How to Get Help with Stress, Depression, or Anxiety

People living with anxiety, stress and depression experience terrifying mental and physical symptoms such as shortness of breath, unbearable headaches, and consistent rumination that make even the most straightforward work impossible. Also, people without anxiety who face the daily stress of a job or money can experience the same feelings and symptoms.

According to the data from the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly 19.1 per cent of Americans had an anxiety disorder. Also, the prevalence of anxiety was higher in females, i.e. 23.4 per cent as compared to males, i.e. 14.3 per cent. Furthermore, approximately 31.1 per cent of Americans experience an anxiety disorder in their life. 

Depression, anxiety or stress affects differently to different persons and relationship. Those struggling with depression tend to aloof themselves and reject help. Therefore, it is quite essential to manage it in a helpful, compassionate, healthy and supportive way. You can take care of the depressed person with the help of useful tips, suggestions and working together, it can be managed easily. 

However, there are various methods to manage stress or anxiety-related issues.

Here discussed are the useful tips to overcome signs and symptoms and cope up with daily Stress, Anxiety or Depression

1. Splash some ice-cold water- By placing your hands in ice-cold water or splashing cold water on the face helps to break dissociative thoughts and feelings associated with anxiety. It aids instant relief from increased cortisol levels.
2. Clasp fists- Although, exercise plays a significant role in reducing anxiety. Still, it is not possible to perform physical activity or run and exercise in the middle of a panic attack. Although more straightforward physical activities like clasping fists and releasing body parts pose a positive impact, furthermore, place hands beside legs, tighten them, take a deep breath and then lose the fists. Also, stretch your fingers outward and repeat it again and again. It will help to release one’s anxiety points in the body. 
3. Talk to yourself and face reality- When the body is in stress, the critical point is to address discomfort for calming it. The deep breathing exercise through mouth and nose when combined with assuring oneself that one is safe, can make the anxious feelings at ease. Moreover, one must acknowledge that he/she is suffering from anxiety. After realization, it becomes easy to manage the signs of anxiety or stress. 
4. Allow the tears to flow- A research demonstrated that crying is therapeutic and is usually a sign that feelings are required to be released. The people reported that they felt better, 90 minutes after shedding tears. The anxiety is a reaction to trapped grief or sadness. Thus, allowing oneself to cry usually helps to calm down the nervous system.
5. Close social media applications- Internet and social media increase fear and anxiety through false encounters and incorrect information. The people suffering from anxiety often get stunned by expectations like showing the perfect image on social media. Thus, it is advised to minimize the use of social media if feeling anxious. 
6. Write down feelings and have a look at the surroundings- Jotting down feelings, fears and worries help to overcome symptoms. Also, a person can distract his/her mind by focusing on surroundings like counting items or colours in a room. 
7. Information about depression- It is essential that a person has adequate knowledge about depression such as its symptoms and signs and its impacts on one’s life. Also, you must be aware of your friend’s depression issues as it helps to provide better support.
8. Encourage him/her to talk, and share-Depression is something that causes someone to think negatively about oneself, world and future. Therefore, you must prove negative thoughts and make sure that they are not alone. A person with depression hesitates to talk, encourage him to open up and talk. 
9. Make him feel confident -If someone is struggling to do specific tasks, don’t do things on his behalf, but motivate him to complete that task. Don’t isolate him, but involve him in a family get together and spent time with friends or loved ones.
10. Allow him to recover-Finding a partner depressed is quite disturbing, but there is no quick remedy for it. The other partner is required to have patience and remain available to support him. Get to know from a partner with depression that how he wants to be treated, what type of support is required from close ones, and what negative thoughts come into his mind during the depression. This helps to deal with him accordingly.
11. Push him to be future-oriented-It could be challenging to focus on the future when a friend is going through the phase of depression. Encourage him to think positive for the future. Make him feel better by calling him and scheduling an appointment with the doctor by you. Providing emotional support helps to recover at a faster pace. 

Walking and moving combined with mindfulness help to lower stress, depression and anxiety levels

It is a fact that physical activity, like walking keeps a person more active and reduces stress. New research, published in the journal Psychology of Sports and Exercise demonstrated that mindful movement enhances a person’s wellbeing by reducing anxiety and stress. It was derived from the study that subjects who showed less stress while moving, received more benefits when they were more mindful. 

As per the statics from the American College Health Association, more than 50 per cent of college-goers experience mental exhaustion, sadness and anxiety, minimum one time in a year. Thus, there is a need to lessen these negative feelings. As students move around the entire day, walking in and out of their classes and perform other physical activities, the scientists wanted to observe a link between movement, mindfulness, and dropping negative stress.

After examining the data, it was found that during the movement, subjects were more active and demonstrated a reduction in adverse effects. It was concluded that the combination of walking and being mindful is linked to lower stress levels.

Stress is rapidly becoming an epidemic and widespread issue. It has become a part of our daily activities and has reduced energy, zest, and vitality. However, mindfulness is a powerful tool for managing everyday stress. It helps to decrease the cortisol level in the body and eliminate resistance. It is not possible to reduce stress, but tackling stress through various coping strategies makes life easy. It is identifying the signs and symptoms of stress help to develop coping mechanisms and prevent to adopt unhealthy ways like smoking, drinking or taking drugs.

A person can seek professional advice from a qualified behavioural healthcare specialist to manage stress.

Seek the help of a behavioural health care specialist

Apart from following all these practices, even if one is not able to manage signs of anxiety or stress, talk to a qualified therapist. It will prevent a person from becoming more anxious and developing coping mechanisms to manage stress. It helps to break unhealthy patterns like taking alcohol or drugs and inspire to lead a healthy life. Experiencing anxiety is not under one’s control, but taking proper care of one’s physical and mental health is a must. Adopting a healthy diet, doing adequate exercise and sleeping 6-8 hours help to recover fast. 

Coping techniques with PTSD symptoms

The signs of PTSD are although challenging to cope with, but many people with PTSD, get addicted to alcohol or drugs. Many healthy coping strategies can be incorporated to manage unpleasant memories and thoughts, insomnia, dissociation, flashbacks, and anxiety. The therapist can recommend exposure therapy that reduces anxiety and fear. Moreover, cognitive behavioural therapy focuses on changing negative thoughts and feelings to positive. 

Seeking the right treatment.

Every person responds in a different way to traumatic experiences. However, the emotion and feelings of sadness, fear, grief, and anger are natural human reactions to any traumatic event. But if these feelings of anguish and fear remain for a more extended period, then they need to be appropriately addressed. Therefore, getting proper and timely treatment can prevent an average stress level from getting developed into PTSD. It feels incredibly tough to witness the feeling of helplessness when any of the partners is battling with depression.

The signs of depression can make one’s partner feel burdensome and distant. It also causes frustration and upset everyone. 

Seek treatment for depression

Motivate your partner to seek treatment by going with him to a behavioural health care specialist. The therapist gives a customized treatment plan, including psychological treatment as well as medicines. Psychological therapies help to change negative thinking and provide coping skills to deal with daily stress. Therapies can be cognitive behavioural therapy, interpersonal therapy, behaviour therapy and counselling. Medicines are useful to treat moderate to severe depression. 

Teenagers with anxiety lack confidence in themselves and can easily get overwhelmed. If anxiety is hindering the way of kids to lead a healthy life, then seek support from a trained therapist. They can learn problem-solving and coping skills to manage the signs of anxiety. Anxiety can be handled easily with the support of family members, teachers and friends. Identifying the symptoms of anxiety and seeking professional help prevents the child from suicidal ideation and attempts.