3 Smart Ways to Deal With Anxiety and Depression

It is natural to worry about life once in a while or to feel sad and worthless once in a blue moon. However, for some people, anxiety and depression takes hold of their lives and make it difficult for them to study or work effectively.

“Why should I bother myself if I have an anxiety disorder, or if I suffer from depression,” you may ask. “If I suffer from anxiety and depression often, and so what?”

The reason why you should be concerned about anxiety and depression is that research suggests that anxiety, as well as depression, can increase one’s risk of developing heart disease.

So, what are some natural ways to deal with anxiety and depression so that they will not cause harm to your heart? What are some strategies for coping with anxiety and depression at work? What are some strategies for dealing with anxiety and depression while pregnant? And what are some Bible verses that can help you to deal with anxiety and depression?

In this article, I want to show you how to deal with anxiety and depression so that it will not affect your heart and make you suffer heart disease.

Now, what should you do?

1.    Spend Quality Time With Your Rabbit Or Your Cat

One strategy you can use to deal with anxiety and depression is to engage your pet. Research suggests that pets can help one to deal with anxiety and depression: when you touch a pet, your heart rate drops. As a result, you can find it easier to calm down.

Additionally, when one cuddles or strokes a dog, rabbit, cat, horse, or any other pet, and as one focuses his attention and affection on the pet instead of on the apprehensions and fears in his or her mind, or on the situation that is making him or her sad, one’s breathing rate and mind slows down and that can help the person in question to feel more relaxed.

Furthermore, levels of “feel good” hormones increase in the body when one interacts with a pet and these hormones help one to feel more positive about life and his or her situation.

Moreover, as you think about what food you will give your pet, as you feed it, as you give it water, as you take care of its health issues and as you see to it that it feels comfortable, it will help you to feel that you are a responsible and worthy person and that will boost your self-confidence and help you to feel good about yourself.

We have a few rabbits in our house. When I feel anxious or when I feel depressed, I sometimes play with them and that helps me to release stress and tension in my body. As a result, I feel calmer.

Additionally, when I play with them, when I observe them running around, or when I observe them doing silly things, it makes me laugh and, as a  result, I feel happy and I forget about my worries and burdens.

Therefore, when you are anxious, or when you feel sad, draw close to your pet. Cuddle it, talk to it, stroke its fur, hug it sometimes, kiss it, and it will help to induce pleasurable feelings in you which will help you to feel better. Additionally, play with it and laugh when you play with them and that will help you to feel more positive about life, just as a pet helped this woman to deal with these two disorders.

2.    Write Your Feelings And Your Thoughts Down

This is one thing that helps me to deal with anxiety and depression. Sometimes when I see that I am worrying too much, or when I feel sad and worthless, I reach for my diary or a jotter and I start writing how I feel and that makes me feel better.

Additionally, I write positive, motivational words that I have read in my Bible, or which I have heard people say. As I write, my attention shifts from the things I fear and the problems and challenges that I am facing, and that gives me some peace of mind. And when I read over the words of encouragement that I have written, it makes me feel fine.

So, you may adopt this strategy too to deal with anxiety and depression. Additionally, here is an exercise that you can do to battle with these two mental disorders:

• Pick your diary or your journal and create three columns on one page.
• Label the first column “Things I Worry About and Things I Fear.” Label the middle column “What Is Actually Happening In My Life.” Label the last column “This Is Who I Am.”
• In the first column, write down 30 fears, wild imaginations, negative fantasies, doubts, insecurities, and worries that trouble you often.
• In the middle column, write down 50 fears and worries which you had in the past, but which never happened in reality.
• In the last column, write down 50 good things you have done for friends and family members in the past month, as well as good things others have said about you.
• Read over what you have written, and keep reading it throughout the day. Alternatively, record it on your smartphone and play it back to yourself whenever you are not occupied.
• When you read the list in the first column, say, “This will not happen!”

When you go through this exercise, it will help you to see that the negative things that are going on in your head do not reflect reality. You will also see that the reality of your situation is not as bad as you imagine it to be. That will help you to see that you do not need to fear and worry because just as fears and worries in the past did not come to pass, what you fear and worry about today too are just wrong imaginations that will never come to pass and that can help to make you feel positive.

Furthermore, this exercise will help to remind you that people think you are a good person, as well as remind you that you are a generous person who does good acts for others, and that will help to boost your self-confidence and you will feel better about who you are as a result.

3.    Trust In God And Think About Him Often

Put your trust in God and read Isaiah 26 v 3 which says, “Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee because he trusts in Thee. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock,” often.

Cast your mind back to times in the past when God helped you to solve your problems, and when God’s words lifted your spirit. Reminisce upon those incidents. This exercise will help you to boost your faith in God and that can help you to feel that just as God helped you yesterday, He will help you today and tomorrow, and that can give comfort to your soul and make you have a sense of tranquility, which will help you to calm down.

Additionally, read a Bible verse such as Jeremiah 31 v 20 which says, “Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child?... I do remember him still. Therefore, my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the LORD.” Use this verse to remind yourself often that you are precious in the sight of God, and that God loves you and cares about you, and that can make you feel loved, which will give you a self-confidence boost.

Conclusion

To deal with anxiety and depression, spend time with your pet when you feel very anxious or when you feel sad, write your feelings into your journal when negative thoughts multiply in your mind, and trust God and focus your mind on Him and you will have peace.      

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