Experiencing anxiety when your child leaves for college, when you're running late for a meeting at work and when you realize that your dog has escaped from your backyard is normal. When a person feels anxious most of the time and it's impacting her ability to be successful at work and to maintain healthy relationships, she's probably suffering from an anxiety disorder. Learning how to cope with anxiety and figuring out what increases this disorder is an important step in treating overwhelming anxiety.
Basics
One of the main factors that increases anxiety is stress. There are many causes of stress, including such life events as the death of a spouse or planning a wedding and daily stressors such as losing your keys or receiving an unexpected bill in the mail. Some people learn how to cope with stress in healthy ways, such as by exercising and talking to friends, but others haven't figured out how to soothe themselves, which increases anxiety.
Significance of Healthy Habits
A lack of healthy habits will increase symptoms of anxiety. The Mayo Clinic reports that some necessary lifestyle changes are needed in order to cope with anxiety, such as exercising daily, eating healthfully and getting eight of hours of sleep. Someone who only gets a couple hours of sleep because he's working hard to meet a deadline at work is more likely to experience an increase in anxiety. If you eat a couple doughnuts instead of a bowl of oatmeal and fruit, you'll be less likely to be able to deal with stress. If you're physically healthy and your body is receiving the care and nutrition that it needs, you'll be better prepared to deal with emotional turmoil when it arises.
Anxious Thoughts
People who suffer from anxiety disorders have consistent, overwhelming anxious thoughts that interrupt them at work and at home. These thoughts increase the symptoms of anxiety. Learning that your thinking affects your emotions and behaviors is the first step in changing the issues. For example, if you think "Something bad might happen today" when you first wake up, you're going to feel anxious, have trouble concentrating, become nauseous and experience stress headaches and not perform well at work. Instead, if you can change your thinking and combat the irrational thoughts that you have, then you'll reduce the symptoms of anxiety.
Prevention
It's important to recognize when you don't have control over a situation and to be able to stop worrying about the things that you can't control. For instance, someone who constantly worries that people won't like her when she first meets them will become extremely anxious when meeting new people. He can't control whether someone else accepts and likes him, but he can control part of the interaction by dressing his best, practicing good communication skills and being confident.
Considerations
If someone also suffers from other mental health disorders such as depression or abuses drugs or alcohol, it will probably increase symptoms of anxiety. Sedatives can also worsen anxiety. Treatment for a dual diagnosis of substance abuse and anxiety should be more intensive and address both issues.
