Surprising ways to beat anxiety and become mentally strong - according to science

Anxiety can manifest itself as fear, restlessness, getting easily irritated, an inability to sleep or focus. Other symptoms include stuttering, sweating, finding it hard to talk to others, and feeling of being constantly judged.

Anxiety can also appear as a panic attack, or even a generalized anxiety disorder, in which one keeps on worrying and dreading the future. Left untreated, anxiety can lead to depression, early death, and suicide.

It's a normal human trait to wait for the perfect time before starting anything. This can cause long delays, stress, and anxiety. Indecision leads to inertia and while it is good to plan first, one should dive into action and expedite up the decision-making process to avoid losing the 'time window'.

'Doing Ii badly' springs us into action, and we can fine-tune the process as we go ahead. We stop worrying about things and start to move courageously.

People get particularly self-critical when mistakes are made, and anxiety makes them even more unkind towards themselves. One needs to stop the constant self-criticism and worry. In case a mistake is made, we don't need to start worrying immediately.

The strategy of 'Wait To Worry' doesn't feed any energy to our negative emotions, thereby removing stress and anxiety.

• Being neurotic and in a constant state of worry about your problems leads to poor mental health.
• Doing something for others takes the spotlight off from us, and our stress, anxiety and worries are not highlighted for the time being.
• Giving our time to helping others selflessly is shown to boost our mental health.