How to Reduce Anxiety in Your Daily Life

These are crazy times, no doubt about it. The American economy is at its lowest in years. People are losing their jobs and homes to the mortgage and credit crisis. Gas prices continue to remain painfully high cutting deeply into household budgets. Weekly trips to the grocery store rival yesteryear’s monthly car payments. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are wearing on us, pitting us against family and friends as we disagree on the right course of action. Terrorism is a constant and real threat.

Then add to that an increasingly longer and longer work day with less time for family and even less time for things like a full night’s sleep and eating something reasonably healthy and it’s no wonder that everyone is in such a state of constant tension. American society is like a collective heart attack waiting to happen!

When you do have a moment to sit and reflect on our national state of mind, do you ask yourself, isn’t there some way to reduce this tension, to simplify life, to have a little balance? Tough as it seems, yes, there is but it takes a commitment to make it happen.
Basically you have to un-commit. You can’t do anything about the state of world affairs but you can do something about how you conduct your own life. A lot of the stress people experience today is a result of over committing. Sometimes you did it for yourself (i.e. took on way too many projects at work in the hope that it may lead to a promotion or you have volunteered for so many non-profit organizations that you created the equivalent of a second full time job). Sometimes people over commit for the benefit of others (i.e. enrolled your kids in soccer, dance, swim lessons, gymnastics, football, baseball, tennis and other activities that require you to chauffeur and supervise, leaving you with no time for yourself much less a nice family sit-down dinner at home).

Either way, you’re left with the short end of the stick. The only way to get the whole stick back is to start un-committing and make more time for you. Cut back on your volunteer activities, tell your boss you took on too much and need to scale back, and tell your kids they get one activity each that does not compete with dinner, family time or homework.
Next, resolve to do something you love every day, something that makes you feel good and lifts your spirits. This could be a walk after work or at lunch, piddling around in the garden or working on car or woodworking project in the garage. But it might be something as simple as a hot bath filled with aromatherapy salts accompanied by a glass of wine, reading a great book, sewing or another craft. Whatever it is make sure it is not work, but an activity you enjoy, one that gives you unconditional pleasure.

If you come home really keyed up, you probably shouldn’t hit the alcohol. It’s way too easy to overdo it. One glass helps a bit so you have a second which makes you feel even better and onto a third, and you get the idea. No harm done if it’s once in a while and you don’t have to go to school or work in the morning, but a really bad idea if you do.
Even better, make yourself something warm to drink. If you’re a coffee drinker, brew a cup of decaf (you don’t need to be hyped up even more). If you are a tea drinker a cup of herb tea like mint or peach or apple cinnamon, does a miraculous job of soothing rattled nerves. On cold nights go for a cup of hot cocoa or warm milk.

To get the most benefit out of your warm drink, light one of those nifty presto logs in your fireplace (don’t even think about building a real fire – way too much work!) Change into your favorite comfy clothes and slippers, put on one of your favorite CDs, wrap a quilt or cozy blanket around you, melt into a comfortable chair placed in front of the fireplace, put up your feet and sip your warm drink. The stress will truly begin to melt away.
But that’s for when you get home after a day that knocks the wind out of you. What about during the day? Is there something you can do to prevent the stress from developing, something to stop it before it gets out of control? Actually, there are lots of things you can do.

Rule number one: don’t sit at your desk all day. Take periodic breaks throughout the day, preferably outside where you can breathe some fresh air and walk around a bit. Even if you get only a 15 minute break, take it outside. And whatever you do don’t spend it with co-workers griping about work. The point of a break is to separate yourself from work and the pressures that are inherent in your job. You’re wasting your precious downtime if you spend it talking about work. By all means, don’t eat your lunch at your desk while you continue to work. Get out of your work environment, which pretty much anyone can do unless you are a construction worker 30 floors up on the skeleton of a high rise. Think fresh air. If it’s the middle of winter and the outdoors is out of the question, find another place in the building where you can disconnect from work while you eat.

Speaking of eating, that’s rule number two: every day eat or drink something you love, something that makes you smile, that either takes you back to your childhood to kinder times or something you have grown to adore in adulthood. Maybe it’s a tuna noodle casserole, dill pickles, a PB&J sandwich, mac & cheese, a banana or a fine aged cheese. Whatever the food or drink, consume it slowly, and savor it in moderation. Why indulge?

Can it really help prevent a stressisode?

People are often so obsessed with diets these days and the harmful effects of food that often they deprive themselves of the joy simple food can bring. If you love donuts but have sworn off of them because you think eating one will make you drop dead of a coronary or stroke, consider incorporating one into your diet one day a week or twice a month. It won’t kill you and you will look forward to that day as though it’s a holiday. As much as possible try to keep your indulgences on the modest level. Love chocolate? Fine, eat one piece, not 20. Are you a tequila connoisseur? No problem, sip a shot glass of Patron Anejo. The key is not to over indulge and to vary your indulgences. For example if you like exotic fruit, eat a mango or papaya and vary it with your passion for peanut butter on other days. Make the indulgence a daily, but small treat. Get some balance into your diet.

Finally, keep a sense of humor about you. There isn’t a whole lot you can do about the economy, the politics in Washington or the price of gas, but you can lighten up and not take everything so seriously. None of us will get out of this life alive. Resolve to enjoy the journey, every day of it in whatever way you can. Each day that you let stress and worry overwhelm you is one precious day lost you will never recover. Think of it as the hour glass of life. Each day a few grains of sand spill through the narrow neck to the bottom of the hour glass until all the sand has dropped to the bottom and your life is over. How you choose to spend it is truly your decision.