How To Overcome Worry

Worrying can be helpful when it's geared toward solving problems. But when it's just making us unhappy, stressed or otherwise interfering with our lives, it's not so helpful. Sometimes our busy lives can overwhelm us with worry to the point of psychological paralysis, and if you've got a project to complete, that can be a problem. Here are 5 simple steps that can help you achieve a peaceful mind and feel relaxed.

1. Awareness

Self-awareness means being in touch with your emotions and physical signs that accompany your anxiety. You have to understand how your body responds to stress, which might not always be obvious. You can practice awareness through an anxiety journal, where you write down what your mind and body feel in moments of stress and anxiety. The first step to consciously defeating worry is to know how your body reacts and what emotions you experience.

2. Breathing

Mind affects body and body affects mind. When you stand confidently, it makes you feel confident. The same goes for anxiety -- once you recognize that you are feeling anxious or worried, you can take conscious control of your breathing to send a message back to the mind to calm down. Anxiety often creates quick, shallow breathing. Counter this with relaxed breathing, which is slower and deeper. It's also helpful to adopt body positions you associate with being relaxed, like unfolding your arms and smiling, as these also signal your mind to calm down.

3. Calming thoughts

Because it's difficult to think calming thoughts on command during a stressful moment, you should prepare your calming thoughts in advance. Try out several words or phrases that you will repeat in moments of stress that can help you calm down. It can literally be, "Calm down!" or some other combination of words that will remind you and guide you to feel more relaxed.

4. Stay active

The mind wanders into anxiety when it's unoccupied. By doing an activity you enjoy, or even a neutral activity such as cleaning up your office or house, can make you feel better. Make a list of minor activities you enjoy doing, like walking around the block, that you can deploy when you feel anxious or worried.

5. Good sleeping habits

Anxiety can lead to lack of sleep, and lack of sleep can increase your anxiety. So how do you break that loop and get back into good sleeping habits? Follow these steps:

Lie down and go to sleep only when you're sleepy.
Only use your bed for sleeping -- no reading or watching TV.
If you can't fall asleep within 10 minutes, get out of bed and go into another room. Stay up as long as you want and return to bed only when you're ready to sleep. Repeat this step as often as you need if you can't fall asleep.
Set your alarm to go off at the same time every morning so that your body falls into a good rhythm, regardless of what time you fall asleep.
Do not take naps during the day.

There you have it, 5 simple but effective steps to relaxing your mind and defeating the distractions of worry and anxiety. You can't be successful if you let worry get the best of you. Anxiety and stress can increase during travel, especially for business, so relax your body and mind by hiring a professional Bay Area car service to transport you to your destination safely and comfortably.

Image Credit: freedigitalphotos.net/noomhh

Source: The Peaceful Mind: 5 Step Guide To Feeling Relaxed Fast