Anxiety in the face of a virus that is still circulating, worry about a hazy period at work, anxiety about no longer seeing friends or family … as we know, the health crisis generates anxiety in a large number of French people. Anxiety linked to a state of mental fatigue that the World Health Organization (WHO) has even baptized, now speaking of “pandemic fatigue”.
Why this rise of anxiety?
“When we have too much anxiety, and therefore anxiety, our body experiences a succession of natural chemical reactions and produces mainly adrenaline and cortisol. It is adrenaline that triggers the various unpleasant symptoms that you can feel. A few minutes later, cortisol “comes to its aid” by accelerating the cardiac risk in particular “explains Mireille Jennequin, author of Anxious but happy (First editions).
For resist anxiety, the first thing to do is to reduce the stimulants that are coffee, refined sugar in large quantities, alcohol, sodas and energy drinks. But also to do a little sport “even going up and down stairs” suggests Mireille Jennequin. “The practice of sport makes it possible to secrete various hormones of well-being, in particular endorphin, which decreases the small depressions” and dopamine, the hormone of the pleasure, which decreases the feeling of tiredness which often accompanies anxiety. Most importantly, get enough sleep, as a lack of sleep worsens the anxiety disorder.
You can also do relaxation exercises to limit the effects of anxiety. An exercise to do wherever you are (at the office, in a store, in your car at a red light …): without even closing your eyes, drop your arms on your thighs, breathe calmly through your stomach and release the muscles of your shoulders, your jaws. Repeat these mini-relaxations for a few seconds. And don’t wait until you are too tense to do so.
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Read also :
- Mindfulness to live less stressed
- 4 ways to manage your anxieties
- Anxiety: 5 natural solutions to regain serenity
- Anxiety disorders: they come from fear of the unknown
