The first step is to admit that you have an issue with anxiety. Then you can start to make a plan and seek help. There are lots of techniques that help with anxiety. Some of the most useful are:
- Breathe or learn to breathe effectively so your body can relax
- Challenge your thoughts…this may require specialist help to bring them to light and help you to identify what has and is been causing these thoughts
- Release the anxiety or anger…learning how to acknowledge, accept and release the thoughts, emotions and feelings
- Visualization through meditation or lucid dreaming
- Lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise, work/life balance, relationships
- Finding a supportive therapist to help you on your journey
- Medication works for some people
Everyone feels anxious now and then. It’s a normal emotion. For example, you may feel nervous when faced with a problem at work, before taking a test, or before making an important decision.
Anxiety disorders are different, though. They are a group of mental illnesses, and the distress they cause can keep you from carrying on with your life normally.
For people who have one, worry and fear are constant and overwhelming, and can be disabling. But with support, many people can manage those feelings and get back to a fulfilling life.
There are lots of different symptoms of anxiety and everyone has their own set of symptoms, which can look quite different from someone else’s.
The ‘classic’ symptoms of anxiety include: shortness of breath; tight chest; heart palpitations; headaches; sweating; tummy upsets; dizziness; difficulties concentrating; trembling; difficulties falling asleep and staying asleep; inability to get up in the morning; feelings of worry and even dread; feeling irritable or even angry.
Most people use coping strategies to mask their anxiety and you may be so used to using these strategies that you may not even be aware that you have some of these symptoms.
You may know exactly what is causing you to be anxious, but often the cause is deeply rooted and our logical mind is not able to identify what is going on.
So, your mind may feel that your anxiety is too much, but your body has retained some memory which has been triggered. If this is the case, you may benefit from some therapeutic support to get to the bottom of what is going on.