It's normal to feel anxious and stressed from time to time. Anxiety and fear, though unpleasant, are some of the safeguards our brain has in place to protect us from potential danger.
Sometimes, however, our anxiety controls our lives instead of protecting them. This often creeps up on us before we realize it. Seeking help can improve symptoms of anxiety in the following seven ways:
1. Improves Sleep Quality
Debilitating anxiety can cause us to stay awake worrying about worst-case scenarios. Even when you can sleep, the quality of your sleep might be poor or you might suffer from frequent bad dreams or nightmares. This leads to feelings of tiredness and fatigue, which in turn worsens our mood and makes us more susceptible to anxiety during the day.
Poor sleep caused by anxious thoughts can quickly turn into a vicious cycle that perpetuates more anxiety. Professional therapy can assist with ending this unfortunate cycle.
2. Lessons the Feelings of Physical Discomfort
The physical symptoms of anxiety differ from person to person but frequently include discomforts such as shortness of breath, heart palpitations, sweating, nausea, and shaking limbs.
These symptoms only make already uncomfortable situations feel even worse.
3. Improves Social Life
It can be difficult to enjoy social activities when intrusive thoughts or other forms of anxiety are constantly at the front of your mind. A therapist can help you develop coping strategies and work through social situations that cause you the worst anxiety.
4. Improves Work Life
The main causes of anxiety in the workplace are often related to thoughts of not producing quality work or fear of disappointing managers and coworkers. Despite our desire to strive for excellence, constantly dwelling on whether or not we're good enough often has the opposite effect – because we consume more energy worrying about work than we do actually working.
5. Makes Daily Tasks More Manageable
Additionally, when all of our energy is consumed by worrying, we have less to spare for daily tasks. Many people with anxiety have difficulty driving, cleaning, grocery shopping, or keeping up with personal hygiene.
Shame only worsens the issue, as we're often led to believe that we're doing poorly for not being able to accomplish “basic” activities. This is simply not true – everyone struggles from time to time, but people with anxiety often suffer from a negative self image that convinces them their suffering is somehow less than that of another person.
6. Makes Uncertainty Less Daunting
People with anxiety often struggle with taking calculated risks or even accepting opportunities that they know would benefit them.
7. Worry Less About the Future
Most people with anxiety struggle to enjoy the present, because they're always worrying about the future. Even worse, the future is often shaped by unrealistic expectations and worst-case scenarios, many of which will never happen.
If most of this list sounds relatable, it may be a good idea to seek help from a professional therapist. They can teach you long term strategies on how to handle your anxiety and help you regain control of your life.
