How to Decrease Anxiety

By Terri Maceyka

When you are feeling anxious try these tips and techniques in lieu of medications. You might be surprised at how much better you feel about yourself.
1. If you are prone to anxiety, find ways to eliminate or at least reduce this feeling by doing something that relaxes you. I find that using a diffuser with Peppermint Essential Oil can enhance my mood when I am feeling anxious about something that is going on in my life. I take a few deep breaths and focus on staying calm and relaxed. I find that I enjoy the smell of the Peppermint Oil and have noticed that it has stimulating properties that actually do help me feel more relaxed and calm about the situation.
3. Watching the news can sometimes fill us up with anxiety. If that is true for you, then turn the TV off and give yourself a break. The world will continue on even if we miss the news for a day or two. Instead, listen to some relaxing music and light a few candles to set a relaxing mood.
4. Do something new for yourself. Doing something new or even confronting a fear can actually help you overcome anxiety about that situation or circumstance. Taking baby steps to overcome a fear can actually be more positive than just doing nothing. You will also feel a sense of great satisfaction which can be quite a mood enhancer.
5. Exercise can help keep the fears in check that overwhelm you. Look into gentle forms of exercise like Yoga. Yoga offers a excellent form of workout along with focusing on meditation and breathing to calm your thoughts.
6. Start writing down things that make you grateful. By keeping a gratitude journal you will be surprised to find out how fulfilling your life is and how many things you actually have in your life that are positive.
Many of us allow our feelings of anxiety and hopelessness to take over our thoughts when what we really need to do is focus on the things in our lives that are going right. It is better to focus on the positive rather than dwell on the negative. Studies have shown that focusing on positive thoughts and intentions can be uplifting for us. One thing that I find helps when I'm in a down mood or feeling anxious is to find someone or an organization that needs some help. I feel a great sense of satisfaction to be able to help someone in need.

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The Mental Health Benefits Of Being Happy

By Robin Percyz

Have you ever noticed how depression and anger are physically draining? Maybe you've never suffered from clinical depression, but you certainly know what it feels like to carry the burden of anger, fear, anxiety, and sadness on a smaller scale. These are all human emotions and they are completely natural, but indulging these feelings for longer than necessary is physically harmful to both mental and physical well-being. Now take a moment and remember the feeling of pure happiness. When happiness is pure, it takes little effort and energy to promote it. Being happy might seem like a cliché thing to promote, but there are many mental health benefits of this necessary emotion.
Let's take a closer look at the many positive emotional payoffs of happiness:
1- Successful relationships:
Studies have shown that happier and more stable individuals often possess relationships that are healthy. Relationships can include anyone from parents, friends, coworkers, and intimate partners. Regardless of the individuals we communicate with, our balanced mental state promotes a more rational state of mind. This state of mind allows for greater thresholds of anger and sadness, which in turn, provides more insightful, rational, and healthy communication. Studies have also shown that individuals with rich social lives exude healthier mental well-being and are regarded by their friends as more enjoyable individuals.
2- Longer Life:
A study conducted by the Mayo Clinic articulated that individuals who were primarily optimistic in life were shown to live longer. In contrast, those who identified as pessimistic, or were regarded as such by friends, were shown to live increasingly shorter lives.
3- Success in work:
The happier the individual, the better the production and quality of work completed in the workforce. It is said that happiness allows an individual to not only create his or her own motivation to work hard, but also possess the potential to deal with work stressors. Further, these individuals are shown to possess higher gross income, receive better job evaluations, maintain a job for a longer duration of time, and receive positive praise from coworkers and bosses alike.
4- Great self control and coping methods:
Coping is something that proves particularly challenging for those lacking happiness in their lives. Studies have shown that rational, happy individuals will possess a greater likelihood to deal with the everyday stressors of relationships, work, and life in general. Their positive rationalization allows for a more clear and realistic indication of particular scenarios, giving way to a healthier and more sound view on the situation at large.

It might be easy to read the above and question, "well, how can I be happy?" If you thought this, you are not alone. While no one can give you a formula for happiness, there are many exercises that one can implement to create healthier thinking. One way is to create your own personal, "my bucket list," or even "I Am Thankful For." These lists allow us to see all that we wish to achieve, as well as reasons we might already be happy on a daily basis. Achieving happiness is not easy, but understanding our current happiness will help reinforce this in the future.