Anxiety is not simply a case of worrying too much

So what exactly is it and how can you cope?

Anxiety is described in psychology as an emotion characterised by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure.

Everyone at some point can relate to one if not all of the above, so do we all suffer anxiety? The answer is yes, everyone has feelings of anxiety at some stage of their life. Teenagers taking exams, job interviews or doctor's appointments can bring out uneasiness and fear in anyone.

However, some people find these feelings harder to control than others and struggle with them on a daily basis.

How does anxiety feel?

The feeling itself is often used to describe when we feel uptight, irritable, nervous, tense or wound up. Along with these thoughts come several physical sensations:

• Increased heart rate
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Muscular tension
• Sweating
• Trembling
• Breathlessness
• Possibility of panic attacks

How does it affect you?

Someone who doesn't struggle with anxiety on a daily basis may find it hard to understand the problem and think - why don't they think about something else? That is the problem, a severe sufferer cannot! So, what is it like for them - how would they describe it:

• Struggling with restless nights, tossing and turning in bed
• Over-thinking everything especially at night time, causing fears to become reality in what sleep you get
• The constant feeling of waiting on something and constantly wondering why
• A hyper-awareness of everyone and everything around you, causing a lack of confidence and self doubt
• Feeling like you're always on the edge, thinking too much and caring too much
• The want to fix a problem that doesn't even exist, questioning your every move "Did I lock the door?!
• An internal voice constantly telling you that you will fail
• Constantly trying to put on a brave face, then breaking down and crying in private as you feel you're on your own and nobody will understand how you feel

How can you reduce anxiety?

There are many different ideas that have been put forward by experts to help soothe the symptoms and help an individual cope with anxiety. Here are some of the most prominent techniques:

Take a deep breath. Deep diaphragmatic breathing is a key anxiety-reducing technique that puts in to place the body’s relaxation response. Slowly inhale to a 4 second count, filling your belly first and then your chest. Gently hold that for another 4 seconds, then slowly exhale again to a 4 second count, repeat this several times.

Accept the fact that you're anxious. This can be tough to get your head around as you WILL KNOW you're anxious. However you need to accept that it is just a feeling like any other and just an emotional reaction. Many people suffering try to think their way out of it, 'how can I fix it?' 'what if I change this or do that?', however this will just add to the problem. Accepting anxiety is not a cure but it is a coping strategy.

Use positive self-talk. Anxiety has the effect of producing a lot of very negative internal and external conversation. Try to give yourself more positive statements, help yourself through it. "I know this anxiety feels bad, but I have techniques to manage it and it will go away".

Question your thoughts. When feeling anxious your mind will run away with itself, thinking up ludicrous outcomes that would never happen, yet you will still worry about them and increase your anxiety. So, remind yourself that these are outlandish and question the very nature of your worries. Is your thought realistic? Could it actually happen? If the worst was to happen, would that be so bad? These will then allow your mind to work on reality rather than things that don't need to be worried about.

Focus on the here and now. A lot of anxiety starts with individuals thinking about what 'could' happen in the future and spiralling down from there. Once this starts, a sufferer will then obsess about this getting worse. Instead, stop, do the breathing exercise and start to give your full attention to what is happening now. Focusing on the present allows an individual to manage the situation better.

Concentrate on meaningful activities. This is a similar method but a technique of taking your mind off the anxiety. Try to think, what would you be thinking of now if you weren't feeling anxious? If you were about to go out - go out, if you were about to call your mum - call your mum. This allows you to pass over the anxiety, as sitting obsessing about it will not help.

If it leads to a panic attack what should you do?

If worse comes to worse and you have a panic attack, acceptance is the key. You need to allow yourself to understand that they don't control you. If you were to have one, it WILL pass, and the symptoms are not a sign of anything harmful, they are simply a result of your anxiety.

It is key not to try and think of other things and distract yourself, just go with it and try to keep doing what you were doing. Confront the fear and you will see that it is not as bad as you're fearing. Once the panic attack begins to pass, focus again on the things around you and continue as you were. The best thing of all is to have company, and allow them to reassure you that everything will be fine.

How can you help someone with anxiety?

Above anything anxiety is all about caring. It’s the need to never hurt somebody's feelings and not wanting to do something wrong. More than anything else, it’s the pressure on a person willing to be accepted and liked - making them try too hard at times.

Anxiety levels can can become severe and so if you would like to find out more information or if you need some help, visit the NHS website where they have lots of advice and helpful self-assessments. The more you know about the problem, the easier it is to cope.

So, when you find people who understand this, they are the ones that can help you through it. The realisation then appears that this may be a battle that you face each day, but it is not a battle that you have to face alone.