Several studies have found that a messy living environment is connected to increased stress, anxiety, depression, and procrastination. The cluttered surroundings present unwanted cues to the brain, resulting in continual irritation when hunting for regularly missing objects such as car keys. Clutter also promotes feelings of guilt, annoyance, and shame.
Redirect your attention away from material possessions and expenditures, and instead, prioritize immersing yourself in meaningful experiences and fostering connections with others. Indulge yourself in nature and engage in heartfelt conversations with your loved ones. These invaluable moments come at no cost, add no physical clutter, and have the ability to reduce anxiety while improving your quality of life.
Related: Combat Anxiety With This 5-Minute Method
The habit of continuously seeking feedback from people or relying on internet health searches can heighten feelings of anxiety. Such behaviors are called reassurance-seeking. Therapists explain that while self-reassurance provides a momentary solution to mental worries, it also initiates a negative long-term feedback loop that requires continuing reassurance for a sense of normalcy.
To put it simply, relying on reassurance provides temporary relief but does little to address the underlying causes of persistent anxiety. Excessive reassurance-seeking should be avoided because it tends to increase anxiety over time.
The role of exercise in anxiety management cannot be overstated, and the surge in anxiety rates over the past few decades is closely related to a lack of physical activity. Increasingly, people are leading sedentary lifestyles, and with that excess and misplaced energy comes increased stress.
The difficulty lies in the fact that anxiety often leads to a tendency to be inactive. It is imperative, however, to find a solution, since a lack of exercise not only intensifies anxiety but also significantly compromises your capacity to cope.
Do you ever worry that your anxiety will cause you to faint with no one around to help? And have you ever thought that if you don't recover quickly from this procedure, you will never get better? Psychologists say that this type of thinking is known as catastrophizing, in which people fixate on the worst-case situations and honestly feel they are the most likely to occur. It's no surprise that catastrophizing increases anxiety. According to cognitive behavioral therapy, anxiety is typically caused by overestimating the importance of a problem while underestimating our abilities to deal with it.
To counter worst-case-scenario thoughts effectively, it's helpful to introduce a positive perspective by asking, "What if everything goes well?" Anxiety tends to focus on the negative, often neglecting the possibility of a positive outcome.
Furthermore, researching effective strategies for dealing with unpleasant situations can be beneficial. Ask yourself the following question: "If the worst-case scenario were to play out, what strengths do you have for coping with it that might be underestimated in that moment?" Essentially, if you were to faint, would there be no one to help? Could you inform loved ones about this possibility so that they are prepared to intervene?
Psychologists explain that feeling inadequate or anticipating unfavorable outcomes creates anxiety beyond mere negativity. Many people are unaware of how they speak to themselves during their daily activities. Many of us have a tendency to speak negatively to ourselves internally, which often exceeds the caring words we use when conversing with friends or family. People should deliberately examine their self-talk, experts say, stressing that the first step is to become aware of these patterns instead of changing them right away.
Related: What's Triggering Your Anxiety? 8 Surprising Causes
Simply ignoring anxiety-induced mistakes won't miraculously cure your anxiety. However, continuing to engage in these harmful habits significantly hinders the process of anxiety rehabilitation. Even the most successful therapies in the world cannot achieve their full potential if you do not get enough sleep, avoid exercise, and show a lack of dedication to overcoming anxiety. Breaking free from these habits allows you to make significant life changes.
Sources: Northwestern Medicine, HelpGuide, Yale School of Medicine, Change Counseling
