Over 40 million people suffer from anxiety in the United States. Anxiety is when your body prepares to go into fight or flight in the face of perceived danger. Living with chronic anxiety can become debilitating, creeping into all the aspects of your life and leaving you unable to cope with daily activities. Substance abuse is twice as likely to be exhibited in a person dealing with anxiety. That is, self-medicating to lower their anxiety and have a moment of calm and peace.

This reprieve is short lived unfortunately. The anxiety increases as the addiction sets in. When the drugs or alcohol wear off, the symptoms or anxiety return and they bring with them the symptoms of withdrawal from the drugs or alcohol as well. This only exacerbates the problem and creates another set of issues for individuals with anxiety. Psychotherapeutic techniques can help you manage your anxiety and help you maintain a life with sobriety.

Here are some ways you can reduce anxiety in your life.

Begin by going outside and getting some sunshine and exercise. It doesn’t matter if this is only for a few minutes. Start small and build yourself up. Exercise, in general, helps mediate your anxiety symptoms.
Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.
Take a moment out of your day to do some deep breathing techniques. They help calm your levels of anxiety.
Work on not being as critical and negative. Our levels of anxiety are directly related to how we interpret the world around us and how well we think we can manage them. Just changing how we frame things makes a world of difference.
Find a good treatment center or therapist. Finding a good support system is very helpful in dealing with addiction.
Educate yourself on what anxiety is. Anxiety with treatment does get better. With some training and tools you too can be living the life you deserve to live.

air date: 11/11-16