Do you often feel anxious or nervous and think you can't control it? Is there something you want to do but get nervous every time you try it? Nervousness can be managed effectively by utilizing coping strategies, practicing relaxation techniques, focusing attention on your health, and changing your mindset.
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Method 1 of 4: Coping With Nervousness
Step 1. Divert your attention
Divert your attention to something other than nervousness. This distraction can be very beneficial for reducing negative emotions in the short term.
- Some ways to distract yourself from feeling nervous include: playing games, watching television or movies, taking a shower, or cleaning.
- Try relaxing activities to calm yourself down such as: reading, bathing, bathing, lighting candles, or using aromatherapy.
- Listen to music. Listen to songs you love to keep nervousness out of your mind.
- Use pets as therapy. Pets can provide comfort when stressed. You can hug, or even practice any activity you're worried about in front of him before practicing the real thing.
- Write down your feelings. Writing down feelings can be a therapeutic tool. Instead of keeping it to yourself, write down your feelings on a piece of paper to release some of the nervousness.
Step 2. Move
This is the reason actors practice warming up with their bodies before appearing on stage. Moving your body will relax muscle tension and reduce feelings of nervousness or restlessness. Often, when you feel nervous your body reacts, and you may feel tense, have an upset stomach, or even have a headache. This is the impact of nervousness trapped in the body. However, when moving, this tension is released in a therapeutic way.
- Shake! Try rocking every part of your body starting with your arms, upper body, and then your legs until your whole body is rocking.
- Try dancing. Dancing to the beat of your favorite music is a powerful way to release anxiety from your body. You can also play YouTube videos and try aerobic dance moves.
- Jump up and down. Move erratically or in an unusual way. Have fun while you move.
Step 3. Face your fear
The best way to reduce nervousness about something is to do it again and again. Practice the activity you worry about over and over again. This can increase your self-confidence and reduce your nervousness.
Keep trying until you get the hang of it. Pretend that you're confident in what you're doing and that you're an expert (whether that's casual conversation or giving a speech). Act like someone who is calm and confident
Step 4. Consider treatment
If nervousness or anxiety is interfering with your daily activities to the point where it's difficult for you to fulfill your responsibilities or interact socially, it may be helpful to seek professional help.
- Contact a therapist, social worker, or psychologist for therapy that can help you learn new techniques or ways of dealing with nervousness.
- Contact your GP or psychiatrist to discuss treatment options.
Method 2 of 4: Practicing Relaxation Techniques
Step 1. Do deep breathing exercises
Deep breathing techniques are quite simple and can help reduce nervousness psychologically. Taking deep breaths can help reduce tension in the stomach, as well as feelings of restlessness and tension in the body.
Start by sitting in a quiet and safe place. Inhale deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth slowly. Feel the difference in the diaphragm with each inhalation and exhalation. Do this exercise for at least a few minutes, focusing on the breath and the feel
Step 2. Try progressive muscle relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation is a relaxation technique that can be very helpful in calming yourself down and reducing tension.
Start by tightening your toes for 5 seconds, then loosening them for 10-20 seconds. Continue to the upper body slowly by tightening and relaxing the muscles up to your head
Step 3. Meditate
Meditation is an ancient technique to relieve stress, pain, and panic from the body. Meditation is usually done in a quiet and peaceful room. You can meditate in a sitting or lying position. Usually meditation is done with your eyes closed, but you can also keep your eyes open and direct your gaze to a certain point if you want. Clear your mind and try to sit still.
- The goal of meditation is to clear the mind. If you feel that your mind is distracted, simply refocus your mind back into meditation without judging it.
- You can also meditate on a specific topic. For example, if you are afraid of speaking in public, you can meditate and only think about this topic while sitting still.
Step 4. Change the way of nonverbal communication
When we feel nervous, scared, or intimidated, we often bend over to hide or shrink ourselves. When you bend down, the thing that is conveyed to others is that you feel insecure. Behavior is closely related to feelings, so we will feel differently if we change posture and nonverbal communication. Standing and sitting up straight are powerful ways to show confidence and convey positive nonverbal communication.
