In 2013, there were over 8 million cases of anxiety in the UK. Anxiety is a feeling characterised by worry, tension and nervousness. In low levels, anxiety is a healthy natural response to stressful stimuli. However, excessive or chronic anxieties are mental health problems that can severely affect an individual’s overall emotional state and their day-to-day life.
Anxiety disorders are clinically diagnosed and categorised into various types. The most common anxiety disorder is known as
1. Accept that you are anxious
The first step to solving any mental health
problem is accepting the condition. It all begins with admitting to yourself
that you have a problem. Being in denial will only worsen your anxiety by
giving you one more thing to worry about.
Reflect on your anxious feelings and try to label them more accurately, whether
it’s worry, sadness or anger. From there, try and find the origin of hurtful
feelings, and you might figure out the cause of your anxiety.
2. Practise self-care and mental relaxation
One approach to lowering your overall state of anxiousness and boosting your self-esteem is to practise self-care. Allocate a bit of time each day to relax and calm your mind. There are several practices and therapies that soothe the mind into a peaceful state; some include journaling, meditation, sleep and breathing techniques.
3. Apply critical analysis in problem-solving
Anxiety indicates that your natural response to stress is overloaded. Your task is to learn to deal with pressure in a healthy way. One way to do this is to recondition your behaviour towards anxiety triggers. Ask yourself questions related to the trigger and critically evaluate any distorted thoughts. This avoids any negative bias between real information and your opinions.
This approach is the key to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). The goal is to bring about health behaviour change by avoiding negative thoughts.
4. Increase targeted exposure to perceived threats
Exposure to triggers is another way to break the anxiety cycle. It’s time to confront your anxieties rather than avoid them. Repeated exposure creates a familiarity with the anxiety-provoking situation, with time helping it to become normal. However, remember to start small and work up to tackling your bigger fears.
These tips may come in handy when dealing with anxiety, but it’s always better to have someone helping you towards recovery. Talking to a friend, spouse or an expert health psychologist goes a long way in overcoming anxiety. As a Health Psychologist, I will also be able to give you some
