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Anxiety

Anxiety is a natural part of living a full and interesting life.  However, for some people it can be quite intense and interferes with their day-to-day life.  Sometimes you can feel anxious for no apparent reason, or it could be a combination of factors.

When you feel anxious, stress hormones are released into the bloodstream which can cause a range of symptoms as listed below.  All these symptoms are a normal response to anxiety, and you may experience all or just some of them at different times.

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Common symptoms of anxiety

  • Anger

  • Breathlessness

  • Difficulty concentrating

  • Feeling agitated

  • Feeling apprehensive

  • Feeling irritable

  • Feeling spaced out

  • Headaches

  • Increased heart rate

  • Often feeling there’s too little time to do too many things

  • Intense frustration

  • Muscle tension

  • Nausea and butterflies

  • Panic

  • Planning for things going wrong

  • Shaking

  • Sweating

  • Worrying about things going wrong

Learning to manage anxiety takes time.  The first step is to recognise your symptoms, then start to communicate how you feel and what helps you.  Start with small steps and try any new techniques for at least a couple of weeks.

Tips for managing anxiety

  • Set personal goals

  • Develop an action plan

  • Practice relaxation techniques

  • Share how you are feeling with people who can help you

5 4 3 2 1

5...4...3...2...1... is an excellent grounding technique for anxiety.

It gets you to think about your surroundings and helps people feel more in control.

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Look for 5 things that you can see

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Feel for 4 things you can touch 

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Listen for 3 things you can hear

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Sniff for 2 things you can smell

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And enjoy or imagine 1 thing you can taste

You can't stop the waves

But you can learn to

SURF!

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