6 Tips to Manage Anxiety in the New Year

Anxiety is a mental health disorder that causes intense fear and worry. It disrupts normal activities and makes it difficult to function – but how can you keep it from taking over your life?

Many lifestyle tips and tricks allow you to cope with anxiety, but they aren’t always enough. If you need expert help with anxiety, Dr. Elia R. Gonzalez-Rodriguez provides therapy and medications at Pacific Phoenix Psychiatry & TMS.

Understanding anxiety

Anxiety is a prevalent mental health issue that leads to fear and worry, even in everyday situations. Many subtypes of anxiety exist, each causing various symptoms.

The main sign of anxiety is feeling anxious when there's no threat to your life or well-being. It's constantly feeling fear and worry, even when there's no present problem or concern.

Anxiety takes over many people's lives, making it impossible to function normally. It's crucial to seek treatment when fear, worry, or panic takes over your life, and you're unable to control it alone.

Tips to manage anxiety symptoms

Living with anxiety isn't a life sentence; there are many ways to cope with and treat anxiety on your own. We offer the following tips to ease anxiety symptoms for long-term relief:

1. Work on sleep hygiene

Getting enough sleep is essential in controlling anxiety symptoms. Try making a sleep routine and winding down before bed to get adequate sleep each night.

2. Get physical activity

Physical activity is an excellent way to reduce stress and manage anxiety symptoms. The endorphins the body releases also boosts mood.

3. Understand triggers

Understanding what triggers anxiety and avoiding it prevents some anxiety attacks. You can also journal to help you understand why you feel anxious in certain situations and gradually work on overcoming those fears.

4. Try relaxation techniques

Relaxation and deep breathing exercises are excellent tools for anxiety. Try meditation, yoga, or other relaxation techniques to calm your mind and body.

5. Cut back on caffeine and alcohol

Alcohol and caffeine worsen anxiety symptoms, so avoid them if you can. Try decaffeinated coffee or tea and cut out alcohol to reduce symptoms long-term.

6. Manage stress

Stress makes anxiety worse, so managing it is crucial in decreasing symptoms. Exercise, meditation, and finding a hobby you love are all great ways to reduce stress and tension.

What if they don't help?

It isn’t uncommon for people to struggle with anxiety, even when practicing healthy tips. If you're working with anxiety and can't get it under control alone, reach out to us for help.

Sometimes, a combination of home therapies and professional treatments is the best option for anxiety. Medications and talk therapy are what we recommend for anxiety treatment.

Our team helps you understand why you feel anxious and provides tips, tools, and treatments to help you feel more like yourself. Finding out what makes you nervous and why you think the way you do opens many doors to treating symptoms.

Call our team at Pacific Phoenix TMS today to schedule a consultation with Dr. Rodriguez-Gonzalez for anxiety treatment, or request a consultation on our website. 

We service the greater Portland area, along with Salmon Creek, East Vancouver, and Steilacoom-Lakewood, Washington.