Anxiety is one of our core emotions that serves a helpful function to keep us safe when we feel under threat. From an evolutionary point of view, it is essential for our very existence. Most people feel anxious at times, which is completely normal, especially during times of stress or pressure, for example with a job interview or important meeting.
Anxiety can be helpful, giving us motivation, spurring us on, keeping us alert and helping us to be aware of risk. But when anxiety takes over it can lead to feeling constantly alert, consumed by a racing mind, and impacting on daily life.
what is anxiety like?
When we experience something that we perceive to be fearful, we experience anxiety as a physiological response in the body, anxious thoughts and a range of different feelings. This is our bodies way of communicating that we do not feel safe or that something feels wrong. Understanding these warning signs helps us to make sense of our own experiences, figure out when they are becoming too much, and when we need to use some strategies to keep our anxiety under control.
Physiological symptoms of anxiety can vary from person to person and can include:
How anxiety can present in the body.
Image from HealthLine
Heart racing
Tightness of chest
Shallow breathing/shortness of breath
Feeling clammy/sweaty
Knot in the stomach
Tingling sensation
Feeling sick
Feelings of anxiety can include:
dread or fear
feeling detached from yourself or the world around you
irritability
feeling on edge
difficulty concentrating
Examples of anxious thoughts:
I am not going to be able to do this
Everyone is going to hate me
I am going to fail and all these bad things will happen
I can’t cope
Anxiety can also have an impact on behaviours. It can lead to withdrawing from others, being easily distracted or difficulties in work or social situations. Usually our behaviours are attempts to cope or stay safe but they can also unintentionally keep the problem going.
For example…..
It makes sense that if you fear making a fool of yourself at social events, then you may want to avoid them. Temporarily you feel relief but in the longer term it keeps the problem going because it prevents you from discovering anything different. In fact, the implicit message may confirm your fears ‘it’s a good job I didn’t go because I would have made a fool of myself for sure!’. Of course, the other possibility is that you do go along but engage in all sorts of safety seeking behaviours like avoiding eye contact or scrolling on your phone. These behaviours in turn create the same vicious cycle as they prevent you from fully being present and instead keep your focus on the inner worries and fears.
Tips for managing anxiety
The good news is that there are many different skills that can help to manage anxiety. Effectiveness will vary from person to person so it is helpful to experiment with different things. Here are a some strategies that can be effective in managing anxiety:
Breathing exercises
There is a strong link between our brain and our body. Feelings of anxiety heighten our physiological sense of arousal, maintaining the emotion of anxiety. Taking control of our breathing and slowing this down helps to trick our brain into a sense of relaxation and supports the regulation of our nervous system. Here are some examples:
Equal Breathing
This is a form of breathing that stems from the ancient practice of pranayama yoga. This means inhaling for the same amount of time as exhaling.
This can be practiced from a sitting or lying-down position, the most important factor is that it is comfortable.
Shut your eyes and pay attention to the way you normally breathe for several breaths.
Then, slowly count 1-2-3-4 as you inhale through your nose.
Exhale for the same four-second count.
As you inhale and exhale, be mindful of the feelings of fullness and emptiness in your lungs.
4-7-8 Breathing
This technique is a quick and simple way for a you to relax anywhere. Sit down with your back straight and the tip of your tongue on the back of your upper front teeth, then:
Breathe out through the mouth, making a whooshing sound.
Close the mouth and count to 4 while breathing in through the nose.
Count to 7 while holding the breath.
Count to 8 while breathing out through the mouth, making a whooshing sound.
Inhale, then repeat three times.
If the time periods of this breathing exercise feel too long then they can be adapted to fit you. The most important thing is that the held breath is longer than the in-breath, and the exhale is longer than the hold, for example it could be switched to 3-6-7.
Use your senses to stay present
Anxious thoughts can be incredibly distracting and consuming, leaving us detached from the present and absorbed in worry. Coming back to the present moment allows us to focus on the here and now rather than spiralling catastrophic thoughts. One helpful exercise to bring our attention to the here and now is the Five Senses Exercise:
In this moment
Notice five things that you can see. Look around you and become aware of your environment. Try to pick out something that you don’t usually notice.
Notice four things that you can hear. Listen for and notice things in the background that you don’t normally notice. It could be the birds chirping outside or an appliance humming in the next room.
Notice three things that you can touch. Bring attention to the things that you’re currently feeling, such as the texture of your clothing or the smooth surface of the table you’re resting your hands on.
Notice two things that you can smell. Bring attention to scents that you usually filter out, either pleasant or unpleasant. Catch a whiff of the pine trees outside or food cooking in the kitchen.
Notice one thing you can taste. Take a sip of a drink, a bite of fruit, or notice the current taste in your mouth.
Give it a go and see how it feels. As with any skill they can take time to practice so don’t give up after the first attempt, even if it feels a little strange and challenging. Sometimes it can help to ‘dial up’ the sensory input, like playing music, making a herbal tea, using aromatherapy and using a soft blanket or stress toy.
Change perspective
A lot of anxious thoughts centre around things that we cannot control or change (like assuming the thoughts of others, and worrying about the future) and are driven by extremes, for example ‘this is awful, I can’t stand this’ or ‘if this happens it will be a disaster’. A natural inclination is to pay more attention to the thoughts because they are unpleasant and we want to solve and get rid of them. Unfortunately this can fuel the feelings of anxiety and perpetuate it further as we rarely reach a satisfactory conclusion. One helpful way to reduce sensations of anxiety is to shift our perspective to the things that we can control and accept the factors that we can’t. For example, we can’t control the actions of others, instead we can change the focus to our own behaviours and how we respond. You could ask yourself:
If my best friend or someone I loved had this thought, what would I tell them?
Have I had experiences that tell me that this thought isn’t true all of the time?
When I am not feeling this way, would I view this situation any differently?
If I imagine looking back on this situation in five years time, will I look at it any differently?
Are there strengths or positives I am ignoring or dismissing?
When I have felt this way in the past, what did I think about that helped me to feel better?
If I were to tolerate the uncertainty of this situation, what would I be doing and thinking differently?
Talk about it
We can at times get stuck in our own heads with our anxious thoughts repeating themselves like a broken record. This then has an impact on the way that we feel and our behaviours. One way to break this cycle can be to talk to someone, whether that be a friend, family member or helpline. Seeking professional support is also a good option, especially if your attempts to cope aren’t helping and things are getting worse. There are excellent therapy options with a strong evidence base to help with anxiety in all it’s guises. You can talk to your GP about NHS options in your area or you can book a free enquiry call with us here at The Bodart Practice to see how we could help.
Resources & Self-Help
The ‘overcoming’ range of books are a great source of Cognitive-Behavioural self-help and they are written by psychologists with specialisms in different areas of an.
Free self-help guides from Northumbria University
Free self-help workbooks from CCI
Headspace meditations for anxiety
You can also check out our useful links page for more
Written by Dr Hannah Green & edits by Dr Natalie Bodart at The Bodart Practice