How To Alleviate Anxiety And Stress

Have you ever known someone who has that Jekyll and Hyde personality? One moment you think they just won the lottery, and the next moment they seem upset at the world, and you.

You would think that we as human beings would be "wired" the same, but it's just not the case. Some people actually have physiological differences in brain activity and other "physical" conditions like heart ailments or even problems in their blood work-up. These can all lead to behavior that takes on the form of stress, anxiety, depression and panic attacks.

In these cases, people must seek professional medical assistance. There is an actual physical condition that is causing the problem.

However, many people still suffer from stress, anxiety, depression and panic attacks, yet are physically fine. The brain can assist a physically healthy person into these conditions simply by storing thoughts and negative information over a period of time.

Let's take an example we can all relate to: You wake up and the world is a wonderful place. You go to take a shower and there is no hot water. Now you start your day with an Arctic blast. While making breakfast, the toaster malfunctions and suddenly you have smoldering bread smoking up your kitchen. On your way to work you get a flat tire which causes you to be late for an important meeting. Your boss pulls you off to the side and gives you an earful. After lunch you get a call from one of your main clients and they've decided to cancel their account. Your boss gives you another earful.

You get the idea. None of these are really major problems, but depending on the person they stay in the brain, creating that "woe is me" mentality.

Nobody would want to have a day like I described above, but if it happens, each person will react to it differently based on different things. One could be a person's upbringing. Some people might have been raised in more of a military-style enviroment and told to "get over it", "adapt and overcome", or "life's tough... you have to be tougher".

Other people might have been brought up by parents that were overly nurturing and told things like "that just shouldn't happen to you, because you're just too good of a person".

In either case, and many other cases, a person's upbringing will play an important part in how they react to what life throws at them.

A way to counter what life throws at you is to have an outlet that you enjoy. The number one factor in causing these conditions like stress is lack of physical activity. No one says you have to run a marathon to stay healthy. After a bad day, why not just take a long walk and go enjoy the sunset? Take a bike ride, or go rollerblading. Take up Tai Chi, Yoga, or go to the gym. Just find something physically active that you like to do and it will get your juices flowing, and believe it or not, it will take your mind off your bad day.

For those of you who get stuck in those one to two hour traffic commutes, why not get audio tapes? You can listen to books, or even learn a new language while stuck in traffic, and it will take your mind off of being stuck in traffic.

If your brain and body stay idle, then there is no outlet to rid yourself of the evils that life throws at you. All of the bad stuff that happens to you will stay in you and keep building until it eventually changes your personality toward the dark side.

Try to limit your TV viewing as well. Spark your brain into doing things based on your own creativity. Learn a musical instrument, write your own journal or blog, take up painting, write poetry or short stories. This list goes on, but the idea is to bring out the creative side of you. Express yourself.

The bottom line is that we all have physical and mental abilities. Pick one physical activity and one mental activity, then do them daily. You'll be amazed at how you'll be able to laugh off the bad days.