How to Overcome Anxiety and Stress: 10 Effective Tools by a Life Coach

Life Coaching How to Overcome Anxiety and Stress: 10 Effective Tools by a Life Coach
It's completely natural to feel worried, uneasy, or fearful from time to time. We all go
through it at some point. But if your anxiety lasts longer or feels stronger than what's
expected, it could start affecting your health and overall well-being.

Each year, around 40 million individuals in the United States suffer from anxiety
problems. Various mental health challenges, such as limited access to mental health
care, mental illness stigma, and insurance and cost issues, make it difficult for millions
of individuals to get much-needed treatment and support.

How Anxiety and Stress Impact Your Daily Life and Well-Being:
You might be going through a significant life transition, such as welcoming a new baby,
becoming a caregiver for an elderly parent, dealing with empty nesting after your kids
leave for college, or navigating the loss of a loved one. Or you may be facing significant
health challenges, contemplating a separation or divorce, or coping with the stress of
losing your job.

Even if the change is anticipated (such as getting married or having a baby), it can be
intimidating, not to mention the unanticipated life transitions that carry traumatic stress
(such as the sudden death of a loved one or the sudden onset of illness). These
transitions can be challenging to navigate, leaving you feeling anxious, powerless, and
overwhelmed.

Or you might feel caught up in the same old routines that make you feel frustrated,
stagnant, or depressed. You might feel overwhelmed by anxious "what if" thoughts –
"What if I lack the knowledge or skills to do it?" "What if the change is overwhelming?"
"What If I only make things worse?" "What if I never find love again?" You can have this
unsettling feeling that something critical is missing in your life, or you're aware that your
current way of living isn't fulfilling and that something has to change. However, you are
unsure what that change should be or are too afraid to make one.
You may need help making important life decisions, managing job-related stress,
balancing work and life, or improving self-care.

You might go through physical discomforts and pains, turn to things like alcohol, food, or
substances as a way to cope with those overwhelming feelings or find yourself
withdrawing from social interactions. It's all part of how we deal with stress sometimes.
Anxiety and stress can harm your health, relationships, productivity, and overall life
satisfaction. As stress is unavoidable in our daily lives, we can do nothing to control or
avoid it at all costs. What we can control, however, is how we perceive and react to challenges we face.

As a result, having healthy coping methods in place may help you navigate challenges,
develop resilience, and lessen the grip that anxiety and stress have on you. This is
something counseling and life coaching can help with.
Understanding Anxiety and Stress.

Anxiety is uncomfortable and unsettling. However, it is only our mind's and body's
attempt to protect us from danger. Anxiety occurs when our mind and body respond to
stress. When your brain detects a threat, it signals danger to your body, whether it's a
real danger or just something you are imagining.

Your body then kicks into action by releasing stress hormones like adrenaline and
cortisol. These hormones are like our body's alarm system, causing our heart to beat
faster, muscles to tense up, and breathing to become faster. However, if this alarm
keeps going without real danger, stress sticks around for too long or gets too intense.
This can make you constantly on edge, as your body does not get the chance to bounce
back from this high-alert state. The constant state of stress can lead to anxiety, mood
swings, substance abuse, eating disorders, and other issues. Also, ongoing stress can
impair your physical health, causing trouble with sleeping and eating, high blood
pressure, headaches and migraines, or digestive problems like irritable bowel syndrome.
Common Anxiety and Stress Symptoms
Anxiety can manifest as a range of emotional, cognitive, somatic, and behavioral
symptoms. If you have been under ongoing or excessive stress, you might experience
the following:

⦁ Excessive worry and fear
⦁ Feeling exhausted
⦁ Feeling detached from reality
⦁ Fear of losing control or going crazy
⦁ Fear of dying
⦁ Irritability
⦁ Feeling restless, on the edge
⦁ Sleep issues
⦁ Difficulty concentrating
⦁ Avoiding situations that trigger anxiety

⦁ Trembling or shaking
⦁ Feeling dizzy, lightheaded, or faint
⦁ Shortness of breath
⦁ Increased heart rate
⦁ Chest pain or discomfort
⦁ Tingling sensations
⦁ Hot flashes or chills
⦁ Muscle tension

Prolonged stress can also lead to a state of complete emotional, cognitive, and physical
exhaustion known as burnout. The most common symptoms of burnout include:
⦁ Anxiety
⦁ Mood swings
⦁ Irritability
⦁ Depression
⦁ A lack of motivation
⦁ Problems with self-esteem
⦁ Social withdrawal
⦁ Feeling helpless and helpless
⦁ Feelings of isolation and loneliness
⦁ Lack of fulfillment in life
⦁ Concentration issues
⦁ A constant lack of energy
⦁ Ongoing physical exhaustion
⦁ Immune system dysfunction
⦁ Sleep and appetite problems
⦁ Aches and pains

How to Overcome Anxiety and Stress in 10 Steps

Sometimes, our life challenges go beyond our coping abilities. When this happens, you
may need professional support to overcome anxiety and stress and get your life back on
track. Here are ten practical tools by a life coach to help you overcome anxiety and
stress. Hopefully, you'll find the ones that work best for you.

⦁ Practice Deep Breathing Techniques

The rapid and shallow breathing that occurs during an anxiety attack or a panic attack
can cause a variety of symptoms, including shortness of breath, weakness, a dry mouth,
numbness in the arms, and chest discomfort. When you breathe quickly and shallowly,
you exhale too much air, which lowers the amount of carbon dioxide in your blood. This
results in the panic attack symptoms described above.

