3.2 (E) Other Helpful Tools
Other Helpful Tools:
- Meditations (5 min. Guided or Silent) It's always great to add in an additional meditation during your day.
- As many times as you can remember to.... smile! I can't stress this enough! If you are in your car, smile at every stoplight. If you are on the highway, smile at every 5th exit, or every fifth song on the radio. For more on this, check out: The Smiling Experiment
- Journal Your thoughts, feelings, and daily progress or setbacks..its all a part, so don't get discouraged. Keep moving forward.
- Continue to be more aware of how you react to stimuli (situations that come up)
- Start to reduce the amount of stimulants in the body. (Examples: coffee, chocolate.) If you drink coffee, start to decrease the amount by 1/4, OR switch 1/4 of a cup with decaf. Remember that your body really doesn't NEED caffeine. You only THINK you need it. Change your mindset. You DON'T need coffee. By going to bed earlier and getting better sleep, you will cure any NEED for any stimulants. (See Sleep Difficulties)
- Reduce or eliminate alcohol. As much as you think alcohol may "help", in the long run, it only adds to the problem.
- Reduce your sugar intake. Replacing simple sugars (candy, cupcakes, etc) with sweet fruit is a great way to help eliminate those sugar-y snack cravings. Pineapple, apples, oranges, bananas and kiwi are all nice and sweet, yet won't allow for as much of a crash that the simple sugars give. PLEASE NOTE: Sugar can feed into anxiety. Take note of your daily intake of sugar and jot it down. Reducing sugar intake is a great place to start in reducing symptoms. (For some, simply by changing diet can eliminate anxiety, but this is not the case for most, but certainly can help.)
- For more on how food can help, refer to: How Foods Can Help, and Best Nutrients for Anxiety.