Anxiety is really difficult to deal with because it can cause physical changes in your body and may even affect thoughts and feelings, which in turn affects behaviour. We feel anxious or nervous when we think something bad/negative might happen or when we can't control our circumstances. Unfortunately, sometimes the physical arousal that is taking place can hinder performance and the ability to communicate clearly.
So, what can you do???
First, you need to take a look at how your body reacts. You may notice:
- rapid breathing
- tight stomach
- sweating
- heart beating fast
- tight muscles
You need to recognise how your body responds to anxiety so that you can identify
when it is happening, catch it early and implement the best strategies
to calm down and cope.
The first step is to STOP! You need to stop thinking about
what is causing your anxiety and you need to calm down. You can do
this by:
- walking away;
- slow breathing exercises (breathe in.. wait/hold… breathe
out, repeat);
- exercising;
- systematically relaxing your muscles;
- imagining another place/time where you can relax (e.g. Imagine you are at the beach, listening to the ocean with the wind in your hair…);
- telling yourself to "RELAX"; and/or
- having a drink of water.
Once you are calm you need to approach the stressor/s in a strategic way.
- Challenge your thoughts - Have you placed
too much weight on the situation? Ask yourself, "What is the
worst thing that could happen?" Put it into perspective.
- Resolve the issue by PROBLEM-SOLVING - Perhaps the issue
needs a new perspective and a fresh approach. Make a list
of the ways you could combat it and choose the best option.
OR, sometimes it may be helpful to break it up into smaller,
more manageable chunks and deal with it step at a time. When
you do this, you will feel less overwhelmed and more empowered
each time you achieve a small goal toward the end result.
- Confront your fear! The more you run away from a problem,
the harder it will be to overcome. Face your fears and attack
the problem in a purposeful and strategic manner. The more
you challenge your fears, the less anxious you will be about
confronting them next time.
- Talk to someone. Often if you unload your burden to a friend
or family member, you will feel better. It is important to
have support around you. Sometimes other people will be able
to offer you suggestions that you may not have thought of,
offer practical help or give a different view point which
in turn changes your perspective.
- If it is a conflict with someone, you need to discuss
it with them calmly and tell them how you
feel. Allow that person to also tell you how he/she
feels and together work out a solution that works. (You may
need to compromise!)
- Keep a journal about your feelings and write down when you
feel anxious, what triggers these feelings, what you are thinking
at the time, how you calmed down and your thoughts about the
event afterwards. Keep track and monitor patterns.
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In order to manage anxiety, you need to identify how it affects
you physically, learn how to calm down and
finally, work out your strategies for tackling the stressors.
If you find that anxiety is a big problem in your life, you should
see your school counsellor or family doctor.
Comments
I am a naturally a real
I am a naturally a real stresser. I always have so much going on in my life that sometime i forget to take a moment just to relax! Sometimes i can feel very anxious when i know i have a busy week ahead or i know lots of assessment is coming up for uni. The best thing to do is just take a break, relax and re-group. This is a great article!!! Evn us on the WAGN team struggle with some of these issues.