Reducing Anxiety and Fear

It is quite easy to tell if a person is experiencing anxiety or fear.  Cold, clammy hands, laboured breathings and beads of sweat lining one’s face are clear indications that one is anxious of something.  

Emotionally, the person may exhibit signs of stress and mental lapses.  He may appear dazed or confused.  Such being the case, it becomes very important to reduce the anxiety or fear, if not totally eradicate it. 

The first step to anxiety or fear reduction is to understand what anxiety or fear is.  Anxiety or fear is a feeling caused by negative thoughts or threats to one’s person.  They may be real or imagined.  Anxiety or fear comes in many forms.  One is panic disorder, another is specific phobia.  Still others are those that have obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder.

Panic disorder is characterized by a kind of fear so intense it leaves one feeling dehydrated and choked to the point that he feels as if he is on the verge of dying. In specific phobia, the fear is also intense, but it is directed to a specific object. Most common are fear of water, fear of heights, and fear of open or closed spaces.  Another form of anxiety disorder is obsessive-compulsive disorder.  This is characterized by persistent and repetitive acts with the end in mind of reducing stress.   Another form of anxiety or fear is post-traumatic stress disorder. Its name implies that the fear is caused by a traumatic event or situation.  When the anxiety becomes too excessive and lasts for a longer period of time, it becomes a generalized anxiety disorder.

A person may choose to be a slave to his own anxiety or fear.  Or he may choose to follow some basic anxiety and fear reduction tips, like engaging in physical activity, for instance.  Jogging, walking, or running around may help alleviate feelings of anxiety or fear. Other anxiety reduction tips include eating a well-balanced meal and getting enough sleep. This means staying away from caffeine-rich foods and alcohol and getting to bed early. When a person is anxious, it may also help to talk to somebody. That somebody may be a trusted friend, a counsellor, or practically anybody he feels comfortable enough to pour out his problems to.  Another anxiety reduction tip is to ask one’s self what it is that makes him or her anxious. He must identify those things and avoid possible encounters with them, if possible. 

Another anxiety reduction tip is to look at the positive side of things.  As there are two sides to a coin, there are also two sides to everything else, including the way one looks at things.  He must hide whatever negative thoughts he has, keeping them at the backseat for the time-being.  Instead, he must focus on things that are positive.  Looking at the silver lining, instead of the dark clouds, is one.  Looking at a glass half-filled with water as half-full and not half-empty is another.  Sometimes, it is only how one looks at things that makes him fret with anxiety and fear.  Finally, he must think of himself as a special creature, wonderfully made and loved by God.