Anxiety affects everybody from time to time, and that includes you. If you’re feeling especially overwhelmed or down on yourself these days, it might be a sign that it’s time to slow down and start taking positive steps to feel better. If you’re unsure where to start, here are two of the best strategies.
Seek Online Professional Help
Sometimes it’s cathartic to have a conversation with someone who is neither friend nor family member, but an outsider. Therapists are trained to be just that person in difficult times: A third party to listen to you and give advice when you don’t feel comfortable talking to a loved one. It is their job to help you get back to feeling like the best version of yourself.
If you can’t find time to visit a clinic in person, online mental health services might be a better fit for you than the traditional way. This option offers a live, licensed therapist who can connect with you via whatever video conferencing software you prefer. There is no shame in doing something to help yourself feel better, and it’s what the professionals are for. Additionally, online services might be a little kinder on your pocketbook; they tend to be a bit cheaper than traditional in-office visits.
Practice Meditation
If the idea of meditating seems a little weird to you, then you aren’t doing it properly. As the saying goes, don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it. Meditation has existed for millennia and is one of the oldest forms of relaxation humanity has to offer. Beginner? Here are a few tips:
- Find a quiet spot where you can sit down and stay uninterrupted. This can be your bedroom, your yard, or anyplace else that is safe and comfortable for you.
- Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. (Some people find it easier to focus on an image of a mandala.) Take the time to stabilize your heartbeat, focusing on keeping yourself as calm and peaceful as possible.
- Your mind will wander. That’s all right, you are human. As your mind wanders, bring it back by focusing on your breathing again. Let yourself feel relaxed and in sync with your body.
- Finish by opening your eyes and let yourself feel kindness to yourself and others. Say a prayer of thanks if you wish.
Even if you can only spare five minutes of your day, it is five minutes well spent. If you do it enough, it will become a habit — a far better one than spending that additional five minutes worrying about one thing or another. Give it a try, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Do What You Need To Do
It’s easy to put your health on the back burner in comparison to other parts of your life, but please seek help when you start to feel depression and/or anxiety creeping in. Mental health is every bit as serious as physical health, and you need to do what you need to do to feel better. Finding the motivation to make those changes can be difficult, but it could be something that saves your actual life.
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