How to Cure Anxiety

     We live in an ever changing world full of challenges and hurdles. Stress and anxiety are  simply  parts of our daily life. There are many ways to deal with our daily dose of stress and anxiety and depending on the gravity   of such encounters how we INTERPRET and REACT to these situations affect us in many ways more than we are aware of. If unchecked anxiety can lead to recurrent panic attacks which, in the long run, are not only unhealthy and debilitating but are also harder and longer to treat.

     Before we cover deeper ground on how to best deal with our anxiety-ridden life and explore some techniques to lower our anxiety levels as well as reduce stress let's establish a clearer understanding of what anxiety is. How are stress and anxiety related? Well, simply put, anxiety a physiologic response and it is essentially  how our body reacts to stress. Now let's  not confuse Anxiety with Anxiety Disorder because the latter is a disease whereas the former is a natural response  to stressful situations or events. Anxiety Disorders can be broken down into several conditions:

1. Panic Attacks
2. Specific Phobias (i.e. fear of heights, fear of spiders, etc.)
3. Social Phobias
4. Post Traumatic Stress Disorders
5. Obsessive Compulsive Disorders

     Know, however, that constant worrying and anxiety CAN LEAD to any one of the above disorders and would essentially require medical treatment or intervention. Since an ounce of prevention is much better than a pound of cure, as they say, having a systematic approach to dealing with anxiety is crucial before it sets in and converts to a disorder. So, let's cover, in the following order, the key steps in living and dealing with anxiety. They are:

1. Our Perception of Fear and Stress; conditioning our minds
2. Assigning Situational Gravity; what's worse and what's not
3. Filtering and  Subduing; fear reduction 101
4. Increasing our Level of Awareness
5. Optimism; Learn it and Assimilate it in Every Way.

      The first thing we need to tackle is our Perception of fear and stressful situations or events. Our perception ultimately dictates how we interpret and receive data or stimuli from our surroundings and it is how we interpret, in turn, which dictates how we respond. From this first level we need to uncover how we can keep our fears at bay, to assess each situation carefully and eliminate apprehension of any type. The mind is a powerful medium which can ultimately affect our better judgement. What I mean by that is most of us anticipate beyond what is necessary.Our apprehension leads us to conjure possible dangers or risks or even worse case scenarios which, ultimately, cripples us from moving forward or even taking positive action. A method I suggest you try us to imagine yourself in a situation which you know causes a lot of anxiety and stress. Now,with that in mind, imagine walking yourself through such an experience, opening your mind to options you may want to consider or take in order to overcome this event. Now imagine in your mind's eye how you will act or feel at that moment and thereafter as you tackle the said situation. Play this exercise out until you become familiar with how you plan and undertake any course of action. This systematic disensitization is one way which allows us to remove anxiety during a stressful event. Though there is no gold standard in dealing with anxiety and curing it, there is, however, a resounding theme when it comes to overcoming it, and that is how we need to condition our minds as a first step towards anxiety-free living. This mind-conditioning self therapy is effective in many ways but its greatest asset is how it relieves stress in our lives. I had already talked about how stress is debilitating to our health in one of my previous posts and helping yourself cure anxiety is the first step towards stress-free living. Here's a video exemplifying how we have in us the power to overcome our fears and relieve ourselves of unwanted anxiety.

     Conditioning your mind, however, is not enough in order to overcome anxiety. You need to form, out of habit, a method by which you categorize immediate threats ( more gravid) and less severe, more distant threats (less gravid). In other words, you need to do away with worrying about useless stuff and be less mindful of them. Remember what I always say in some of my posts," There are a lot of things in life we absolutely have no control over, hence we shouldn't even bother. The things we do have control, however, we can improve upon and change for the better.". Another thing you have to do away with is how you anticipate dangers or even fear needlessly. When it happens, it happens, and only when it does happen do you need to act accordingly and calmly. Assess each situation you feel causes you uneasiness and anxiety and relegate them to the back of your mind only when you feel that there is no immediate threat from them. You also need to focus more and be more attentive. By doing so you increase your level of awareness significantly. The final thing you need to do is practice optimism on a daily basis. Being optimistic keeps your mind open to options you may not even be aware of initially. Being positive and doing positive action assures optimism. Lastly,know that you are only traveling through the road of life once. Don't let fear, anxiety, and stress limit your potential to exploit life to the fullest. This is JowelMD with yet another post. Signing off but not signing out. Take care guys.