Reducing anxiety in our daily lives is not hard to do once you know how. In our fast paced stress filled world, anxiety has become a normal part of everyday life. In small amounts anxiety keeps us alert and out of danger, sparks us to action and helps us to live a long and more fruitful life. It is when anxiety becomes so severe that it limits our functions and cripples us from living a normal life that we need to start thinking about reducing anxiety.

If you find yourself at a point where you need help in reducing anxiety then you have two options: seek professional help if you feel you cannot do it on your own or use some practical methods to help reduce your everyday stress.   I am a sufferer of chronic anxiety and have in the past sought out professional help but now use many practical methods on my own to reduce anxiety. The main thing is to remember what you are capable of doing and don’t be fearful of using professional help because there is nothing shameful in it.

One method professional counselors use to help in reducing anxiety is to get the person to try an limit the amount of stressors a person has in their daily life.  Psychologists call this avoidance learning. The main idea of avoidance learning is when you know there is something that cause stress and anxiety in your life you need to make an extra effort to avoid the situation or object that is the cause of the anxiety.

An example of this would be if something traumatic happened such as being embarrassed when giving a speech or presentation.  In the future you’re going to make every effort to avoid giving another presentation thereby limiting your anxiety. 

The problem with the use of avoidance learning as the only method for reducing anxiety is that avoidance learning does not take into account the mental aspects of anxiety.   The cause of an anxiety disorder does not have to be physical, mental images and thoughts can cause heightened anxiety all by themselves.  Any plan for reducing anxiety must include getting control of damaging though and mental images

One way to do this is by limiting the time you have for thinking.  Find a hobby or a distraction that you enjoy, preferably one that has a high degree of mental concentration or thought involved.  A good example of this would be painting or drawing.  With both these activities your mind is on the task at hand so you have very little time to picture or think about those things that cause you stress.   The main point is to find something you enjoy and can do for a long period of time.

Another mental activity that is good for reducing anxiety is relaxation exercises.  With relaxation exercises you are taught different techniques to relax muscles and relives tension by using controlled breathing and muscle flexing.  Relaxation exercise usually involve sitting down in a comfortable chair, closing your eyes and systematically tensing and relaxing different muscle groups in your body usually starting with the legs and feet. 

As you slow down your breathing and work your muscles you are supposed to mentally put yourself in what you would consider a relaxing situation, such as being on beach or in a boat on the water.  The best thing about relaxation exercises is that they can be done almost anywhere and at anytime.  The main thing to remember is to use a sitting position when doing the exercises not lying down because you do not want to fall asleep just learn how to relax.  

Another method of reducing anxiety is desensitization, which involves using relaxation exercises in combination with mentally imagining and dealing with those things that cause you the most anxiety.  One common from of this exercise is when you are told to imagine yourself speaking before an audience who is attired only in their underwear. The image of the people in their underwear helps to desensitize your fears and allows you to give you presentation. Another form of desensitization deals with real life situations.  In this from you are put in a situation that causes you stress and then taught how to overcome the anxiety.

In addition to the clinical methods for reducing stress there are at least seven practical that can be used to reduce anxiety: I have had problems with anxiety in the past and have used not only the clinical methods that have been described but also the following practical ideas to help in reducing anxiety in my life.

1. Exercise, take a walk, play a game of basketball, or ride a bike. The point is to exercise because when you do you body will release endorphins, which are the backbone of feeling good.

2. Call a friend when feeling of anxiousness or fear arise - A friend is not a replacement for professional help when needed, but a friend can be there to listen when you are having a bad day. Sometimes letting off a little steam can help relive tension and anxiety.

3. Reduce your caffeine intake - As you probably already know caffeine is a stimulant and the last thing a person suffering from an anxiety disorder needs is a stimulant.

4. Share a laugh because nothing breaks the tension like laughing.  if you walk around feeling miserable and you will be miserable, but if you laugh no matter what  things seem better.  So if you are down watch a funny move or TV show and try to laugh

5. Take ten and relax - do something that you find relaxing, a hot bath, a video game, a book anything to make you forget for a few moments about your anxious feelings.  You would be surprised how well it works. 

6. Get a massage – enough said about this one because a good massage will take away anxiety and tension

7. Know personal limits – One of the chief causes of anxiety is when a person takes on more than they can handle. Knowing ones limits as to what one can do and how much they can do it will go along way in reducing anxiety in life.

Reducing anxiety is not hard to do once a person knows how to it.  The one thing to keep in mind is that if one has any doubts about reducing anxiety on their own they seek professional help.  Other