Charlotte's Blog

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Anxiety can affect anyone; it can manifest differently for everyone, and the level of anxiety experienced can vary greatly even having an enormous impact on your quality of life. Fortunately, there are ways to manage anxiety, even if it feels out of control and there are strategies you can try to manage your anxiety. Here are some for you to try:

 

Controlled Breathing - when you feel anxious your breathing becomes faster and shallower. Consciously take deep slow breaths, count to 4 as you breathe in, hold for 4 then count to 5 as you breathe out slowly like a sigh.

 

Progressive Muscle Relaxation - slowly tense and then relax each of your muscle groups from your toes to your head, try to hold the tension for 3 seconds and then release.

 

Manage ‘what if thinking’ – are you just thinking of every bad thing that could happen? Allow yourself to think about positive things happening to you.

 

Small steps - avoiding what causes anxiety may provide short term relief but it can make you more anxious in the long term. Try approaching something that makes you anxious even in a small way, small steps are still steps forward.

 

Be kind to yourself – what you tell yourself you believe, think about how you talk to yourself and talk to yourself in a kind and supportive way, like you would a friend. Try not to be your own biggest critic.

 

Dealing with worry - it’s hard to stop worrying entirely so set aside some time each day for ‘worry time’ and remind yourself to only worry at worry time. A simple I’ll worry about that later can prevent you from becoming consumed by worries all day.

 

Lifestyle – gentle exercise, healthy eating, spending time in nature or being with family and friends are all effective ways of reducing anxiety and improving your wellbeing. 

 

Ask for help – it is not weakness to need support, if anxiety is overwhelming you or dominating your life seek professional help.