- Push your shoulders back when you're standing. Stand parallel to the wall to straighten your back.
- Make sure your back is leaning straight against the chair when sitting and not bending forward.
Step 5. Practice self-awareness
Self-awareness means focusing on what you are doing, feeling, seeing, and what is going on around you. Self-awareness can help us focus on what's happening now, where we are, instead of worrying about the future or past events. This method is very helpful especially if we feel nervous about the events that will happen.
- Try fun ways to practice self-awareness like eating a candy bar by focusing on its texture and appearance, then the taste in your mouth. Focus only on the candy and your experience of enjoying it. Eat a little at a time and really enjoy it.
- Choose an object in the room and focus your attention on it. See, notice, touch, grab and examine all the details. Then, write down everything you observe on the object and share it with others.
Step 6. Practice grounding
The grounding technique is very useful especially when feeling nervous, restless, and stressed. Grounding can help you focus your mind as well as distract from your emotions and focus your body's energies on the real thing.
- This technique is related to activities such as naming different objects in one room and their various uses.
- You can also name countries or colors that you remember.
Method 3 of 4: Pay Attention to Your Health
Step 1. Exercise regularly
Exercise is one of the best ways to reduce nervousness and restlessness. Look for exercise options that can help reduce nervousness. Perform movements that can increase blood flow and remove stress from your body.
Try fun activities like walking, jogging, hiking, swimming, biking, yoga, playing tennis, or dancing
Step 2. Avoid alcohol and illegal drugs
Alcohol and neurodepressant drugs may help you feel more relaxed for a while, but they won't help you deal with nervousness in the long term. These medications will only help you get through situations that make you nervous for a while, so you'll never learn to deal with them in a healthy and adaptive way. In addition, you can also experience dependence on drugs to reduce nervousness. Drug addiction has a very bad impact on your health and life.
Step 3. Avoid excessive caffeine intake
Coffee, soda, and energy drinks all contain caffeine, which stimulates the body instead of calming it down.
- Instead of drinking something that can increase nervousness and stress, try drinking chamomile tea.
- If you drink caffeine every day, don't stop drinking it suddenly. Reduce caffeine intake slowly over time.
Method 4 of 4: Changing Your Mindset
Step 1. Focus on goals, not worries
Nervousness is triggered by fear. Instead of focusing on what is happening right now and what we want, we worry about what might happen. Sometimes, we can worry so much that something bad is going to happen that we finally make it happen. For example, when you are worried that it will be difficult for you to say the words during a speech, you actually make it happen. This is known as self-realization.
- Instead of getting lost in thoughts of what might go wrong, think about positive things that you hope to happen (eg speak clearly, firmly, confidently).
- Visualize yourself successfully accomplishing the thing you're worried about. Think about how you will feel when you achieve it.
Step 2. Accept your feelings
Sometimes, we feel negative emotions that we immediately want to get rid of or hide them. In fact, emotions exist for a reason, namely to provide information about what is happening so that we can act accordingly. Change your frame of mind so that it focuses more on the concept that feeling nervous is okay. Nervousness is a natural reaction of the body and we all experience it from time to time. Be patient with yourself.
Whenever you think negative thoughts about your feelings like, "Oh, I'm so nervous. This is so annoying," replace it with "I'm nervous, but that's okay. It's a natural feeling and I can get through it."
Step 3. Focus on one thing at a time
Instead of feeling nervous and overwhelmed by the situation, think about a small part of the problem and work on solving it. Start with simple actions, before trying to deal with everything. Do it little by little, then increase slowly.
Step 4. Question your negative thoughts
When people think of certain situations or events, people often think of negative things that make them feel nervous or worried. These thoughts include: catastrophizing (thinking the worst that will happen), mind-reading (thinking you can know other people's thoughts), and fortune telling (believing you can know what will happen). Realize when you think about such things and fix them right away.
- When you think the worst is about to happen, simply ask yourself, "Would the world really be destroyed if this terrible thing happened?" How bad is it? Is it possible that the result wasn't that bad?”
- Think back to a time when you felt confident. Focus on positive things like good friends, good times, when you laugh, and so on.
