2 Ways To Diminish Your Anxiety and Boost Your Power.

Everyone has a solution and masterplan on the best ways necessary to get rid of anxiety. I don't for a moment believe that any of those plans, or my plans, will fully and exactly cure you if you follow things exactly the way they are laid out; the key is to learn new things and pick up great tips and techniques along the way as defeating anxiety is a process that takes time, belief and persistence.

Definetely though paying attention to some of my suggestions and tips may give you a better idea of the 'concepts' and 'types' of things that need to be done in order to manage and rid yourself of fear, anxiety and depression.

In this article, I will outline 2 important things I did which helped me establish my 'new behaviour' and become a much stronger person; of course in the process defeat a lot of my fear and anxiety. It is worth noting that once you have anxiety it never leaves forever, it comes backs in times of crisis and trauma, but if we continue to get stronger, more developed and informed, it comes back to a losing battle as we crush it and defeat it with our new found techniques, confidence and sense of life.

The final thing I will say here is that you don't need to 'engage' in or 'embrace' all of what I list below, but if you do one activity or something similar, you will receive many benefits that will develop your confidence, self-esteem and approach to life. My hope here is that you become more developed, confident and 'open-minded' so that when things in life surprise you or come unexpectedly, your reaction is different as you have become a more knowledgeable and 'worldly' person.

These 2 activities below are not suggested to help defeat panic attacks instantly or lower very high levels of anxiety instantly, rather they are activities you should embrace to gradually bring your overall levels of anxiety down because they will make you stronger day-by-day. Some of these activities may bring you anxiety upfront, but be guaranteed these levels will diminish and your overall anxiety and fear levels will drop as your comfort and confidence levels soar.

2 Ways To Diminish Your Anxiety Levels

1.  Get A Pet

This suggestion may seem absurd to some people, and too much responsibility to others, but it can be one of the most important things you do to diminish your anxiety. Having a pet gives you a valuable purpose and allows you to take 100% responsibility for another life. Done with care and the right intentions, this can be one of the most rewarding things in life. By owning a pet and caring for it, you are getting yourself going, you are doing things, and sub-consciously you are building a mindset and behaviour pattern of 'positive action.'

For people like me who used to suffer from anxiety, I loved having a pet because it helped me learn how to love more and care for another being and species and in the process actually trust myself to do the right things. I currently have a beautiful 2 year old, 70kg Boerbeol named Achilles (see attached photo) who is a King in his eyes, and in the eyes of many, and with feeding, caring for and thinking about him, I have developed a great sense of accomplishment that I can take on responsibility and succeed in anything.

By basically treating him like my own son, I have built my confidence, my self-esteem, and my sense of responsibility because everything I do for him is always very, very appreciated. Once you have a pet, you are 100% in control of their lives; you control what they eat, where they live, when they go on walks, even their behaviours, so to take on a responsibility like this is mentally and emotionally positive and rewarding.

Now I don't suggest everyone go and get a 70kg monster like mine, but any pet you make your own will love you unconditionally. That is the most amazing thing about my dog, no matter what, no matter where, he is super-excited to see me and he always wants to be around me; that is a great feeling that you only really can get with children and marriage, and these days that isn't even guaranteed. Why this is so important is because a great deal of us anxious people are scared to love because we fear rejection.

With a pet the love is different, you can love without the fear of rejection because your animal will love you unconditionally. It gets better, the more you love, the more you will get back: there is a direct relationship between the love you give (input) and the love you receive (output) which is important for us anxious people who always like things to be done in a controlled fashion.

Having a pet can give you so many benefits, but finally I will say having a pet gives you a good 'life structure' and helps you to 'balance your emotions'. When you are thinking about your beloved animal, and absorbed in its welfare everyday, you are less concerned about your anxiety and all the bad things that you perceive could happen in your life. Rather you are only concerned in positive action with your pet and this is giving you a good structure on how to be successful and how to function in life.

