Anxiety relief

What can I do to help myself?

The first step is to understand how anxiety works. Anxiety is a mixture of physical and mental symptoms. They are part of what psychologists call the 'fight or flight' response. When the body is under threat it automatically prepares to either defend itself or run.

Relaxation

To manage your anxiety you must first break the cycle. One way of doing this is to reduce the severity of physical symptoms by practising relaxation techniques.

There are two types of relaxation exercise: guided fantasy and muscle tension. It's best to try them both to find out which one suits you best. Relaxation isn't an immediate fix for the problem. It's a skill that must be learned, and (like all skills) is only acquired through practice.

Exercise

Another strategy for breaking the physical symptoms of the vicious cycle is taking aerobic exercise. This is exercise that's low impact - not involving carrying heavy weights or sudden exertion - and acts mainly on the heart. Any gentle physical activity that leaves the heart slightly racing will help.

By effectively giving the heart exercise it will, like any other muscle, become stronger. A stronger heart will be less prone to the kind of pounding that can make the physical symptoms so unpleasant. Exercise will also help to release some of the tension that builds up and can fuel the anxiety.

Diet

Caffeine is present in many soft drinks, not just tea and coffee. Try to cut out caffeine as much as possible, since it can set up its own vicious cycle. It can have an effect on the heart (speeding it up) and make you pass more urine - both signs of general anxiety. It can also disturb your sleep, another sign of anxiety.

If you're tired you'll be less in control of your emotions and more likely to feel anxious. Trying to overcome tiredness by drinking more caffeine only makes the long-term problem worse.

Say "no"

This can be the very best therapy. It's simply too easy to take on too much. You can find yourself in a situation where you have too many demands on your time. Often, no one thing is causing you anxiety. But as you try to fit more and more into your life, you can become slightly anxious about each task.

This anxiety can build up, bringing you to breaking point. It's as bad to feel a little anxious about a lot of things, as it is to feel very anxious about one big thing. Monitor your mood and thoughts

Sometimes it can be useful to think of your anxiety in the same way that an asthmatic might think of their breathing. We all breathe - just as we all experience anxiety at some point. Just as asthmatics will often check their breath capacity regularly, it can be useful to check your anxiety level regularly. You can do this by using the mood monitoring technique - developing the skill of spotting problems before they become unmanageable.