At some stage of our lives, everyone will feel anxious when faced with a difficult situation. Anxiety is usually associated with worrying about future events and it becomes an issue when it prevents you from enjoying normal life experiences.

Anxiety is a natural emotion which is adaptive and important in our lives.

When faced with a possibly dangerous situation, we have a fight or flight response. The feeling of anxiety prepares us to ‘fight’ a threat or to ‘fly’ away from it. All organisms have this response as a component of survival. People who have anxiety problems become anxious more easily and more intensely than others in similar situations.

Anyone can benefit from learning to control his or her anxiety as everyone experiences the emotion.

Staying away from anxiety-provoking situations only makes people feel more anxious and helpless in the long run. It is helpful to learn how to respond to feelings of anxiety and ways to reduce it.

What to do when you’re feeling anxious:

1. Eat and exercise; When people feel anxious, they often neglect themselves. Remember to eat regular meals and to get into an exercise routine. This works twofold as it will improve your overall health and well being.
2. Relaxation; One way in which anxiety expresses itself is physiologically, i.e increased heart rate, excessive sweat etc. Relaxation controls these symptoms. Try deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation. Go for a walk, take a bath, do a class like Yoga or Tai Chi. Learn to meditate.
3. Talk; Bottling things up worsens anxiety. Talk to a friend about what’s making you feel this way. Discuss ways the issue can be resolved.
4. Control your worry; Pick a time and a place to do your worrying every day. Then let go of your worry and get on with your day.
5. Get plenty of sleep; Go to bed at the same time every night and try to relax before you go to sleep. Having a bed time routine, such as brushing your teeth or changing into your PJs, can help you fall asleep easier and faster.
6. Avoid drug and alcohol abuse; At first, these drugs might numb your anxiety but in the long run, drugs and alcohol can potentially make anxiety symptoms worse.
7. Avoid caffeine; Caffeine may increase anxiety symptoms because it stimulates your nervous system.
8. Stay active; Don’t be tempted to stay in bed or at home. Go to work, do the shopping. Try to stick to your normal routine.
9. Confront the things that make you anxious; You can do this by first picturing yourself doing these things. This gets you used to the idea of confronting what makes you anxious before facing them. If you find yourself getting really anxious, practice a relaxation technique while holding the image in your head. Rate the level of anxiety from 0 to 10 and keep track of it. You will notice that your anxiety doesn’t always stay at high levels. Wait some time, without running away from the situation, and it will pass.

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For more help about anxiety, arrange a counseling session with the experts at Advantage Psychology.