Calming techniques to relieve anxiety
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- 07 Mar 2022
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Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, and agitation. It’s the brain’s way of reacting to stress and alerting you of potential danger ahead. Anxiety might result in sweating, feeling restless and tense, and having a swift heartbeat, according to experts.
Theoneste Bugingo, a mental health nurse at mHub Rwanda, says that feeling anxious, describes a mood familiar to most people, one that we may experience every day. Anxiety comes from a concern from lack of control over circumstances. In some cases, being anxious and worrying over a problem may generate a solution, though it will just lead to negative thinking.
When anxiety seems to come out of nowhere, is excessive, persists for many weeks without relief, or interferes with everyday life, it may not be an ordinary mood anymore. It may be an illness.
Christella Ishimwe, a clinical psychologist at mHub Rwanda, says being anxious is a normal emotion when a person faces stressful life issues and the brain can send an alert that they may be a danger around, everyone can feel anxious at least once in their lifetime. However, anxiety disorder is a mental health condition that is characterised by a lot of fear or worry, strong enough to interfere with a person’s daily functioning.
“You can tell that you’re anxious if your heart races, experience choking sensations, abdominal distress, numbness or tingling, muscle aches and tension, insomnia, tight chest, restlessness, shortness of breath or feelings of unreality,” Bugingo says.
He adds that emotionally, people with an anxiety disorder may feel short-tempered and apprehensive, fearing that bad incidents are about to happen.
Ishimwe notes that stressful life events like financial instability, serious medical conditions, family conflict, societal critics, public speaking, political issues, pandemic, work stress, divorce, future concern, and much more, may trigger anxiety.
Relief methods
Bugingo says that there are many things you can do at home to help relieve your anxiety and stress. Some of them are a healthy lifestyle, for instance, eating well, drinking water, going out in nature, spending time with family and friends, doing activities you enjoy, keeping active, and so forth.
The mental health nurse also says that practicing different breathing techniques can greatly help calm someone down. He urges trying alternate nostril breathing. “Place one finger over your right nostril and breathe in for five seconds through the left nostril. Hold in that breath for five seconds. Let out that breath of air through the left nostril (with the right nostril still covered). Now try this again, but this time cover the left nostril and breathe through the right. This process helps get air to both the right and left sides of the brain.”
Bugingo also reveals that doing something physically active is always good to relieve anxiety or stress. Physical activity releases endorphins which help you feel better. Yoga is a practice that involves physical activity and deep breathing, both good for relieving stress and nervousness. Read More…
