality types are more prone to anxiety disorders than others are.
A large 2020 study in BMC Psychiatry found that people with iron deficiency anemia had a significantly higher incidence and risk of anxiety disorders, depression, sleep disorder, and psychotic disorders.
Thirst may not seem like something related to your anxiety, but it's something that many anxiety sufferers deal with regularly. There is often this feeling of needing to drink a glass of water or two during and after anxiety attacks, and some people feel as though they need to drink more water each and every day.
These can include a racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling and muscle tension. Panic attacks occur frequently and unexpectedly and are often not related to any external threat. A panic attack can last from a few minutes to half an hour.
Take a moment to see it, absorb it, identify it.
But by far, the most common coping strategy is called anxious avoidance. This coping strategy refers to the avoidance anxiety-provoking situations. Unfortunately, if a person does not confront the feared situation, and instead avoids it, their fear will mostly likely be maintained.
There are several types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and various phobia-related disorders.