Your eyes are not the mirror to our soul: your entire body is. For anyone who is able to watch closely, your posture and the way you handle yourself… each small gesture carries a world of information. For example, it’s very simple to tell if a person is affected with anxiety just by being attentive to their hands. The kind of gestures they tend to make, the way a person holds his hands while sitting down… every little detail is a feast of subtle communication. It’s something that you can learn to read as easily as you have learned to read books.
When someone suffers from anxiety, their hand motions tend to me much more erratic, jittery and nervous. When a person experiences a moment of extreme anxiety, their hands can actually tremble quite noticeably and sweat profusely. Try noticing these small details, and you’ll quickly become very good at telling if a person has problems with anxiety just by watching their hands. In fact, try being aware of your own hands and you may be able to tell when you’re feeling anxious more easily than you normally would.
Next time you notice you can’t seem to find a comfortable way to hold your hands; or next time you notice you keep making nervous gestures: that’s a good moment to try doing some deep breathing relaxation techniques, or drink a relaxing beverage such as a good herbal tea (chamomile and lavender are some great choices). If you take action and bring yourself to relax before your anxiety rises, you may just keep yourself from heading towards discomfort, or even having a full-fledged panic attach.
If you have problems with anxiety, your hands can provide you with subtle cues that you can take advantage of. Remember, anxiety is a negative cycle that slowly creeps into your mind when you least expect. If you learn to be attentive to your state of mind, sometimes you can reverse this cycle and actually use it to build up on your well-being.
In case you’re bothered because your anxiety manifests with unpleasant effects such as uncontrollable hand tremors, you should avoid obsessing about the symptom… since that will make it worse. Just keep focused on managing your anxiety, and you’ll eventually control all its symptoms, regardless of how severe they look.
