Death of Someone you loved, losing your job, trauma, generally, things that are not in your control that can cause chronic anxiety.
But what you don't know is that anxiety can become worse because of habits that you do every day.
If you can figure out these habits, you can control a part of your anxiety for me it is the hard part. what comes next will be easier, much easier.
All you need to do is, to have discipline and determination to help you continue fighting even if you didn't see some changes. but you need to know that this process takes time so nothing will come in just a Blink of an eye.
You might not see it as important as it is, but poor eating habits, skipping meals, not getting enough fluids, overconsumption of alcohol, going to bed late, are some of the examples of bad habits that increase anxiety.
1 / Overconsumption of caffeine:
How nice! when you wake up, make your coffee, drink it slightly, watch Netflix, or your window’s view. Actually, it is one of my favorite moments. what is not nice is: oh my friends are coming, let's make a coffee. I have a meeting I'll order coffee or I have a lot of work to do tonight I need to stay up late, Coffee will help, It's 5 p.m. it will be nice if I have something sweet to eat next to my coffee.
You need to know that caffeine is a major anxiety trigger. let’s say there are levels of anxiety, you are at level 5, you had a cup of caffeine. A few hours after, your anxiety is likely to be at level 9, and it'll increase to 10 in the evening. it may even affect the quality of your sleeping, so if you didn't sleep well your anxiety will be higher in the morning, and of course, a cup of coffee will fix that, and so on.
That's why You need to monitor your caffeine consumption, or if you can it's better to eliminate it, especially if you know you are a fast exposure to anxiety with high levels.
You can substitute coffee with green tea, 0caffeine coffee. it will be hard the first few days but you will get used to it.
Don't say I can't because:
the human being was created to adapt to any circumstances at any time so yes you can
You can check my article that gives you more informations about caffeine, Its positive and negative effects, and how much you should consume per day.
2 / Meal skipping:
I'm sure that you know when you don't eat for a long time or skip a meal, your blood sugar falls below normal levels which causes hypoglycemia. this can cause nervousness, weakness dizziness headaches. and these are common symptoms of anxiety.
this information was taken from Frontiers in endocrinology which did research that shows That recurrent hypoglycemia increases anxiety.
Try to have healthy snacks between breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner, even if you don't have the desire to eat, push yourself, of course not too much, but have at least an apple or one date. this can control sugar in your blood.
Try, also, to consume food full of fibers, protein, and vitamins.
You can take a look at my article, where I mentioned a list of healthy foods help you maintain a healthy body.
3 / Processed Foods:
You should give up on refined carbohydrates foods: microwave meals, ready-made dressings.. any type of junk food.
Refined carbohydrates foods contain unlimited additives (Artificial sweeteners, colorings, flavor enhancers), and Chemical ingredients besides their negative effects on your body health, they can increase levels of anxiety.
Try to avoid consuming these foods, instead, fruits, vegetables, whole grains foods, must be your best Partners forever.
4 / Sugar:
It is very common to consume sugary Foods when you feel anxious.
Sugar gives you a boost of energy for a while, which makes you feel Energized and happy by stopping releasing stress hormones. This makes you crave more sugar every time.
That's why it is better to start eliminating sugary food, of course, it's not easy, you need to reduce your surgery cravings and gradually eliminate them.
Try to stay away from chocolate, cookies, ice cream, milkshakes Etc. I know it's hard, especially if you are very addicted to Sugar, so start by taking for example one cookie instead of a whole package, try to have one cookie a day, then change it to one cookie every two days, and every week, and your cravings for Sugar will gradually decrease.
Try to consume more fruits and sweet vegetables instead, as they have natural sugar: 2 to 3 pieces per day will be perfect.
you can also consume stevia as a natural sweetener.
5 / Dehydration:
You might not know this, but, dehydration is a very good helper for stress to enter your body.
When you are dehydrated, every part of your body doesn't function the way it should. It really affects your brain, your muscles, your energy, Etc.
So you must get enough fluids to your system, so it can work as perfectly as possible.
When you are stressed, you mostly go ahead and crave something to eat. Try instead drinking one to two cups of water and you will see that you are actually not hungry you are just thirsty.
What you don't know is that water has natural calming properties, so make sure to drink at least 1.5 to 2 L water per day. Harvard Medical School Did research shows drinking enough water can help you relieve anxiety.
6 / Alcohol:
We all know that alcohol stimulates happiness in the Brain. it releases happy hormones: serotonin and dopamine, which makes you feel happier and less stressed. It can also increase the levels of anxiety just after a few hours of consumption.
when the effects of alcohol stop, You begin to feel tired, more anxious, even before you had a drink, so you start over again, and gradually, you become dependent on alcohol, and you find it very hard to quit it.
If you are trying to control your anxiety, then the best thing I can recommend is to eliminate alcohol for good. Try instead working out.
which leads us to Habit number 7.
7 / Not exercising:
Sitting all day, being lazy, and not doing anything all the time, is another Habit that can lead to anxiety.
Working out is very helpful for your physical and mental health.
Moving your body, breathing, making your heart pump more than usual, help to remove waste and excess toxins from your body.
Some studies have shown that sedentary people have a higher risk of anxiety and depression.
Make at least 15 minutes a day to work out. it's okay if it is just walking, stretching, doing some yoga, dancing, just get up and move your body.
You stay hours watching Netflix and checking social media, so it's okay to sacrifice at least 15 to 20 minutes a day for your health.
And know that working out is anxiety’s the stronger enemy.
8 / Not being grateful:
These days we only see Perfection especially in social media we see perfect celebrities’ lives, rich people’s perfect bodies, very expensive clothes, vacations from the Bahamas to Morocco to Spain.
Which made it easy to compare ourselves to them and feeling inferior.
This Does not only lead to anxiety but also, depression, sadness, feeling not good enough, helplessness, losing self-esteem Etc.
You need to stop comparing yourself to others, instead, be grateful for what you have and what you haven't, be grateful for what you are, because, if you want to compare yourself, then, compare yourself to your past self, compare yourself to what you was 5 years ago.
You have to know that you only see what they want you to see, you don't see what's behind the scenes.
Trust yourself and focus on your abilities and achievements. Love yourself and focus on your power, not your weakness, and you will see the difference because:
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