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5 tips for managing anxiety

Your heart starts beating faster in response to a stressful situation, or perhaps you feel paralyzed with fear, perhaps you continuously worry. Maybe this feeling is familiar to you, maybe it’s not, but it can be crippling and cause a ripple effect into various aspects of your life.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is unpleasant, and occasional bouts of anxiety are natural, and can even sometimes be productive in that it can help you notice when something doesn’t seem quite right. However, when anxiety becomes persistent and pervasive that begins to disrupt your life, including work, school, friends/relationships, is when it becomes a problem.

What does it look like?

Anxiety looks different to everyone who experiences it. Our life experiences, worldview, etc. effect how it presents. Some common symptoms include feeling restless, on edge, irritable, difficulty concentrating, controlling emotions, fatigue, etc.

Ok, so what can you do about it?

5 Tips for Managing Anxiety:
1. Move! It’s important to find movement that resonates with you, maybe that’s yoga, maybe it’s running, swimming, etc. whatever movement takes you out of your head. How does it work though? In short, exercise helps regulate the brain and the chemicals in the brain, helping control the brain’s response to stress and anxiety.
2. Breathe! When stressed or anxious you breathe often only from the upper lungs (close to the collarbones). Breathing fully, from your diaphragm, think belly breath, helps calm the nervous system and tones the Vagus nerve. There are a variety of breaths that can work here, however simply breathing with intention – noticing your in breaths and out breaths is often enough to do the trick.
3. Food! Hydrate (water) and nutricious food can go a long way to providing a healthy gut. New research has demonstrated a link between gut health and anxiety. It’s ok to indulge occasionally, the key here is moderation.
4. Stay Present! Anxiety often takes us to the future – the what if scenario. Give yourself back the control and bring yourself back to the present. An easy way to do that is to breathe or short of that notice and name the colours in your immediate surroundings.
5. Gratitude! Are you in a positive or negative mindset? It’s easy to spiral into the negative mindset, notice if you can take a little time every day to focus on something positive with intention. Gratitude practice can work really well here – what are you grateful for and why? Helps to rewire the brain and lift mood.

Overall, you need to find what fits and resonates for you. This is going to look different for everyone. When it starts to get overwhelming and your coping strategies aren’t “cutting it” anymore, then it’s time to seek out professional help.

If you ever feel that you are at immediate risk call 911. All hour Crisis line through the Distress Centre of Ottawa or by calling (613)722-6914.