Cope With Anxiety

Years way back I use to experience anxiety and nervousness when I sit for the primary school examinations. In particular, mathematics has always been my weakest subject and which I would usually spend more time studying and revising all those math tutorials. All the efforts seems to go to naught when I entered the examination hall.

My brain would seems to be completely lock up and I would suffer cold sweat when the examination math paper was place right in front of my desk. I would knock my head against the wall right after the exam is over for making all sorts of silly unthinkable mistakes. I guess I would never commit those silly math mistakes if I were not anxious or nervous, and of calm state of mind.

My inability to control and manage anxiety and nervousness has caused me to lost focus and inability to concentrate on what I need to do during the examination. It is heavy prize to pay with me having to resit some the papers. It is important to learn to cope with anxiety as it will make our life less unpleasant in the face of crisis or uncertainties.

Anxiety can manifest in many different ways and many a times we don't even realize nor recognize the symptoms. Our body and minds are wired to respond to stress in ways to save us from dangerous situations. The “fight or flight” response to certain stresses that we experience is normal and part of our human survival instincts. The adrenaline hormone is released into our body system to increase heart rate as well as providing energy to the muscles.

Individual has different tolerance to stress; some people are able to cope with stress more naturally and easily compare to others. Anxiety traits can run in the family. Some has higher tolerance to stress and some are known to be more sensitive to stress and suffers from inability to manage adrenalin hormone level in stress perceived environment.

Anxiety can cause various symptoms such as abdominal discomfort, chest pains, irregular heartbeat or heart palpitations, sleep disorder, loss of focus & concentration, migraines, headaches, increased irritability and lack of awareness just to name a few.

There are various ways to cope with anxiety. Activities such as meditation, exercise and other relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, qigong, taichi, massage, spa as well as counseling may help individual to overcome or cope with anxiety. A qualified counselor can assists to determine the type of anxiety that a person experience and the appropriate treatment with medications if necessary to reduce the symptoms.

You need not let anxiety ruin your life. Manage and take control of anxieties. After all, what does it help by feeling anxious if it does not help you to solve or deal with the situation? Speak to your heart and let it be known that the world is not going to end or that you are not going to die due to stress or challenges in life.