Co-Morbidities - Anxiety and OCD

The 5 Steps To Taming Your Beast
Step 1 – Accept
In some ways we believe this is the most important step. Accept you have issues
with anxiety. Consciously accept it, right down deep in your very soul. No one
wants to have any sort of mental illness but we can’t control the cards we are
dealt. There is nothing to be gained by trying to ignore facts and reality.
Accepting your condition doesn’t mean your are weak or inferior to anyone else. Just like someone with diabetes or high blood pressure can’t help their diagnosis and have to learn to manage it, so do you with your anxiety.
Spend some time deep in thought. Work through any issues you have with the facts. You have to arrive at a place of acceptance so that your mind is open to the next steps in the process of “taming the beast”.

 Step  2 – Take Care Of Yourself
We all get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everything life involves. Work,
family, relationships, social life. It seems we are always busy and there is
never enough time in the day to do everything that needs doing. In order to get your mind working better you must ensure that your are in the best  shape you are able to be in. I don’t mean you have to be a marathon runner, just
be in the best shape you can be in today. If you are like me you are overweight
and out of shape. The key is that you are aware of where you are at and have
made a decision to make small changes to improve yourself.

 Things to think about include; -
Practice relaxation techniques. These techniques can take a while to feel like
they are doing anything but stick at it. When practiced regularly, relaxation
techniques such as mindfulness meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, and
deep breathing can reduce anxiety symptoms and increase feelings of relaxation
and emotional well-being. 
Adopt healthy eating habits. Start the day right with breakfast, and continue
with frequent small meals throughout the day. Low blood sugar levels can make
you feel more anxious so ensure you are having regular small healthy meals and
snacks throughout the day.-
Reduce or eliminate alcohol and nicotine. They lead to more anxiety, not less.
This can be tough so just do your best. I have been trying to stop smoking for
months and still haven’t nailed it but I will keep on trying. 
Exercise regularly. Exercise is a natural stress buster and anxiety reliever. I
can’t believe how much better I feel since I started exercising 3 or 4 times a
week. We go for a gentle walk for around 45 minutes almost – everyday. Even on
days when we don’t feel motivated we drag ourselves off our butts and do it
anyway. To achieve the maximum benefit, aim for at least 30 minutes of aerobic
exercise on most days. The other advantage of exercising outside is you soak up
a bit of vitamin d from the sun which is one of natures 100% natural “feel good”
pick me ups. 
Get enough sleep. A lack of sleep can exacerbate anxious thoughts and feelings,
so try to get 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep a night.

Step 3 – Challenge and fight each and every negative thought 
Take notes about all your worries. Make sure you have a notepad and pen or
pencil on you, or use a laptop, smartphone, or tablet. When you experience
anxiety, write down your worries. Write down whatever it is that is bothering
you. Writing things down is much harder work than simply thinking them, so your
negative thoughts are likely to disappear sooner. 
Create an anxiety worry period. Choose a couple (1 or 2) 10 minute “anxiety
worry periods” each day, time you can devote to any anxiety you are
  experiencing. During your anxiety worry period, focus only on negative, anxious
  thoughts without trying to correct them. The second part of this is harder but
  does get easier with practice. Commit that the rest of the day, is to be
  designated free of anxiety and worry. When anxious thoughts come into your head during the day, write them down and “postpone” them to your worry
period. 
Accept uncertainty. Unfortunately, worrying about all the things that could go
wrong wont make your life any more predictable. It only keeps you from enjoying
the good things happening in the present. Learn to accept uncertainty and not
require immediate solutions to life’s problems.

 Step  4- Develop and Use A Set Of Well Written, Powerful Positive
Affirmations
We credit Positive Affirmations as having the single biggest impact in getting on
top of this tangled web of mental illness we found ourselves dealing with.
We would like to recommend you check out our story and advice about how to create a set of super powerful positive affirmations that are custom built for you and the issues you are dealing with each day.
Click Here To Check out our  Positive Affirmations Post

 Step 5 – Find a confidant
This is pretty simple. Find someone you can unload with, someone who won’t judge you but allow you to vent when you need to. Lets be honest. we all need to vent sometimes, just let it out. The best way to do this is with someone you trust explicitly. It can be a partner, a friend, a doctor, a counsellor, anyone. As long as you feel comfortable, safe and secure with the person.

I  would suggest you ask the person you are thinking about if they will work with
you during your recovery. By asking them and talking and explaining what it is
you would like help with I think you are setting yourself up for  success.
 A word of caution. Don’t overuse this resource unless it is paid professional and
you have the money to pay for it! If it is a partner or some member of your
family remember they have their own life and their own issues to deal with as
well.  What you need from this person is positive reinforcement when you’ve had a  problem and a great big virtual hug and pat on the back when things have gone well for you.

Bonus Step 6 – Inform and Educate
I often hear that the key to success in life is to never stop learning. I think
this pretty well is spot on the money. There isn’t to many of us that have any
professional training in mental health issues. This means we are basically
making things up as we go. Sometimes we get it right and, well, sometimes we get it wrong.

One of the ways to start getting it more right than wrong is to educate yourself
about your condition or that of a loved one. I enjoy and learn the most from
reading. I read everyday. Google is my best friend for online research and short
articles (like this one).  Article taken from www.queenslandmentalhealth.com