Anxiety and Sleep Problems
I was recently discussing the subject of anxiety, stress, and
sleep problems with a couple of my friends. All three of us had
struggled with these issues and had experienced nervous
breakdowns, stress leaves from work, anxiety medication and/or
sleeping pills. Today we are all living without medication, and
have found our own unique ways of successfully dealing with
stress and anxiety. Our conversation made me think of how
different each of us is. My friends and I all discovered methods
to reduce stress and anxiety, and all three of us ultimately
found success using a different routine. This shouldn't be too
surprising, seeing that my friends and I all have different
occupations, hobbies, family situations, body types, fitness
levels, personalities, etc. Some found that intense physical
exertion was helpful, where others found success with lighter
aerobic exercise. Meditation and aromatherapy was seen by some
as a cure, and to others as boring and pointless.
Unfortunately, the literature on stress and sleep disorders
generally offers the same advice for everyone, and rarely points
out that there are no blanket remedies. If you don't realize
that stress and sleep remedies are individualistic, and may work
better for some than for others, you may cause yourself a lot of
frustration and (ironically) stress.
I've found most of the stress and sleep disorder remedy advice
I've read on websites and in books to be helpful. At the same
time, people should realize that only a small number of these
tips may actually work for them.
My advice would be to try a variety of exercises and methods for
sleep and anxiety. If you find something works, stick with it,
but if it is not helping, move on and try something else. Don't
get frustrated if the first few methods you try don't work for
you. Remember, you are unique, and many of the stress and sleep
tips you find may not be for you. Keep on searching and trying
different methods, you'll eventually come across a system that
will work for you.