Common things that secretly contribute to your anxiety

November 3, 2015

There are countless things in this world that could be causing a person stress without them even knowing it. The following list includes numerous hidden stresses that people go through every day, and how to overcome them.

Common things that secretly contribute to your anxiety

Comparing yourself to others

Comparing yourself to others is a common stressful situation that you may not even realize you're engaging in. In particular, one study found that people worry about their financial situation more when they compare themselves to other people than they do when considering it on its own.

When you compare yourself to another individual and feels like you don't measure up, you can feel stressed out and hopeless, which can lead to depression.

But these sorts of comparisons with other people work negatively in the other direction, too. If you feel superior, then you might constantly feel like you have to maintain what you feel is overt success.

So either way, the stress of comparing yourself to others (either as doing better or worse than them) can easily become overwhelming. So your best bet is to watch yourself and cut off comparisons to others before you sink under the weight of the stress doing so can cause.

Relationship issues

Someone who has had rocky relationships in the past may have a fear of rejection and abandonment or hold feelings of vulnerability lying under the surface. Harbouring these feelings can lead to mistrust and, ultimately, contention in the relationships such a person does have.

Unfortunately, these feelings are difficult to overcome. After all, many of these feelings are subconscious.

Fortunately, it only takes a bit of self reflection to realize whether or not there's a problem in your relationships and to start working towards solving it.

Putting our trust in someone obviously makes us vulnerable, but it's only in these instances that we have the chance to find true happiness and a lack of stress.

Over-exaggerated health concerns

It's reported that anywhere between 86 and 95 percent of the population is suffering from some physical stress symptom such as rash, bumps, back pain or headache. In the overwhelming majority of these cases, the cause is often something simple such as fatigue, sleep deprivation, an unhealthy diet, or another source of stress — but these symptoms can also cause stress themselves.

Yes. Being stressed can lead to physical ailments that cause more stress.

But many people will attribute these common, stress-caused ailments to much more serious conditions, and medical websites that list itchy skin as a symptom of everything from a slight rash to cardiac failure only exacerbate these fears.

You should keep calm, though. In most cases, these stress-related symptoms turn out to be non-serious issues that will subside on their own.

Noise

Noise doesn't have to be extremely loud to cause stress and other health issues — consistent, aggravating noise or a quick, unnatural sound can lead to these issues as well.

The World Health Organization has actually concluded that 1 million healthy years of living are lost in the world annually due to noise pollution.

From overhead jets, to constant roadwork outside, there's a variety of noises that can cause stress in our lives without us even realizing it.

Since sources of this noise are all around us, it's extremely important to always take time to sit back and relax somewhere away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Meditation in a quiet space (even if it's in the middle of a city) can also help to quell noise-related stress.

You can beat anxiety

Stress and anxiety seem to come at us from almost every angle and aspect of our modern lives. But the best way to cut down on the stress and anxiety we're under is to try to live healthier lives; if you exercise regularly, eat healthy, and take time out of every day for quiet reflection you can beat stress and anxiety.

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