Feeling anxious about your life? The state of the world? Your finances? Your children’s health? You’re not alone.
Studies show that in 2024, nearly half of all adults (43%) reported an increase in anxiety over the previous year. In fact, anxiety disorders are the number one diagnosed mental illness in America. While everyone is at risk for this condition, women are more likely than men to be diagnosed, and only 43% of those with anxiety or another mental health disorder receive treatment.
Putting those percentages into perspective, nearly 60 million Americans reported mental illnesses in 2024. Most people blame stress and lack of sleep for their problems, but your anxious thoughts could stem from many things.
Although there’s not an instant magic solution to cure your anxiety, and you can’t just “stop thinking about it,” as you’ve probably been told, there are a few ways you can change your daily habits to encourage calmness in your life. Try some or all of these lifestyle tweaks to see if any of them reduce your anxiety and help bring a little more peace into your day.
1. Recognize and Reduce Your Triggers
Over the next few days, pay extra attention to your thoughts and moods. When you notice a little anxiety creeping in, follow it back to the source: What caused you to start feeling that way?
Maybe it’s your teenager’s rebellious statements or how you respond to them. It could be something your spouse or parent says or how they say it. Is it work? Money? Whatever the trigger is, it’s vital that you pinpoint it. You might think it’s “everything,” but it can’t be, because that would include things you enjoy.
Identify those things that light the fuse of your anxiety. Even if you can’t reduce or eliminate them, you can be aware that you’re likely about to feel triggered, and put up defenses in your mind to protect yourself.
2. Create a Response to Anxiety
If you’ve never been caught in a rip current before and you’re stuck in one, your first response is to fight against it. Then, the panic sets in, and you quickly lose your breath, which often leads to drowning. But if you’ve been in one or learned how to handle rip currents, you know to stay calm, swim parallel to the shore, and not fight the water.
Having an anxious thought is kind of like being in a rip current. It can spiral fast, bringing you into exhaustion and panic. However, if you have a plan of action in place, you’ll know how to handle your next moments of anxiety to keep you from drowning in emotion.
Some expert-recommended methods of handling anxious thinking until you can control it include:
- Deep breathing techniques
- Repeating your favorite mantra or affirmation
- Distracting yourself with a phone call to a friend or something else interactive
- Playing upbeat music
You may not avoid the anxious thought entirely, but you can control how deeply you let it destroy your calmness in that moment.
3. Reduce Alcohol and Caffeine
When you were listing your triggers, you might not have realized that two of them could be alcohol and caffeine. These ingredients are considered the top anxiety triggers because of the effect they have on your brain and body.
Although it’s classified as a depressant, alcohol creates a chemical change in your brain that stimulates certain hormones. The alcohol shuts down production of glutamate, a neurotransmitter responsible for memory and learning. Without this chemical, anxiety often increases.
Caffeine increases anxiety because it’s a stimulant. It boosts your heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration — all the things that “wake” you up, but cause jitters and anxiety.
4. Get Better Sleep
Easier said than done, right? If you’re having trouble falling asleep and you’ve followed the professional tips, like avoiding screen time an hour before bed, creating a safe haven in your room, and reducing clutter, you may need a little extra help. Talk to your doctor about your situation. Depending on your medical history, they may suggest supplements or prescribe medication to help you turn off the chatter in your mind and fall asleep.
However, many people can fall asleep without a problem, but they can’t stay asleep. If you notice you’re waking up in between stages of deep rest, you could have bruxism, obstructive sleep apnea, or another sleep disorder. These conditions are characterized by restless sleep and daytime tiredness.
Sleep apnea is a potentially dangerous disorder that you should never ignore. If you’re snoring or showing other signs of this condition, visit your healthcare provider as soon as possible. However, mild cases of bruxism, better known as teeth grinding, can be helped with a custom-fit night guard. To find out if your intermittent sleep cycle might be bruxism-related, read this article by JS Dental Lab.
Conclusion
Stress and anxiety are often interlinked, but how do you reduce them when you’ve become used to living in a high state of emotion? You may not be able to change your triggers, but you can identify them, prepare how you’ll respond, and handle your caffeine and alcohol intake. Address your sleep issues, whether on your own or with a doctor, and you’ll slowly bring more calmness into your life.
