Do Anti-Anxiety Management Techniques Really Work?
Today, there are different anti-anxiety management techniques that can be used to cope with anxiety disorders. A person can be said to have an anxiety disorder if they worry about every little detail of their lives. And traditionally, doctors have recommended these anti-anxiety management techniques to deal with anxiety attacks.
Some examples of anti-anxiety management techniques are as follows:
1. Avoid drinking caffeine-inducing drinks like coffee and cola. As we all know, caffeine is a stimulant and too much of this in our system would cause palpitation and inability to sleep. And those who are taking sleeping pills are advised not to take caffeine as the latter might conflict with the medication.
2. Margaret Wehrenberg, a licensed psychologist who also wrote the book, The Ten Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques, recommended that if in the event that you have anxious thoughts going through your mind, you can use aromatherapy bath oils when you soak in a tub to help yourself calm down. You can also make mental lists of things to do so, you would be able to prioritize all of the things you have to do.
3. Exercise allows you to feel the same heightened emotions that you feel when you are having anxiety attacks such as your heartbeat gets faster. Once you get used to exercise, you would be able to control the heightened sensations you may feel when you get anxious. Therefore, you would not mind them so much anymore. You can do simple exercises such as jogging and brisk walking and as complex as aerobics and boxing.
4. Do breathing exercises that would help you calm down. Relax on a chair, close your eyes and count from one to ten.
5. Apply distraction techniques to help you worry less about your problems. As they say, Make yourself busy.
6. Refocus your thoughts to something positive to beat the negative thoughts that are in your mind.
Though the above anxiety management techniques have been successfully used by some people, there are also problems that go with them. For instance, if you like to drink coffee and cola, chances are you would find it hard to stop drinking these beverages. You can try to avoid taking these drinks but in the long run, there would be a large chance for you to just revert back to drinking coffee and cola. You would just say, “I cannot change because this is the way I am”.
At the same time, exercise, making mental lists, breathing exercises, distraction techniques and refocusing your thoughts can only suppress your negative thoughts for so long. But there would be instances where negative thoughts can pop up in your mind, especially when you are stressed out. There would come a time when you have spent all your will power and determination and all you want to do is to give up.
And this is what Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a cosmetic re-constructive surgeon by profession, called the snap back effect. You can only last as long as your willpower can go. Once you reached the point where you have used your willpower, then, you would surely revert to what you were when you first began.
Dr. Maltz’ work, Psycho-Cybernetics is different because it allows you to change your self-image, a way for you to condition your mind to cope with anxiety attacks. For example, in Psycho-Cybernetics, we use techniques like theater in your mind where you envision where and how you would be as well as take note of all the positive past experiences you have had. We also use mental rehearsal where we envision ourselves doing what we want to do in detail and in a positive manner. This way, we can condition our mind to believe that we can do what we would set out to do.
What is good about Psycho-Cybernetics compared to the traditional anxiety management techniques is that it focuses on the self-image, how you see yourself and how you feel about yourself. The other techniques are just to suppress what you feel. Their effects are not long-lasting. But if you are able to tweak your self-image, then, you would be able to believe that you can do anything you want to do and the positive way you see yourself would always be there.
Tags: anti-anxiety management techniques
Related posts
Tagged with: anti-anxiety management techniques
Filed under: More Articles
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Trackbacks/Pingbacks