Melbourne is a city that enjoys a high standard of living, as well as a glowing global reputation, beautiful surroundings, and a near-pristine environment with clean air and more. Despite all that, these are still difficult times and people in any part of the world can end up suffering from the negative effects of increased anxiety and/or real anxiety disorders.
In a world of so much worry and stress, it can be hard to feel like you have recourse, but below we have some hopefully very helpful tips for those who are suffering from anxiety.
Don’t Suffer in Silence
One of the best things you can do is to find an anxiety psychologist specialist in Melbourne. It’s a city where you have options, and a specialist will help you better understand what you’re experiencing, how to quantify and manage it, and also strategies and treatments on how to overcome it and experience life in a more positive way.
Some people resist the step to seek professional help when it comes to anxiety. There is still a great deal of stigma surrounding psychological and psychiatric treatments, after all, and people are afraid of being labeled in a negative way. But, as The Washington Post put it in one of their past pieces on the subject, “What you resist, persists.”
Remember You Are Not Alone
Anxiety is among the most common mental health disorders in Australia today and includes a raft of problems including PTSD, social phobia, and many more. It affects people of all ages and from different backgrounds. You should never feel like you are alone and therefore in some insignificant minority while everyone is “getting on with life.”
Just knowing that there are many others in the same position will hopefully help you to put things into perspective and actively seek help to curb your anxiety and live a better life.
Maintain a Healthy and Balanced Lifestyle
Anxiety is really a kind of vicious circle that first prevents people from living in their healthy routines of sleeping well, getting up early, eating three balanced meals a day, getting daily exercise, and so on. The more anxious you are, the more disrupted this harmony becomes, which in turn contributes further to your anxiety, and so the cycle goes on.
The more you maintain those positive balances of diet and exercise, the better chance you have of properly managing and dealing with anxiety. One more thing to remember is to do everything you can to avoid any increase in consumption of either alcohol or caffeine. You might think they are helping you deal with the day-to-day problems, but their depressive effects are well known and they will do more harm than good.
Get into the Community
Investigate and try to get involved with volunteer opportunities in your community. Connecting with local people and working towards positive common goals in your area has the terrific side effect of creating a support network upon which you can rely when times are hard or when you’re feeling the anxiety and stress piling on. The feeling of isolation and loneliness can exacerbate symptoms, so taking action not to be alone is a great step to take.
Practice Deep Breathing and Counting Exercises
In the day-to-day when you feel any anxiety or stress coming over you, a very useful strategy is to close one’s eyes, stay still and take several deep and slow breaths. Repeating this over a minute can have an amazing calming effect on the body. Another strategy is to do the same but count to 10 or another number that works for you.
These are simple exercises but can be extremely effective. Better yet, they require no additional equipment or tools, making them accessible to everyone.