According to Mind, “1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England” and “1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem (like anxiety and depression) in any given week in England”. Certainly right now, in the midst of a pandemic, those figures must have increased significantly due to the amount of fear caused by frightening daily statistics relating to infection and death rates shared by the media. Also, many people do not have their regular routines of work at the office and time with friends and family for that necessary support which is vital for our mental health.
Let’s look at some of the causes of anxiety. These can range from emotional trauma and unrealistically high expectations of self and others to not taking care of ourselves in the areas of sleep, nutrition, fitness and not surrounding ourselves with loved ones who make us feel great.
Here are some of the types of anxiety that exist:
Social phobia - embarrassment or humiliation in social situations
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - excessive, repetitive thoughts and behaviours
Generalised Anxiety Disorder - constant worry and physical symptoms
Panic Disorder - frequent, spontaneous attacks and avoidance
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - thoughts and experiences of horrible events
The symptoms of anxiety can include dizziness, hypertension, insomnia, heart palpitations, nausea and diarrhea and can result in longer term disease if the body is subjected to constant stress.
It is important to understand the root cause of your anxiety so that you can take steps to deal with it. In parallel, it is important to introduce stress management techniques so that you can help your body regularly access the parasympathetic state rather than the flight or fight state (sympathetic state).
I recently interviewed 11 people about their anxiety for market research. All of them indicated that it was their sense of a lack of control and not knowing the next logical step to take relating to their situation that left them feeling helpless and not taking action. Nearly all of the people I interviewed were able to take action on their situation after taking a break from their work or their regular routines and getting a change in perspective. This was sometimes enforced by the doctor who they went to see or a realisation that they needed a break from their situation.
One of the most important things to do when feeling anxious is to breathe diaphragmatically. Studies indicate just 5 minutes a day of diaphragmatic breathing reduces anxiety. Also, it is important to find activities that make you feel safe and relaxed. This will be different for each person depending on their likes and dislikes and experiences in life. Examples include yoga, tai chi, mediation, spending time with loved ones, getting good sleep or having a nap, eating a nourishing meal or asking for help from a mentor or a friend.
A great solution for helping you with your anxiety could be the routine laid out in the book “Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod. It is called SAVERS and stands for Silence, Affirmations, Visualisation, Exercise, Reading, Scribe. Here is an example of a 30-60 minute routine that you could do first thing each morning and significantly reduce anxiety:
Silence (5-10 mins) – praying, meditating, focusing on the breath
Reading (5-10 mins) – read a few pages of an inspiring book (spiritual, self-help)
Affirmations (5-10 mins) – write out what you want, who you are committed to being, what you are committed to doing to change your life
Visualisation (5-10 mins) - create a vision board and spend time looking at each image and feel what it would be like to manifest each thing in your life
Scribe - Journaling (5-10 mins) – write in a blank journal what you are grateful for
Exercise (5-10 mins) – push-ups, sit ups, yoga, pilates, a fitness youtube video
I hope these suggestions help you reduce your anxiety. Please let me know if you have any questions and don’t forget to download my free guide with a quiz to assess your lifestyle and 10 tips to help you prevent anxiety and depression.
