“Anxiety grows along with growing weight,” as described family psychologist Victoria Dmitrieva the habit of some people to seize stress and bad mood. In her telegram channel, she listed unhealthy ways to deal with anxiety. First on the list, Dmitrieva put alcohol.
“Even a “harmless glass” in the evening after work. Alcohol is a depressant, not an antidepressant, which is why, under the influence of alcohol, girls often begin to remember their former partner, burst into tears and feel sorry for themselves, ”she said.
Next to alcohol among the unhealthy methods of coping with stress are all kinds ofaddictions and habits, which the specialist described as “switches of emotions.” A person resorts to them if he cannot withstand anxiety. Also in the top 3 wrong, from the point of view of a psychologist, options to defeat anxiety is workaholism.
“If you stop feeling your anxiety just by working 24/7, then you will work until you burn out.”
Another of the most famous and common ways to deal with anxiety is to a chore stress.
“While you are chewing, it seems to be easier. Only then the anxiety grows even stronger along with the growing weight.
Shopping is also the wrong path to peace of mind, according to psychologist Dmitrieva.
She explained that each purchase adds a drop of dopamine, as if it were a small achievement, masking the anxiety that there are no real achievements.
Control and overprotection. With this method, a person is sure that without his control, the children will not do their homework, a relative (for example, a husband) will not dress normally, parents will not understand the computer, employees at work will not perform the necessary tasks.
This is a typical way to divert attention from your internal anxiety to the external environment, the expert explained. Other variations of this method might look like:
the need to give advice that was not asked for;
trying to motivate anyone but yourself;
worry “Who will think what?”;
regular complaints about others.
Some people do, in order to get away from anxiety, begin to provoke or exacerbate conflicts, including with close people or from scratch. In couples, such situations arise most often due to anxiety that is difficult to endure together.
It’s easier to quarrel and distance yourself for a while. As a result, all these methods destroy the person himself or his relationship with loved ones.
Earlier, speaking about relationships, another family psychologist, Lyudmila Petranovskaya, noted that many people tend to defend their personal boundaries, while encroaching on others (motivating this with care, attention, or other good intentions).
As a result, a conflict may arise, from which it is important to draw valuable conclusions: meeting resistance and violating other people’s boundaries, a person gets a chance to see them.
This will help in the future to maintain relationships and make them safer, closer, warmer.
How to learn to cope with anxiety in everyday life? The best anti-stress tips have been collected in the gallery:
Show light. Bright fluorescent lights are not what you need when you are feeling stressed. Instead, buy warm orange lamps and place them throughout your home. These small islands of light are much better at soothing the eyes and therefore helping to relax at home.
Light candles. The process of lighting candles is a pleasure in itself. Since childhood, they have been associated with a holiday, something kind and magical. What’s more, scents like vanilla, lavender, or chamomile can trigger a chemical reaction in the brain that helps you relax. In particular, cucumber-scented candles are said to help with anxiety.
Make pauses. The Swedish “fika” is a tradition of taking a break from work every day to enjoy a hot drink and sweet pastries (like a cinnamon roll!), in peace. Taking small breaks in a busy, difficult day, you switch and give yourself a break. This is an excellent prevention of overwork.
Listen to music. Listen to songs that make you feel better and give you a good, positive vibe. Romantic ballads, songs from musicals, Christmas carols or Soviet classics – the main thing is that you like it. Half an hour on the way to work, in the car, at home – create a mood for yourself.
Exit the room. Contrary to the advice of the classic, outdoor activities will not be a mistake and are strongly encouraged! If you still think Scandinavian advice is about staying at home, remember the joke that Finns are born with skis on their feet. Long walks, Nordic walking, ice skating, jogging – choose what you like best this time of year.
Invite guests. Gather at home those with whom you are pleased to talk about plans for the future and recklessly play board games. If relations with relatives are a series of provocative questions, let it be a friendly meeting. Be “here and now”, communicate easily: do not discuss politics, money and health.
Be alone with yourself. Turn off your devices, take a hot bath and be alone: watch what you are thinking at this moment, whether you quickly relax or start to worry. Every day we do so many things, we run so fast that it does not give us the opportunity to pay attention to ourselves. And such awareness is the key to psychological health and balance.
Make coffee. It’s probably no secret that Scandinavians are the biggest coffee drinkers in the world. Still, living most of the year in the cold and twilight, they know how to adapt. We do not encourage you to drink coffee in unlimited quantities, but if you also love this drink, a cup of aromatic brewed coffee is a great morning tradition that will set the mood. Unless you have contraindications to caffeine, of course!
Decorate the house. Decorate your home not only for the holiday, but just like that. Garlands, candles, soft pillows, and home fragrances all help create a safe, pleasant, cozy space in your home that makes you feel good. The mere presence of it is therapeutic.
Maintain balance. Like it or not, a balance between work and personal life is the main principle of preventing emotional burnout. In every profession, there can be overtime and big events from time to time, but if it happens regularly, you will leave yourself emotionally drained. Leave the office on time, create a rule like “no work after 8pm” and try to stick to it. You should definitely have a time when you can not check your smartphone and glance at the endless notifications. Sometimes even half an hour in “flight mode” is a great technique to reduce stress and anxiety.
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