Feeling stressed out? Experiencing headaches, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, upset stomach, or irritability?
If worrying or anxiety goes untreated, it can lead to depression and even suicidal thoughts. There are things you can do, though, including lifestyle changes, to alter the way you respond to stress. You have some options to re-establish harmony of mind, body, and spirit, according to WebMD.
Talk to your doctor. Start by talking with your primary care physician. Get a thorough physical exam to make sure other health problems are not fueling your feelings of anxiety. Your doctor may prescribe medication such as anti-anxiety drugs or antidepressants to help you manage anxiety and excessive worry.
Exercise daily. With your doctor’s approval, begin a regular exercise program. Without question, the chemicals produced during moderate exercise can be extremely beneficial in terms of enhancing the function of the immune system. Regular aerobic and strengthening exercise is also a very effective way to train your body to deal with stress under controlled circumstances.
mind when worrying nudges you toward the fridge.
Be conscious of your worries. Set aside 15 minutes each day where you allow yourself to focus on problems and fears—and then vow to let them go after the 15 minutes is up. Some people wear a rubber band on their wrist and “pop” the rubber band if they find themselves going into their “worry mode.” Do whatever you can to remind yourself to stop dwelling on worries.
Learn to relax. Relaxation techniques can trigger the relaxation response—a physiological state characterized by a feeling of warmth and quiet mental alertness. This is the opposite of the “fight or flight” response. Relaxation techniques can offer a real potential to reduce anxiety and worries. They can also increase your ability to self-manage stress.
Practiced regularly, relaxation techniques can counteract the debilitating effects of stress. Common relaxation techniques include:
o   Deep abdominal breathing,
o   meditation,
o   listening to calming music, and
o   doing activities like yoga and tai chi.
Meditate. Daily meditation—instead of worrying—may help you move beyond negative thoughts and allow you to become “unstuck” from worries that keep your body on high alert. With meditation, you purposefully pay attention to what is happening at the present moment without thinking of the past or future. Meditation decreases hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, which are released during the “fight or flight” or stress response.
Have a strong social network. Chronic feelings of loneliness or social isolation make it harder to effectively manage stress. People who are happily married and/or have large networks of friends not only have greater life expectancies compared with those people who do not, but they also have fewer incidences of just about all types of disease.
Talk to a professional therapist. Psychological counseling can help you develop appropriate coping strategies to deal with issues that trigger excessive worrying. Psychological intervention can give you coping methods that you can use either within or outside other treatment programs. The therapist will help you identify what types of thoughts and beliefs cause the anxiety and then work with you to reduce them.
You can get better, WebMD said. Managing your stress can make a real difference to your mental and physical health.
WebMD (2016). Health & Balance. “How Worrying Affects Your Body.” Retrieved from .” Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/how-worrying-affects-your-body#1


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