Everyone feels anxious from time to time, but for some, anxiety can be both debilitating and detrimental to daily life. This kind of emotion can keep rolling once it starts, and many people tend to do things that make their anxiety symptoms worse, likely without realizing it at the time.

For those of you who are in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction, anxiety that is not dealt with appropriately can lead to decisions that can put you on a downward slope, leading to a relapse.

The good news is there are things you can do to help your anxiety and stop this train of emotion from getting away from you, but first, let’s bring to fruition five things that can actually make anxiety worse.

5 Things That Make Anxiety Worse

1. Avoiding The Situation Or Thing That Scares You

When you are anxious about something, avoiding it only gives the place, situation or person more power over you, making you feel worse. Dealing with it by taking steps to visualize a “peaceful” version of it, talking about it with a professional, realizing that “the worst possible outcomes” that you usually expect won’t and don’t happen, and facing it, can all greatly help your anxiety.

2. Looking For Reassurance

Asking other people for reassurance may feel good in the moment, but its effects don’t last for long. Insistently looking for comfort and reassurance from others rather than from yourself or from your Higher Power will keep you in a circle of uncertainty and can create problems with your self-confidence.

3. Drinking Or Using Drugs

Trying to “numb out” your anxiety with substances will only make your anxiety worse over time. Self-medicating anxiety symptoms can be a very vicious cycle. If you find yourself in this cycle, make sure to seek professional help, like our effective dual diagnosis treatment program.

4. Complaining About The Situation

Complaining about the situation may let off some steam, but it doesn’t address the underlying issues at all. It’s better to be grateful for what you do have (remember, there are people who are praying for what you have right now).

5. Hoping For A Miracle

Hope is always a good passion, but like complaining, hope without taking action does nothing to improve your situation.

Tips To Help Your Anxiety

Get Active

Regular exercise will help to relieve your anxiety and promote relaxation. The best type is aerobic exercise, so find something that will get your heart rate elevated.

Find an activity that you can enjoy three times a week for 20 minutes at a time.

Walking is a good one to start with, since it you don’t need any special equipment, but you can also dance, tackle some housework vigorously, go cycling, jogging, take the dog to the park for a peaceful walk, etc.

Get Plenty Of Sleep And Eat A Balanced Diet

When you are anxious, you may not sleep well, which can make you crave salts, sugars, fats and other unhealthy choices. Trying to eat a balanced diet of vegetables, lean protein and whole grains will help you to start feeling better physically; which is a start to whole-body health and healing.

Seek Counseling

New Beginnings Recovery Center’s Florida mental health and substance abuse services offers integrative therapies including counseling for anxiety as well as other disorders. We help you get to the root of both your addiction and your mental health disorder. Once the cause is found, we will work on successfully overcoming both issues. We also focus on teaching effective, real-life strategies to prevent relapse and help you develop self-confidence and a positive outlook.

If you’re interested in a personalized strategy to help you break free from anxiety and addiction, contact us today!

Call Now – We Will Help You Take That First Step To Your Healing Journey!