Mental health is as important to your general welfare as physical health. In some cases, poor mental health can lead to other health conditions. Therefore, it is important to recognise when you are struggling rather than trying to ignore it. One of the most common mental health conditions is anxiety. It can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, or background. Fortunately, there are techniques that can help you manage your anxiety symptoms.
What is Anxiety?
For most people, anxiety is a temporary feeling that occurs when they are worried about something. This may be an upcoming medical appointment or social engagement. Often, once the situation is resolved the anxiety goes away, and the affected person can relax again.
However, anxiety can become a constant presence in some people’s lives. It may occur as a result of other mental health conditions such as agoraphobia or a panic disorder. Other people may be diagnosed with general anxiety disorder. This is when people are anxious about a variety of situations, and experience constant worried thoughts.
Feeling anxious, especially for prolonged periods of time, can be exhausting and may have an impact on your physical and mental health. It may also result in feelings of isolation. Therefore, it is important to understand some methods of managing your symptoms.
Anxiety Symptoms
Many people experience worries at times. These are not always signs of anxiety, especially if you are able to concentrate on other things. Anxiety often presents as a combination of physical and mental symptoms. These can vary from person to person, but there are some common signs.
Anxiety symptoms include:
- Struggling to think of anything except worries and fears (lack of concentration)
- Trouble sleeping
- Increased heart rate or palpitations
- Breathing faster than usual
- Restlessness or feeling tense
- Lack of motivation or avoiding activities
- Sweating
- Stomach troubles
Experiencing anxiety symptoms can leave you feeling very uncomfortable. In some cases, symptoms may escalate until a person experiences a panic attack.
Noticing a Panic Attack
During a panic attack, the usual symptoms of anxiety escalate. A person having a panic attack is likely to experience a racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, full-body trembling, and dizziness. Some people may also feel a tingling in their fingers or toes, a dry mouth, and nausea.
It is worth noting that anxiety attacks and panic attacks, though similar, are not the same. Anxiety attacks occur due to a specific trigger, such as arriving at a medical appointment and feeling uncertain. Panic attacks can strike suddenly without an apparent trigger. However, panic attacks often last less time than an anxiety attack.
Types of Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety can take several forms and can be caused by various factors. Some people experience such frequent or pronounced anxiety that it classes as an anxiety disorder. Examples of anxiety disorders include:
- Agoraphobia – Meaning “fear of wide-open spaces”, this disorder is often thought of as a fear of going outside. However, it is a term that covers several fears. As well as including the fear of leaving one’s own home, agoraphobia includes a fear of open or crowded places and being in places without a clear exit.
- Social Anxiety Disorder – People with social anxiety disorder experience extreme discomfort in social situations. Some cases are linked to specific triggers, such as public speaking or performing certain tasks around others, but serious cases involve intense anxiety whenever a person is around other people.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – Known in short-form as PTSD, this is an anxiety disorder caused after a threatening event or traumatic experience (e.g. natural disaster, assault, military service, etc). People with PTSD will experience periods of intense anxiety triggered by circumstances that remind them of their trauma.
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – Contrary to popular misconceptions, OCD is not simply a desire to keep things tidy. True OCD involves extreme anxiety if certain compulsions – such as locking a door multiple times – go unsatisfied. A person with OCD is likely to feel that bad things will happen if they do not perform certain actions. For some people with OCD, leaving the house involves so many compulsions that it’s easier to stay inside to avoid anxiety.
However, anxiety can take many forms and have many triggers. As a result, there are more examples of anxiety disorders beyond this list. Further information on the different types of anxiety disorder can be found at Mental Health UK.
Managing Anxiety Symptoms
Anxiety is never a pleasant experience. It can be draining and leave you uncomfortable even once the worries have faded away. Sometimes, the main struggle is getting rid of worries in the first place. Often, anxiety may feel irrational, leaving us embarrassed or annoyed at ourselves.
One of the most important things to remember is that anxiety disorders – and other mental health conditions – are not a sign of weakness. Everyone struggles at times, and mental health concerns can affect even the most confident of people.
Furthermore, there are ways to manage your anxiety, including self-help techniques and therapies.
Breathing Exercises
One of the most recognisable symptoms of anxiety is hyperventilation, or quick breaths. Breathing becomes fast and shallow, which can increase feelings of discomfort. Taking control of your breathing can help to settle your nerves. Focus on slowing your breathing, counting to three as you breathe in, then counting to three again as you breathe out. Focusing on your breathing can also prove pleasantly distracting.
Understand Your Anxiety
When managing your anxiety, it often helps to understand the root of the problem. Consider keeping a log of when you experience anxiety. You may notice patterns that you can then address. Once you understand when and why you experience anxiety, you can put plans in place to counter these feelings. If you are receiving support from a therapist or psychiatrist, your anxiety log could help them provide further solutions.
Reach Out
When experiencing anxiety, it is important to recognise that you shouldn’t endure it alone. Friends and family may be able to help, be it with advice or a welcome distraction. Social isolation can increase the risk of anxiety, which in turn may make you more likely to further isolate yourself. Spending time with loved ones and doing things you enjoy can help to alleviate anxiety. You may also want to consider joining an online forum to get advice from other people living with anxiety. Alternatively, visiting a doctor can help signpost you towards specialist support.
Rationalise Your Worries
For many people, anxiety occurs when regular worries take over. What-if scenarios race through our minds and leave us uncomfortable and unable to focus on anything else. Sometimes, these worries may be irrational, but it can be hard to convince ourselves of this when they’re all internalised. Instead, write down your worries. Once they’re written down, they may not seem so stressful. You can also reinterpret your worries and consider whether any of them are realistic or not. It is also possible that you may identify solutions for some.
Exercise
Keeping active can improve your mental health. Regular exercise has many benefits for the body, and these include reducing anxiety. There are a few ways that exercise helps to alleviate anxiety. For starters, it provides a distraction from your worries, as you focus on your workout instead. Body motion also helps to relieve muscle tension, which can contribute to anxiety. A further benefit of exercising is that it stimulates the production of neurochemicals such as serotonin, which helps to boost your mood.
Yoga and Meditation
Somewhat connected to our previous entry, yoga and meditation are two techniques you can use to manage your anxiety. Both processes focus on an increased awareness of your mind and body in the present moment. This can make it easier to forget worries about upcoming events. Furthermore, yoga and mediation incorporate breathing exercises, which can help to manage anxiety symptoms.
Consider following a guided video.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
It can also help to get professional support to manage your anxiety. One of the main forms of therapy recommended for anxiety is cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT. The intention of CBT is to change the way you think about certain situations. It can help you identify the thought patterns that lead to negativity or anxiety and therefore avoid them. Instead, you will learn to approach your thoughts in a different way. CBT is carried out with the support of a therapist, who teaches you how to better analyse your thoughts.
Medication
For some people, self-help and therapy may not work on their own. In these situations, you may be prescribed anti-anxiety medication to help manage your anxiety symptoms. Your doctor will ensure you are properly informed about the types of medication, how long you will need to take them, and the possible outcomes of taking them. Certain antidepressants have been found to reduce anxiety symptoms. Other medications that can manage anxiety symptoms include pregabalin and diazepam.
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