10 Healthy Ways of Coping with PTSD Anxiety
Many people who have been through a traumatic event in their life, whether as a child or adult, deal with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They struggle with anxiety and other symptoms associated with PTSD.
More than 7.7 million adults in the US live with PTSD, and women are more likely than men to develop this disorder. Oftentimes, people start relying on unhealthy coping mechanisms when they can’t manage the anxiety that comes with PTSD.
However, there are some healthy ways one can deal with and cope with PTSD anxiety. These healthy ways can decrease the intensity of PTSD anxiety, manage the symptoms, and make a person’s anxiety more bearable.
Seeking Social Support
Over the years, evidence has been found that suggests that social support can be an important part of helping someone with mental health issues. To overcome and combat the negative effects of PTSD, a person needs to be able to talk to someone they trust.
Having someone like this will allow them to navigate tough or stressful situations and depend on someone for reassurance or emotional validation. It’s not just about having someone to talk to but more about having someone anyone dealing with PTSD can rely on to help them cope with their anxiety.
Joining a Support Group
Adding on to the previous point, group therapy or support groups are also another healthy way of managing PTSD anxiety. When everyone in the support group shares their traumatic experiences and what they’re doing to cope with them, everyone will feel more comfortable sharing their own experiences.
Support group sessions provide a safe space for anyone who’s struggling with PTSD and allow them to open up in a judgment-free zone. The ultimate goal is to make sure no one feels alone and left out and that all symptoms, including anxiety, are completely normal.
Deep Breathing
It might sound weird, but many of us don’t know how to breathe properly. Natural and proper breathing involves breathing in and breathing out with your belly expanding and falling, respectively. It makes use of your diaphragm, which is a big muscle in the abdomen.
However, people don’t breathe like this and just use their shoulders and chest to breathe. This causes shallow or short breaths, leading to increased anxiety and stress. Fortunately, you can start to re-learn natural breathing ways. All you have to do is practice deep breathing exercises, which are simple and help manage anxiety while also improving your breathing.
Proper Muscle Relaxation
When you want to reduce your anxiety and stress, you can use relaxation exercises that will focus on muscle relaxation. With such progressive relaxation, your muscles will alternate between relaxing and tensing. This method works in a pendulum, and your muscles shift between two extremes.
With time, your muscles will learn to relax anytime they are tense due to anxiety. When they receive the signal of anxiety, they will become tense and then immediately relax. When they are relaxed, you will feel better.
Practicing Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a helpful way of dealing with PTSD anxiety. People have been practicing it for ages, and now, it is being recognized in the mental health world as a way of helping people deal with anxiety, stress, and depression.
Mindfulness involves being aware of your surroundings and being in touch with yourself in the present moment. Oftentimes, we’re so busy in our lives and stuck inside our heads, we lose touch with ourselves. We get caught up in various struggles, anxieties, and worries of life. With the help of mindfulness, you can regain your awareness and live in the present.
Self-Monitoring
Another helpful way of dealing with PTSD anxiety is through self-monitoring. As we mentioned, we get caught up in the daily routines that we become unaware of what is happening around us.
With self-monitoring, you develop an awareness of your surrounding, uncomfortable symptoms, anxiety, and emotions and respond to different situations you find yourself in. It’s a simple way of managing your anxiety by becoming more aware of your thoughts and feelings.
Self-Soothing
While seeking support from others is a good way of coping with feelings of anxiety, you have to also learn how to be able to control it on your own. Social support can improve your mood. But do you know how you can improve your mood by yourself?
It is important to figure out how you can reduce your anxiety through self-soothing and self-care strategies. This way, you will be able to cope with your anxiety on your own and, over time, not depend on external support.
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is an effective way to reduce symptoms of PTSD anxiety and chronic stress. It helps people manage their stress and anxiety. It’s also a useful relaxation strategy that can greatly decrease your stress levels.
All you have to do is massage your essential or relaxing oil in the area between your eyebrows and at other pulse points. It has a soothing, calming effect. It promotes healing and relaxes your mind with the sense of touch, smell, and sight.
Behavioral Activation
Many people who struggle with PTSD anxiety tend to avoid any anxiety-inducing situations. While this may help fight anxiety in the short term, it certainly can’t prevent it in the long term. It’s an unhealthy way of living.
To deal with this avoidance, you can engage in positive activities. Find rewarding activities around yourself, so you can cope with your anxiety instead of avoiding it. Take action to reduce all PTSD symptoms, including anxiety.
Reading
Reading and learning more about PTSD anxiety can help you deal with it better. You can read up different self-help books or books of other PTSD survivors. If you want to benefit from the experiences of others, you can check out A Notebook Of Love by Luis Trivino.
A Notebook Of Love is based on real-life events and is a story of a former war veteran struggling to keep his mental illnesses at bay and seeking resources that can help him deal with PTSD, alcoholism, and bipolar disorder. Click here to check out this book or contact us to learn more today!