Let's talk about this, anxiety

What is anxiety?
Everyone gets anxious. It's the feeling we have when faced with something we're frightened of. Exams are a good example. We all worry about them, we tell ourselves "I know I'm going to fail", our heartbeat and breathing speed up as we walk into the hall to find our seat.

Ask yourself..

• Do you get anxious or worried a lot of the time? Do you feel constantly on edge?
• Do you get anxious about stuff other people are cool about?
• Have you started to avoid situations that make you anxious?
• Is it starting to get in the way of your life?

Don't beat yourself up. Sometimes our anxiety is triggered off by a difficult event in our lives. Divorce. Death. Illness. Bullying.
Other symptoms include feeling frightened, finding it hard to concentrate, difficulty sleeping and/or eating, feeling irritable. Some people experience panic attacks.

How to deal with it:

Deep breathing, it so easy, my counsellor calls it the wonder three, its just three seconds in and three seconds out through the nose then wait three seconds then try again. Try breathing using your tummy and not your chest as it will encourage deeper breaths apparently, I do this for around 5 minutes.

I know its hard but avoid caffeine, alcohol and cigarettes. These make your mind more awake and you don't want that when you are anxious as it means you are overthinking more and more likely to become anxious.

Exercise is a really good way to relieve stress. the definition of health is to be in a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and active leisure is the best way to do this.

Try to stop fixating on the bad stuff. For every negative thought chuck in a positive one, this is the one I struggle with most, self esteem isn't really my thing, its another one I need to focus on but it really does help, especially if it is a complement from someone else

Make a list of all the things you're stressing over. Try fixing one a week. Or maybe one a month. Take your time, go slow.

If you feel like you need any extra guidance, remember I am not a professional then below are some links to websites I found helpful

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Anxiety/Pages/Introduction.aspx

http://www.youngminds.org.uk/for_children_young_people/whats_worrying_you/anxiety

http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/anxiety-and-panic-attacks/#.Vo_ayTYrHIU


Love you guys.
Becky xx