According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 18 per cent of Americans suffer from some form of anxiety. For the extreme cases, medication and psychotherapy may be in order. But for anxiety related to stress, there are some lifestyle changes that can help relieve your worry.
Here are just a few websites and apps that can help lessen your stress.
Eat Well
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (AADA) suggests eating a well-balanced meal to help manage your stress. Metabolic changes associated with hunger can cause feelings of fear, overwhelmedness and unease. Combat anxiety by eating regular, healthy meals and having nutritious snacks on hand.
Forbes Magazine lists Fooducate as one of the best electronic healthy eating tools available on iPhone and Android operating systems. Fooducate allows users to browse its database to search for the healthiest options for foods of their choice. It also allows users to track food intake and create an eating schedule to see if there is a correlation between meals and stress levels.
Be Fit & Sleep Hard
Exercise has a great track record of alleviating worry associated with stress. Likewise, there are direct correlations between sleep and mood. The Wall Street Journal recommends Jawbone’s UP system as one of the best fitness trackers on the market. Jawbone lets the user monitor the amount and quality of activities, including daily active and passive exercise and quality of sleep. This tech system is either worn as a bracelet or a pocket clip, and measures the user’s movement, providing a report of the day’s activity.
Use this to monitor your daily sleep and exercise habits, and compare them to your mood over the long term. You may just identify some patterns.
Know What You Can Control
The ability or perceived ability to control one’s environment is at the centre of anxious behaviour. Those who suffer anxiety are often preoccupied with the future. If you’re suffering from anxiety, recognise what you can control and what you cannot.
When anticipating a big event, take apart the things that are manageable from those that are not. If you’re preparing for an exam, for example, you cannot control the room’s temperature, potential distractions from others, or the allotted time for the test. You can, however, control your own preparation through studying and taking practice examinations, and making sure you arrive to the testing centre on time.
Find Humour in Your Day
Humour helps to combat stress. ADAA recommends seeking out humour in your life, and daily humor apps and websites can help. The Webby Awards are the internet’s version of the Oscars, and this year’s awards in the Humour category went to “Funny or Die” and “Cracked.”
Scan through Funny or Die’s site at any time or subscribe to receive daily pieces of humour. Websites and apps that offer humour can naturally reduce stress and distract from anxious thoughts.
Know Your Mood
Anxiety is a mood disorder, so make sure you understand your moods to better understand your disorder. MoodTracker.com is a good way to monitor your mood, including long-term fluctuations that may be related to greater issues like physiological and psychological disorders. Bring this information to your physician to help diagnose any underlying disorders.