Little Things That Can Cause Unwanted Anxiety

Have you ever felt a feeling of dread, uneasiness, or fear – coupled with an increase in heart rate and breathing? Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress like if you’re going to take a long school exam, you missed a deadline at work, or you’re about to meet your fiance’s parents. Sometimes, the anxiety may help in prompting you to do the necessary preparations so you can be ready for the difficult task ahead.

However, there are things we do daily that may cause you to be afraid more than you should – things you thought could help but really don’t. Let’s take a look them as you scroll down and read, and then you may state your reaction in the comment below this article.

Image c/o John Hain from Pixabay

1. Too Much Reliance on Dr. Google MD

I guess you have tried consulting Dr. Google MD to find out what’s going on with your body when you felt some kind of discomfort like that headache you had when you sat on your office chair or the throbbing pain on your pinkie finger. After browsing a few articles and watching a couple of videos which you thought may likely explain your pain, you’re now fearful because you think you have a grave illness that will cause your sudden death.

The thing about looking for cures and finding out what causes your symptoms by googling them is that it doesn’t give you the solution. Without proper medical training, people who interpret simple bodily symptoms based on what they found on the internet will just be bringing fear upon themselves.

My advice to you if you belong to this group, just go to the doctor and let them do the appropriate tests. Your symptom may likely be nothing, but you wouldn’t know until your doctor gives you a diagnosis. Whatever it is, you are in the better hands of a specialist who knows what medication and treatment to give.

2. Exaggerated News about Health and Death

So you just heard you neighbor’s friend got hospitalized after eating peanuts. Maybe you just read a news article that someone had a stroke after taking sweet honey. And what do you know – honey and peanuts are your favorites! You’ve been consuming them all your life and you just ate some an hour ago. But because you believed the news without getting the other details, you feel you’re going to die tomorrow. Geesh, that is not right!

If you can’t help believing sensationalized or fake stories about people who had health problems because of eating or doing such and such, refer back to my advice in #1 – better ask a certified health practitioner than allow yourself to live in fear and false dieting beliefs.

Image c/o Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

3. Caffeine Abuse

You just want to be productive! Besides, you didn’t get much sleep last night and you think you might get sleepy during the day, so you had to drink lots of coffee – and not just the regular 3-in-1 coffee in a small sachet, but the strong black granules your friend recommended. However, instead of giving you the necessary boost of energy and enthusiasm, it only made you jittery and multiplied the cortisol in your blood stream – making you nervous with your heart pumping like crazy.

If I you ask me. I would say you ditch the coffee and colas ultimately. Prefer decaf, but if you can’t help it, go for chocolate or tea.

4. Addiction to Sodium

Your body needs only a small amount of sodium for your muscles to contract and your nerves to properly conduct impulses. It also balances the amount of water and other minerals in your blood stream However, too much sodium intake can increase your blood pressure and heart rate, which will make you easily nervous, tired, and anxious.

In my personal experience, lessening my consumption of salty foods including packed juices and canned meals, which contain lots of sodium as a preservative, made me less irritable and decreased the feeling of restlessness.

Lastly…

I admire people who remain calm even under pressure and extreme stress. Have you managed to control yourself from feeling anxious? Tell us about it in the comment section below!