Anxiety Tips: How to Alleviate Symptoms

Everyone has experienced anxiety at some point in their lives, but it can be disruptive to our day-to-day activities like working, socializing, and even just relaxing. When anxiety becomes an overwhelming, everyday issue in your life, it is best to speak to a medical professional, but when anxiety crops out from time to time, there are steps you can take to reduce that uneasy feeling.

Many people don’t realize that dehydration and anxiety are connected. Dehydration isn’t typically a main cause of anxiety, but it can heighten the symptoms.

We’ve pulled together some anxiety tips and coping skills to help you integrate coping skills, so anxiety doesn’t rule your life.

Talk to Someone You Trust

Whether you’re feeling anxious about a particular problem or there’s no clear reason for your anxiety, talking it out with someone close to you can make a world of a difference. Sometimes just putting your thoughts into words can provide some relief. We spend so much time in our own heads, it’s helpful to let our emotions and feelings out.

Meet up with a friend, family member, or loved one that you trust, or give them a call, and let them know you’re struggling with something and would like a friend to hear you out. They can often provide clarity on your situation or help to change your thinking, alleviating some of your anxiety.

Another great coping skill for anxiety is journaling, which is kind of like confiding in yourself. If you’re feeling very anxious, break out a notebook or type your thoughts on a computer. It can provide relief and also give clarity on a situation, helping to bring you back to a more calm mindset.

Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

• Stay Hydrated. Dehydration and anxiety are sometimes intertwined. Drinking water may sound like a too-simple solution for a problem as pervasive as anxiety, but staying hydrated can reduce symptoms. It is not a catchall solution for more serious anxiety symptoms, but it can mild out your anxiety — and keep you healthy. Many people are dehydrated throughout the day without even realizing it. In fact, 75% of people are mildly to moderately dehydrated every day. Carry a water bottle with you as a physical reminder and try using an electrolyte drink mix like DripDrop to alleviate dehydration symptoms quickly while also giving your body an electrolyte boost.
• Implement a nutritious diet. We all know the experience of being hangry — so hungry that it starts to make you a bit angry and moody. Food impacts our mood every day. Not getting enough nutritious items in your daily diet can impact your general outlook. Integrate healthy foods like fruits and veggies into your diet and make sure you’re intaking enough minerals, vitamins and electrolytes.
• Exercise regularly. Exercise releases endorphins while also reducing your body’s stress hormones levels. Although it may not initially sound like a relaxing activity, getting active can vastly improve your mood and maybe provide a physical outlet for your anxious feelings. Find an activity you enjoy whether it’s running, cycling, yoga, kickboxing or even just taking a walk around your neighborhood and try to implement it into your weekly routine with a goal of three times per week. When exercising, be conscious of your hydration levels. The more you sweat, the more water your body needs to replenish the water it’s lost. Using DripDrop to reduce mild dehydration symptoms and prevent future dehydration. It has three times the amount of electrolytes found in a traditional sports drink, which helps regulate many functions in your body.
• Practice good sleep habits. Getting good sleep every night is vital to nearly every part of our lives. It improves our mood and concentration, making it easier to focus and relieving some anxious tension and stress. When you’re feeling anxious, it may be difficult to fall asleep, but practicing breathing exercises and avoiding screen time before bed can help ease you into a more relaxed state of mind.

Use the 3-3-3 Rule

One of the best coping skills for anxiety is known as the 3-3-3 rule. If you find yourself in a situation that heightens your anxiety, find three items around you, identify three sounds you can hear, and look for three moving body parts. In the moment, this strategy can help you feel grounded and remind you that you are in the moment. It can particularly calm you down when you feel that your anxiety is triggered and ramping up.

Practice Deep Breathing and Meditation

Meditation is a great strategy to quiet those anxious thoughts and get you back to a relaxed state of mind, though it can be tough to master at first. Deep breathing is a major part of meditation, and a great first step in any meditation practice. Close your eyes and inhale deeply through your nose for 5 seconds, hold it for 3, and exhale deeply through your mouth for 5. Repeat this until you feel your heart rate start to slow and anxiety start to fade. You can also integrate more in-depth meditation strategies like imagining inhaling bright blue colors and exhaling brown-black colors to mentally represent breathing in the good and letting go of the bad.

Keep These Anxiety Tips in Mind

If you experience anxiety, learning coping skills for anxiety is key to keeping you calm and healthy. Remember to exercise, stay hydrated, breath deeply, and use the 3-3-3 rule when needed. Maintain hydration throughout the day by drinking water and fight dehydration symptoms with electrolyte drink mix DripDrop.