What is anxiety
Anxiety is a measure of our mind and body’s response to a stressful or new situation. Most of us will have experienced it at some stage.
It can present as physical feelings such as a racing heart, shaking, feeling sick, breathlessness and sweating to mind racing and feelings of panic.
Often anxiety will lead to avoidance of behaviours that are known to trigger it, as the mind interprets this as a protective mechanism. This is not however a helpful solution at all, as the problem can escalate when not addressed.
Tips for anxiety management
Some useful tips like those below, may help manage day to day feelings of anxiety, but when anxiety affects becomes more troublesome, please seek professional support.
- Address triggers. What is it that makes you anxious or makes you feel anxious? Is it a situation, lack of sleep, money worries etc that causes it? Trying to work out what it is, can help then to address it
- If it is more anxious thoughts that are troubling you, change your environment. Get out. Take a walk. Listen to music. Do something active.
- Ask yourself how real the fears are. Is the event likely to actually happen? Has it happened before? You survived it last time, so it wasn’t that bad. Reframe the unhelpful thoughts into more positive ones.
- Face your fears. Often things seem worse than they actually are. When we realise they are not that bad, we are likely to reduce anxiety on repeated exposure.
- Breathe. Remember to slow your breathing down. Focus on something you can see, something you can hear, something you can smell and something you can touch. Breathe in for 4 and out for 4. Slow the breathing to slow the mind and body.
Wellbeing treatments in Worthing
At Broadwater Osteopaths we see many patients suffering with the effects of stress and anxiety. Our wellbeing team are here to help patients with physical treatments to help and also management strategies. Massage and acupuncture are common approaches patients have found of benefit alongside cranial osteopathy.
The Headspace App may also be of benefit. Check it out here.
