Anxiety is a relatively common mental health condition that affects millions of people around the world. It causes persistent feelings of worry and dread that are extreme and out of proportion to the actual situation. In addition, the symptoms you experience and the impact they have on your life can differ depending on the type of anxiety you’re struggling with.
However, anxiety is treatable and it’s possible for you to make a good recovery. Not only can you access evidence-based treatment for anxiety, but there are a number of things you can do yourself to try and reduce your anxiety symptoms and get back on track. Here, we will provide tips for coping with anxiety and explore the treatment options that are available.
Anxiety can have a negative effect on lots of different areas of your life. It can affect you emotionally, socially and professionally, and for many people, can be debilitating. Also, if you don’t address your anxiety, it can lead to other health problems such as insomnia, drug and alcohol abuse and chronic pain.
That’s why it’s so important to take steps to get your anxiety under control in order to limit the impact it’s having on your health, wellbeing and quality of life.
Exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, eating healthily, limiting alcohol and caffeine intake and avoiding recreational drugs can all go a long way to improving your mood and reducing anxiety. Staying active socially is important too. As social beings, keeping in touch with friends and family is vital to maintain good wellbeing.
When we get anxious, our body’s ‘fight or flight’ response is activated. However, calming techniques for anxiety like breathing exercises can help the body settle down to a more natural state and help to get rid of the physical signs of anxiety, including panic attacks. Try taking a deep breath in through your nose for 4 seconds, feeling your stomach and chest rise as you do so. Hold your breath for 3 seconds and then breathe out through your mouth for 6 seconds, imagining you’re breathing away any tension. Do this three times in a row and you’ll probably find that you’re feeling a lot calmer.
Our mind can play tricks on us when we’re anxious, which means our thinking can end up distorted. For example, an abrupt email from your boss might make you think you’ve made a mistake, or a friend not texting you back may lead you to think they’re not talking to you. However, before you accept thoughts like this, which will fuel your anxiety, ask yourself whether the thought is a fact or an opinion. If it’s an opinion, you may be getting anxious for nothing.
Often, when we get anxious about things, we’re making a negative prediction about what will happen. For example, you might be anxious about going to a party on your own because you think no-one will talk to you. However, if you test this out, it’s likely that you’ll prove yourself wrong, showing you that there was nothing to be anxious about in the first place.
Anxiety is an uncomfortable emotion and many people fall into the trap of avoiding the thing or situation they fear. However, when you avoid situations, you’re not dealing with your anxiety. So try facing your fear instead of avoiding it. It’s likely you’ll feel anxious at first, but if you repeatedly face it, your body adjusts to the thing you fear and your anxiety naturally reduces.
When you’re feeling anxious, doing something that ‘fills your mind’ can be helpful. When trying out this technique, find a quiet place, close your eyes and count backwards until you feel your anxiety subside. If you don’t find that this helps, try something a little more complicated, like counting back from 100 in 3s. Many people find that they can’t continue to worry when they’re focused on subtracting the numbers.
Another way to calm your anxiety and stop it spiralling out of control is by doing the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 method. Start by naming:
This grounding technique (which you can follow step-by-step on Instagram), encourages you to focus on your senses, which will help to bring your attention back to the present, distract you from your worried thoughts and help to reduce your anxiety.
