Anxiety and Stress:
Don't Let Anxiety and Stress Overpower You!

If you are a human being, you have experienced stress. You know what it felt like. It felt like something "out there" was not the way you wanted it to be, but you were powerless to control the situation. And your body was preparing for you to either fight, or flee, the thing you couldn't control.

If the event you couldn't control was not immediate--say, an upcoming exam, or a conference with the boss on your job review--your body may have been in its flight of fight mode for some length of time. In the case of the test, you might have used that extra adrenaline to get your through some late-night studying, and as you mastered the material, felt the anxiety and stress decreasing.

In the case of the upcoming job review, you may have lost both sleep and your appetite, developed muscular pains or tension headaches, and dreaded going to work each day for fear that you'd mess up. So your anxiety and stress just kept building.

Anxiety and stress are twin perils of life in the 21st century; much of our energy is centered on meeting job, school, athletic, or other performance standards. The fear of failing those expectations is, for many people, a nearly constant stress. And those who live in a state of ongoing panic, founded or unfounded, are likely to develop anxiety disorder.

Anxiety and stress can intrude in our lives from an amazing variety of sources; but they all arise from situations we cannot control. A neighbor's dog barking in the middle of the night, night after night; the bright spotlights shining into your bedroom from that same neighbor's yard; being caught in rush hour traffic; a rude customer or unsupportive boss; a difficult relationship or the bills; and, of course, major life events like the death of a loved one, are all anxiety and stress producers.

Some of them, like the barking dog and spotlights, may be fixed, but often the anticipation of confronting someone over an unpleasant situation is, in itself, an anxiety and stress producer.

So how can we find peace in an anxiety and stress filled world? Well, those of us in whom anxiety and stress have not developed into full-blown anxiety disorder can adopt some practices to restore mental health.

Meditation, practiced regularly, will not only relax the mind; it will reduce the physical manifestations of anxiety and stress. Exercise, when done without the demands of competition, is a wonderful stress reliever. Taking up a hobby, reserving some "alone" time and sticking to it, learning some proper breathing techniques, and making sure your diet is not stressing your body by robbing it of essential nutrients are all things you can do to re-balance your life!

Anxiety and stress, while they may be some of the unavoidable companions of our lives, do not have to be their only ones. Good, non-judgmental friends, time spent on things you love, and a commitment to keep yourself physically, emotionally, and spiritually nourished will go a very long way to managing your anxiety and stress!

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