If you practice deep breathing, you may be able to get your breathing back in balance,
calm down, and feel less stress and anxiety. To learn how to do focused, deep
breathing, find a comfortable place to sit or lie down and focus on your breathing. Then
start by slowly breathing in through your nose, letting the air move through your stomach
and lungs. Slowly and gently let out your breath through your mouth while focusing only
on your breathing. Repeat a few times until you begin to feel relaxed.

⦁ Engage in Journaling

Journaling can be a helpful tool to unload disturbing thoughts and feelings. When you
write your thoughts, emotions, and experiences down, it helps declutter your mind and
spot patterns of thinking that trigger your anxiety. Also, journaling can be a great way to
track patterns in your behavior and environment that provoke stress, increasing your
awareness and allowing you to develop practical strategies to avoid or minimize your
triggers.

⦁ Try Mindful Cooking

Practicing mindfulness and meditation can be extremely challenging when you have
anxiety. Instead, find activities that actively occupy your mind, such as mindful cooking.
Focus on the process of following the recipe, preparing the ingredients, and cooking a
meal, as this can have meditative benefits, helping you focus on the here and now and
distracting you from unsettling thoughts.

⦁ Set Realistic Goals

Anxiety can sometimes be caused by unhealthy perfectionism, causing you to feel
overburdened by obligations or self-imposed high expectations. Divide your work into
more manageable chunks, avoid multitasking, and learn to see mistakes as
opportunities for growth rather than failures. Appreciate your efforts and celebrate every
little success you accomplish.

⦁ Challenge Negative and Self-Limiting Beliefs

Anxiety often strikes out of the blue, flooding your mind with negative "what ifs" or selfblaming
thoughts, gloomy predictions, or generalizations. Automatic negative thoughts,
also known as ANTs, are challenging to control, significantly contributing to your stress
and anxiety.

Thoughts such as "What if I don't meet this deadline?" "I don't deserve my partner's
love" or "I will never get promoted" fuel anxiety, making it more powerful.
However, you can overcome your ANTs by defusing or challenging your worst-case
scenarios. You can do this by evaluating the correctness or validity of your thoughts.
Ask yourself, "What proof do I have that this thought is true?" Replace your "what if"
with "so what" – "I might not meet the deadline, so what? What is the worst thing that
could happen?"
Shifting how you observe your thoughts can help reduce stress and worry.

⦁ Engage in Creative Expression

Creative activities are great outlets for stress. Engaging in creative expression such as
music, dance, writing, or painting can help you express and process suppressed
feelings, reduce stress, and ease anxiety symptoms.
For example, one study has shown that knitting reduced anxious preoccupations in
women with anorexia nervosa, alleviating their anxiety and distress.

⦁ Disconnect from Technology

Constant connectivity can contribute to stress and anxiety. While technology offers
numerous benefits, such as helping us connect, manage our tasks, learn, and entertain
ourselves, it can also significantly impact our health and emotional well-being. Research
has found that technology can trigger feelings of loneliness, inadequacy, anxiety, or
depression.

Studies suggest that people who excessively use social media encounter frequent mood
swings, neglect their personal lives, and withdraw from real-life social interactions.
Establish boundaries toward technology and social media. For example, set aside a
period during the day for digital detoxing and disengaging from technology and devices.
Turn off your smartphone's push notifications, avoid using your phone before bedtime,
and fight the impulse to check your texts, emails, or social media every few minutes
while studying or working.
⦁ Try Nature Therapy
Spending time in nature is a wonderful way to destress and relax, as the peaceful
greenery can help calm your mind, distract you from negative thoughts, and reduce your
stress levels. Being surrounded by nature can improve your mood and help you feel
more content and optimistic.
Research shows that sensory experiences such as listening to the sounds of nature,
watching the greenery, or breathing in fresh air can lower stress hormones and increase
the feel-good chemicals in the brain.
⦁ Set Healthy Boundaries

There are invisible lines that divide you from other people, and they are your
boundaries. Clear, healthy boundaries can help you define your obligations,
responsibilities, and expectations, communicate your needs, concerns, and
requirements, safeguard your well-being, and avoid anything that causes discomfort or
pain.

Setting healthy boundaries is an excellent tool for increasing your self-care, lowering
your anxiety and stress levels, preventing burnout, lowering your levels of anger and
irritation, and improving your relationships.
To set clear boundaries:
⦁ Learn to say "no" without providing apologies or further explanations.
⦁ Define your boundaries clearly and enforce them consistently.
⦁ Address boundary breaches as soon as they happen, and don't feel bad for
prioritizing your needs.
⦁ Remember that setting boundaries is not a sign of selfishness but an essential
aspect of self-care.
⦁ Seek Professional help

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most effective therapeutic technique for addressing
anxiety (CBT). CBT can equip you with tools to manage negative thoughts and beliefs
that contribute to stress and anxiety and replace negative thinking patterns with more
positive ones. Working with a therapist can help you develop resilience to bounce back
after life challenges quickly. Furthermore, CBT provides coping methods that you may
use in daily life even after therapy has ended.
How Can Working with a Life Coach Help Overcome Anxiety and Stress
A life coach can provide you with tailored strategies to manage anxiety and reduce
stress.

Finding a skilled life coach might be the right choice if you need self-care counsel, wish
to eliminate self-limiting beliefs and habits, are anxious about making important life
choices, struggle to adapt after significant life transitions, need help striking work-life
balance, or have relationship troubles.

Life coaching may involve short-term or long-term strategies to help you better
understand your stress triggers, increase resilience, set realistic goals and plans for the
future, and stop unhelpful habits. However, working with a life coach goes beyond
overcoming stress and anxiety. Your life coach will encourage you to grow, develop a
positive mindset, and connect with your authentic self.