Anxiety is one of the most common mental health conditions in the UK. In fact, according to Mind, 6 in 100 people are diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder each and every week, and this barely scratches the surface of the challenges people face.
Overcoming anxiety is something that people may require professional help with, but you can still start working towards improvements without speaking to a professional. So, how do you deal with anxiety and what are the best self-care methods to try? Let’s find out.
How to deal with anxiety
Contacting a therapy provider, like NOSA CBT, is one of the single best ways to start improving the anxiety you experience, but there are steps that you can take to improve the situation for yourself.
Like with any mental health recovery process, it’s likely that you will need to use more than one of these techniques to improve your situation. Thankfully, though, they don’t take much effort and will quickly become part of your regular routine.
1. Talk about your anxiety
While it can be hard, talking is an excellent way to improve mental health issues like anxiety. Talking gives you the chance to articulate the things that make you anxious, enabling you to examine the way you think and learn about the thoughts of others.
Even if the person you talk to can’t provide all of the answers, simply having someone show that they care can go a long way towards improving anxiety. This is especially true for issues like social anxiety.
It’s worth looking for someone you can trust when you want to talk about anxiety, as this will make it much easier to open up. If you don’t have someone you feel you can talk to about anxiety in your personal life, you can contact organisations like the Samaritans to talk to someone friendly and caring.
2. Work on your physical health
Your physical health and mental health share a strong bond, with the state of your body having a strong influence on the way you feel. For example, it can be almost impossible to control your thoughts and overcome feelings of anxiety when you are very tired, but a night or two of good sleep will make it much easier.
Alongside sleep, the diet you enjoy and the exercise you do also impact your mental health. Eating regular meals will keep your blood sugar levels up, making it far easier to keep your mood positive. Likewise, exercise makes you feel good because it releases endorphins in your body that create positive feelings.
In short, looking after your physical health is a very good way to improve your mental health and work on issues like anxiety.
3. Manage your worries and stresses
Keeping on top of the things that make you worry or feel stress and anxiety is essential for many people. The feelings of anxiety you experience will only improve if you take the time to solve the problems that cause them, and this can start with small life changes that won’t push you beyond your comfort zone.
Start by setting aside some time each week to deal with the things that cause your anxiety. If you live with social anxiety, for example, you could spend time learning about the methods that other people use to overcome their anxiety in social settings.
4. Learn progressive muscle relaxation
It’s all too easy to feel like your emotions take control during moments of anxiety. Strong feelings like this are incredibly difficult to influence once you begin to feel them. Although not necessarily a long term solution, progressive muscle relaxation is a technique that offers a way to de escalate anxiety symptoms.
The NHS provides great advice to help you to learn progressive muscle relaxation techniques that help with anxiety and stress. It’s a good idea to practice this sort of method when you feel good and at ease, as this will prepare you to use it when you feel anxiety building.
5. Learn to practice mindfulness
Mindfulness is a simple idea; focus on the present moment and what you are doing with it. Rather than rushing to get things done, you take them slowly, keeping your mind focused on the task you are performing at any given moment.
For some, working to be mindful can reduce their day-to-day stress and anxiety, while also giving them the chance to enjoy living in the moment. Of course, though, this method doesn’t work for everyone, and it’s worth taking a different approach if mindfulness makes it harder to cope with your anxiety.
6. Peer support and alternative therapies
Yoga, meditation, and herbal treatments are just a few examples of the alternative therapy options you have for anxiety. Options like this are unlikely to solve your anxiety problems on their own, but they can ease your anxiety and make it easier to apply the methods you learn with your therapist.
Peer support is another good tool that falls well in line with alternative therapies. Working with other people who are experiencing anxiety enables you to share ideas and methods, while also supporting one another on your mental health journeys. Most cities are home to support groups filled with people who have a similar struggle to you.
7. Contact an anxiety therapy provider
Contacting a professional anxiety therapy provider comes with all of the benefits outlined in this article. You will have someone to talk to who can provide you with methods to help with your anxiety, while also giving you access to alternative therapies that might help with the anxiety problems you face.
Here at NOSA CBT, we specialise in providing therapy to those with anxiety and can work with a wide variety of anxiety-related issues. This includes OCD, Hoarding, Specific Phobias, Health Anxiety, Social Anxiety, PTSD/C-PTSD, Panic/Agoraphobia, and GAD/Worry.
If you have tried the methods in this article and are still struggling with anxiety or simply want to get professional help, please give our friendly team a call or email and we will be happy to help you to find the right therapy path for you.
How to deal with anxiety on your own
Thanks to how common anxiety is in the UK, there are a lot of resources available around the web to help you to deal with anxiety on your own. This also means that there are a lot of services and people who are also willing to help you, though.
While you can improve your anxiety and make your life better without any help, you may feel you require the help of a professional therapist to give you advice and tips along the way.