Has Anxiety Taken Control? 5 Tips to Regain Control
Did you know, women experience the highest levels of panic attacks and anxiety related health issues?
Pressures arising from the work place, financial stress and relationships with loved ones are all contributing factors to name a few. Though the solution can be simple, many women choose to remain in the dark and not seek professional help and support.
Why is it, that women believe they have to manage their anxiety on their own? Also, why do so many feel ashamed or embarrassed about asking for help or seeking support?
Sometimes, the symptoms may not be all that glaring for all to see as they develop gradually over a period of time. Since we all experience some form of anxiety at different points in our lives, it becomes difficult to know how much is too much or when it has started to control our life.
What is normal anxiety?
Normal anxiety usually has a time limit and often has connection with certain stressful situations or events, including a job interviews for example. However when the symptoms become more persistent and has no obvious connection to a particular challenge. It will begin to affect the quality of your life, for example avoiding social gatherings, reduced quality of sleep or insomnia, digestive issues such as stomach aches or diarrhoea.
Every person will experience anxiety with its own unique features, but they will inevitably experience a combination of physical, behavioural, and emotional signs that will increase or get worse over time. A person experiencing a panic attack may have the physical symptoms of; feeling hot or cold flushes, a burden or heaviness in the chest, as well as a racing heart. Or they may experience the psychological symptoms such as; continuous fearful and obsessive thinking over a matter. Changes in their behaviour, such as avoiding particular situations or people that seem stressful.
We understand when experiencing a bad toothache, ignoring the pain only leads to the pain getting worse. The same analogy applies to mental health issues such as anxiety and panic attacks. Treatment for anxiety concerns needs to be personalised to address your specific issues in order to provide effective support and guidance.
What to do when feeling anxious.
Here are five simple exercises you can do to relax your mind and help you regain control of your thoughts.
- Focus on your breathing. Deep breathing will help you calm down. Keep it simple, focus on inhaling and exhaling, slowly and evenly . This will help you to slow down and re-center your mind.
- Try the 3-3-3 rule. Look around you and name three things you can see. Then, name three sounds you can hear. Finally, move three parts of your body. This mental trick brings you back to the present moment.
- Move your body. Stand up, shake it off, take a walk or throw way some rubbish into the bin. Any action that will interrupt your train of thought will help.
- Get a second opinion. Text or call a friend or family member, speaking your worries out loud to another person can help you see them for what they are.
- Watch a funny video. Laughter is a fantastic for settling an anxious mind.
From my experience working with clients that have anxiety issues, I understand that each person’s needs are unique. Working together as a team we will explore all your physical, psychological and emotional symptoms of anxiety, to help develop strategies that will assist you in understanding and how manage your situation more effectively.
Summoning the courage and taking bold steps to seek help to address your anxiety with a professional no matter how small, embarrassing or insignificant the issue may feel, the sooner you can regain control of your life.
