If you suffer from anxiety, you are not alone. Anxiety can come in many forms. There are panic attacks or just plain-old worry. One type of anxiety is called Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This is a problem of constant worry. You worry about things to an exaggerated degree. You worry about things way before it is necessary.

Another type of anxiety manifests as Panic Disorder. In this case, anxiety attacks are the major symptom. An anxiety attack is just what it sounds like. The anxiety comes upon you very unexpectedly. You might experience a tightening in the chest, nausea, dizziness or sweating. Regardless of how you experience anxiety, there are ways to relax yourself that will bring you relief from these symptoms.

There are two main ways to reduce anxiety. The first way involves changing how you think. The second way uses a variety of relaxation methods to teach you how to self-manage your anxiety.

First, your thoughts greatly affect how you feel. Anxious people tend to have thoughts that make them anxious. If you pay attention to your thoughts, you will notice this. Write down your worry thoughts for a day and see what you are telling yourself. Then see what else you could tell yourself that would be more realistic and helpful.

Second, you can use guided visualization, meditation, deep breathing or muscle relaxation. Guided visualization involves listening to someone take you on a virtual trip. It is taking a vacation in your mind. I love it. Usually you go to a very relaxing or calming place, such as the beach or the mountains. You imagine actually being there, complete with all the detail. For example, you feel the warm sand between your toes and the smell the salty sea. Sounds good, doesn't it?

In meditation, one thing that you can do is focus on a word or phrase that you repeat. This calms your mind and stops its incessant chatter. Sometimes you focus on your breath instead of on a word. If you meditate on a regular basis you will find that you become a more peaceful person, regardless of the situations you face in life.

Muscle relaxation is intense focus on your muscles group by group. You can actually tense and relax the muscles or you can just imagine the muscles relaxing. This practice has added health benefits such as reducing high blood pressure.

Dealing with anxiety can be a struggle for us all. If you use some to the techniques mentioned above, you will find yourself more able to relax and have the happy life that you want.