8 Coping Strategies To Reduce Anxiety for Men
During any toughest time of life, believe me, men have extreme potential to stay positive and motivated. All men have that within; they just don’t realize it during the critical phase of life. Undoubtedly sometimes in life is very scary as this year 2020, as men, we have many fears to deal with. We have fear of contracting CoVid, and normally, just a fear of failure and not succeeding. Our most dreadful fear is a potential financial loss. Many of us are in fear to lose our jobs and businesses. This pandemic has been very unpredictable; naturally, we were not prepared for this crisis and depression. Staying positive in this situation is challenging. But we all know that an anxious mind will never come up with the correct solution.
Here are the 8 tips that all men, you included, should follow in order to reduce anxiety and to stay positive:
1. All Crises are Temporary
All storms will pass. This difficult period will not remain forever. Start your day with this positive note and practice this thought every day. I would suggest starting your day with an affirmation and an intention for the day. That will help you get going and boost positivity within you and help you to focus on the productive sides of life. Try it, in a few days, it works like a magic. I tried this, within days I noticed positive changes in my approach.
I highly recommend reading the book Miracle Morning by Hal Elrond. Starting your day with a winning routine can help stave off all depression and anxiety.
2. Remind yourself of your best qualities
Feeling low and depressed during a hard time is very natural. But we all have some best quality within us. We often feel proud and strong when we remember those special traits. Use it as a tool to make you stronger during this time. Do more and more what you are good at. Don’t stress about micro failures. Just keep going and continue remind yourself of your special talents. That will give you confidence every day to keep going. At the same time, it will assure you that you are worth enough to overcome this situation!
3. Remember, everyone is fighting their own internal demons.
Remember you are not alone who is going through whatever you are going through. You are not the first or the last person to suffer from anxiety and debilitating thoughts. Especially during CoVid – we have to put in perspective as it is a global crisis. The entire world is going through this together. The intensity may be different in different regions of the world but the crisis is the same. Let’s help each other to go through this. In this way, we will feel a little satisfied and safe.
4. Try to reduce your expenses
If you are feeling insecure financially, try to cut down your day to day expenses. Calculate your weekly budget beforehand and spend your money accordingly. Use your credit card as least as possible. Try to avoid buying unnecessary kinds of stuff. Jut spend money for what you need. In this way, you can save and have a deeper sense of security.
5. Don’t get caught up with fake news.
Repeat after me: All news is fake news. Everything we read and see nowadays is clickbait. Especially during the CoVid pandemic, we need to remain calm and vigilant. One of the ways to do so is by avoiding excess television news outlets like CNN and social media news outlets. Try to avoid these sources as their job is to spread negativity. It is best to read the subtitles, deduce the essence of the article and move on.
6. Practice being thankful for everything positive in your life.
Feel blessed and thankful for everything we have in our lives. We all should feel blessed and grateful if we are waking up every day with our family or loved ones We are grateful for every breath in and out. We must be grateful for life itself – as it was a gift given to us.
7. Practice Mindfullness or Meditation
This is self-explanatory – but just take at least 5 minutes a day and just close your eyes and breathe. There are studies that show that by practicing mindfulness or meditation everyday can have many health benefits including lower anxiety.
Take a brisk walk, exercise, or practice yoga
Take out a few minutes from your day for exercise. It can be anything of your choice (walk, yoga, exercise). Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier, more relaxed, and less anxious. This, combined by a mindfulness routine, will make you feel happier and less stressed.
If you’re swallowed in the deep fog of uncertainty, if you feel a depth of sadness and brutality of loss everywhere, remember the only lesson about hope, about strength and the light within us, will not be extinguished. In the face of the void, we can choose our own personal meaning of life. We are grateful for each breath in and out. We are grateful for life itself.
*We have written another post that goes deeper in regards to exercising and mental health. Click here.
Men can’t develop a decent lifestyle unless they examine or experience it. We read good books, listen to motivational speeches that lead to building a positive attitude, but we can’t get along with it for long. But when we think logically, consider to be thankful for little thing we possess, we will find a meaning to life. Consequently, we’ll find it worthwhile working hard to live a life like we are alive. It all depends on the way of viewing your life and deep insight into things around you.
Do something that you like the most. Sometimes you may feel like nothing is working well. We must spend sometimes for the things that we loved the most that will relax our brain muscle and make us feel good. In this way, we can get distracted from worries.
Above all, the more important thing is to be gentle with ourselves during this scariest time. Sometimes men feel deeply irritated and depressed for everything that’s going around us, eventually men harm their mental health. We have to accept the fact and move on. We can do what works best for us; we can’t change the global crisis right now. But doing all these above practices men can change the personal arena of their lives. That will provide you positivity and certainty towards everyday life. Each day they can take one step at a time.
