It is natural for everyone to feel worried during stressful situations, but if that feeling stays and interferes with your regular life, you may have anxiety. People can experience it differently; some may feel the physically effects such as sweating while others may feel the mental effects such as feeling nervous. No matter what you’re feeling, we want to support you, so here are our 5 top tips on how to handle anxiety.
1. Talk to Someone
If you’re struggling with anxiety, it is important to talk to someone. Find someone you trust and let them know how you’re feeling. They could help you understand why you are feeling this way and reassure you that this feeling will pass. However, if you don’t feel comfortable speaking to someone you know, you can always reach out to a support service. Anxiety UK is an anonymous online service that offers personal support and advice to anyone struggling with anxiety. You may find that simply talking to yourself out loud about your thoughts can cause you think more slowly and this may help calm you down as well.
2. Breathing Techniques
There are many breathing techniques you can do to help calm you down and reduce your anxious feeling. The 4-4-4 breathing, also as known as box breathing, is one of the easiest methods to do. It involves taking a breath in for 4 seconds and holding this in for 4 seconds, then exhale for 4 seconds. A few rounds of this will help to slow your breathing down and encourage your body to relax. Another approach is the lion’s breath, which involves sitting in a chair or on the floor with your hands on your knees or flat on the ground. Firstly, you will spread your fingers wide and inhale through your nose. Then you open your mouth, stick out your tongue, and extend it down to your chin. Finally do a big exhale and push the air across your tongue and make a ‘ha’ sound from depth of your belly. Once finished this, take a short break before starting again. It’s recommended to repeat this cycle several times.
3. Physical Exercise
Getting out of your current situation by exercising can help you to focus your mind on the physical movement and distract you from your anxious thoughts. As your body releases endorphins when doing exercise, it can also help to improve your mood. If you’re not a fan of exercising, you don’t necessarily need to do any high impact activities, a simple walk can do the trick.
4. Hobbies and Activities
Another way to help you distract you from your thoughts is by spending time on your hobbies and activities such as arts and crafts, playing games or sports. Immersing yourself in something you enjoy will let you relax and experience pleasure that isn’t associated with your everyday routine.
5. Socialise
Spending time socialising with people you trust, such as friends and family, can help you relax and promote feelings of laughter and togetherness. It’s been proven that your body releases endorphins during positive social contact, similar to the response after exercise, giving you a boost of happiness, while reducing anxiety.
Learn more about our charity campaign, ‘Someone To Talk To.’ We offer free one-on-one therapy sessions to support children who have experience anxiety.
References
https://www.summahealth.org/flourish/entries/2023/12/five-surprising-health-benefits-to-socializing-with-others#:~:text=Socializing
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/how-to-cope-with-anxiety#8-long-term-strategies
https://www.verywellhealth.com/box-breathing-8423967#:~:text=Box%20breathing%2C%20also%20known%20as,%2C%20hold%2C%20exhale%2C%20hold
https://www.healthline.com/health/breathing-exercise#lions-breath
https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/
