It is a well known fact that excessive worrying affects your mental state and it also has a negative impact on your physical health. It is ok to worry a little, because it is even helpful as it prepares you for the upcoming situation. But, worrying may have negative effect to your health and can make you stressed, tired, prone to depression, and even physically ill.
Typical signs that show you worry too much are manifested with increased heart rate, more sweating and difficult breathing. The blood withdraws from the skin and moves towards the muscles in order to prepare them for the ‘fight or flight’ situation, so it is quite possible for you to become pale.
When you’re stressed, the body prepares itself to respond to the threat, the tension turns into pains which cause weak legs, trembling, headaches, and back pain. This tension also affects the digestive system and by that it causes diarrhea or constipation.
Chronic worry can also make you more sensitive to infections. Stress and anxiety lower the immune system defense and they make you prone to colds or more serious illnesses and at the same time they make you even more fatigued and lethargic.
But on the bright side, the brain is highly adaptable organ, and it only takes a few behavioral changes to notably reduce the stress and help you go back to your regular day-to-day activities and high-functioning self.
In this text you will find three simple practices that can be incorporated into your lifestyle and reduce worry and calm your anxiety. Check them out!
1. Write down your worries
When you translate your worries into concrete words it will help you transform the doubt and pity into a problem with a potential solution. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what to wear to a party you’re your friend is annoying you, just write that down!
This is helpful because putting your worries into words conceptualizes the problems and helps you find a solution for the problem.
For example, anxious test takers who write their feelings before doing the test actually do much better on the test than the ones that don’t. According to the researchers the thing about writing your worries is to emphasize the worst possible outcome for the cause of your anxiety.
2. Practice mindfulness meditation
One of the best things about meditation is that it has a wide array of healing properties. Many different studies have come to the conclusion that the simple act of closing the eyes and listening to your breath improves the mental stability and cognitive function.
So, when you start to feel anxious or overwhelmed, just find some time to mediate. There’s not much you need, only an open mind and a quiet space! Meditation of not more than a couple of minutes can really help you feel more centered, optimistic, and clear-headed.
3. Channel your stress into exercise
Exercising is very beneficial not only for the physical but also for the mental health. At the beginning it can be quite challenging and difficult, but once you start exercising on a regular basis it will help you regain the control of your life. The sense of control and self-worth that exercising gives you, will allow you to reduce overall worry and stress.
It is very often that doctors advise depressed patients to practice aerobic exercise. This is because it has been proven that exercising lowers the levels of body`s stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline.
What’s more, it will also help you boost the production of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that kill pain and lift your spirits.