Scheduling times for walks, food and visits to the vet will not only help your pet, but will help you become a more structured person. By caring for your pet, and being empathetic to your pet, you will also find your emotions will become more balanced as you simply aren't just focusing on negative, fearful and anxious thoughts anymore. You will be consumed with love, fun and responsibility and as a result you will become less anxious and more balanced. A structured routine helps to create a structured mind and structured emotions.

So, make a major decision and get yourself a pet. I prefer dogs, they are the most loyal of all pets in my eyes and they carry the most well-rounded of personalities, but if you can't get a dog, even a cat or other pet will do.  Just do it.

2. Embrace Another Culture

Hola! Bonjour! Ciao!

Immersing yourself in another culture is not only one of the most exciting things you can do in your life, it is a very strong way to help you develop mentally, emotionally and socially and in the end calm you down and make you a less anxious and fearful person. By embracing another culture you are giving yourself permission to grow, and permission to 'open-up' and embrace a different reality to the one you are used too.

By learning another language, visiting another country or following customs and traditions of another culture, you are opening yourself up to so much knowledge and insight in the world, but most importantly you are gaining insight into your OWN life. I was born in Toronto, but I grew up in the United States and Cape Town later in life and I can tell you living in Africa changed my perspective on life and on so many beliefs I held strongly before.

Embracing another culture can show you if YOUR CURRENT life or culture is great or perfect for you, or it can show you if other things and ways of life in this world will make you happier and are more suited to the type of person you are. Either way you learn.

This is crucial because we are born in a geography we have no control over, and raised with ideals from parents and society we have no control over either until we are fully developed teens or adults. You could be very unhappy, depressed or anxious right now and the source of this could simply be your LOCATION, or the customs and behaviours that rule the part of the world you live in.

With technology, with planes, with the new global mindset, the world is getting smaller every day. If you are unhappy with your surroundings and the way things work in your life and your 'neck of the woods', wouldn't it be worth a look to see if a way of life out there is more suitable to who you are? Maybe you could move to another country or incorporate a different lifestyle into your current surroundings? The world is yours if you believe it.

For me, I was born in Toronto, Canada.  A great city, with a great culture and people and NONE of it ever gelled with me. I grew up there, those are my roots right, so I had to stay? My dad's side of the family is also their so I couldn't leave?

Wrong. I moved and embraced the South African and American culture full force by visiting the countries, working in them and living in them; both of them suit the type of person I am more than Toronto did, and for different reasons which aren't important here. The key thing is to be open and by embracing and learning about another culture, you may appreciate your own a lot more or be inspired to experience another one asap.

Finally, you don't have to move permanently, or go for a long time to South Africa or India or wherever, just embracing another culture at home is worthwhile. If a culture you are interested in doesn't exist where you live, then make an alternative plan. You can go on the Internet, take a holiday to their country, get books and movies on how the people live and how they see the world. I love Italy and embraced the Italian culture way back and sometimes think I am Italian. I started out learning the language on tape and in books, then I visited the country, learned their cuisine, only drank fine espresso after a while and even opened up a coffee shop resembling Italy inside.

I even followed Italian fashion, bought Italian clothes and raved about and drove Italian cars. I went deeper than that, I followed all the news in Italy and even the soccer teams (I love Inter Milan) and I tell you it made me feel smarter, more 'worldly', and it gave me a great and new perspective on how to react to the things life throws my way.

In the end, other cultures showed me my optimum way of life does exist out there and that certain behaviours and customs I prefer do exist outside my homeland. Learning about cultures gives you a mental edge and a deeper pool of knowledge, but also gives you self-respect and respect amongst your peers and those around you in your life. What do you and other people generally think about a person who speaks 3 or 4 languages? We generally hold this person in high regard because they have power, they gave this power to themselves and you can do the same thing for yourself.

Open your mind, break down your barriers, open your heart, cast your net and Embrace Another Culture!

Although many ways exist to diminish anxiety and make you feel more confident and better about life, these are 2 of my favorite and definetely 2 of the most exciting. I hope you enjoyed this article, if so please sign up for my RSS feed to receive my future posts and please pass this article onto a friend.

Ciao Bella!