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Anxiety is a feeling, based on a perception of danger (real or imaginary) that prepares you physically to deal with the danger through the stimulation action of adrenaline. The anxiety you feel is real, and it is not in your imagination. The physical feelings and sensations of anxiety actually happen to you. They can be very strong. Many of the symptoms are somatic (feelings of choking, dizziness, feeling light-headed, face flushed, numbness or tingling, wobbliness in legs, etc.) Other physical symptoms can include heart racing or pounding, indigestion, chest pains, butterflies or cramps in the stomach, breathing difficulties, choking sensations, dizziness, blurred vision, blushing, wobbly legs, or a fear of dying. In serious cases of prolonged anxiety, there can even be gastrointestinal upsets and problems, like ulcers, can be exacerbated. The chances are that these are all symptoms of anxiety.
Anxiety can also affect you mentally, and in your behaviour. Anxiety can accompany some other conditions, like depression, or be the basis of, or add to, other conditions, like phobias or compulsions. If you have taken some time off work, then you might become fearful that this will affect your job, or chances of promotion, or that you might be judged unfairly. This can increase low self-esteem and reduce your ability to judge a situation well. Your anxiety may thus escalate.
It is also very important to relax as well. This helps you to re-balance your basic body functioning (Autonomic Nervous System), which often gets overstressed. For most people suffering from anxiety or under stress.
It is very difficult to relax for 2 main reasons:
(1) They (think they) don’t have the time.
(2) They are so stressed (full of stress hormones) that they just cannot relax easily.
It is therefore necessary to ‘build-in’ a programme of relaxation (ideally once or twice a day for 20 minutes) and this should be done sometime after you have done your exercise routine.
The many various relaxation techniques that we look at in a moment all have their own claimants: visualization, relaxation, prayer, humour, biofeedback, tai chi, massage and meditation are some of the choices. Most carry a significant feature: increased self-awareness.
Increased Self-Awareness:
There is another method of ‘tapping’ into the body’s own resources: through increased self-awareness, especially related to your anxiety. This is also method that can be applied to many different conditions. For anxious people, it is particularly effective. In Anxiety Management courses, promoted by various departments of various NHS Trusts, one of the first ‘techniques’ is to look at different forms of breathing, relaxation & imagination exercises. These all carry self-awareness as an essential component.
There are many other different ways to relax; here are several suggestions:
Breathe:
One of the most powerful ways to impact your emotions and the involuntary nervous system is through your breathing. If you are stressed or startled or angry, stop, close your eyes and focus your breathing. Inhale slowly through your nose, directing the air deep into your chest and belly. Then exhale slowly through your mouth. Repeat this 5-10 times and you will see how this simple technique works. Don’t stop breathing – properly.
Music:
Certain types of music are very soothing and relaxing: Mozart, Chopin, some Bach, Boccherini, Albinoni, etc. Try to get some CDs or tapes and listen to these in the car, or at home, instead of the radio. Alternatively tune your car radio to Radio 3 or Classic FM rather than the news or pop music.
Warm Water:
This is very relaxing. Go for Radox-type baths, a nice long soak in the bath with a candle and some background music. Or get yourself to the nearest jacuzzi, maybe even in your lunch hour. Hydrotherapy is also a very well-established relaxation treatment.
Massage
is also an excellent form of relaxation. It does not particularly matter what type of massage, but aroma-therapy massages are now quite popular and fairly readily available. They will usually cost between £20-30 but it is an excellent investment to kick-start you into a better pattern of relaxation and self-care. Ask your partner for a foot-massage as you watch TV together. Sometimes a bit of self-massage helps: first do the scalp; then the back of the neck; then one shoulder after another; then those tense muscles at the top of the chest towards the shoulder; and then those by the collar bones; can all be massaged by yourself, taking only a minute or two, whilst at work, and without any embarrassment.
Autogenic Therapy:
I often teach people the principles of a form of Autogenic Therapy, a form of relaxation that was designed for people with hypertension, and works using a script and an image for the various parts of the body. The advantage of learning something like this system is that you can do it anywhere and without any special equipment. You can get a book that teaches you, or there are special therapists (in Edinburgh).
Breaks
are also important. You have scheduled tea-breaks at work: so take them. Don’t work on through. You should have a half-hour minimum lunch break, by law: take it. Get out of the office or workplace. Don’t pass up on holidays, or time in lieu. If you work from home: take 5 minutes every hour – as a minimum – and a lunch break away from your work. Arrange for quality time away, mini-breaks, long weekends, or whatever. Anything less than this is basically counter-productive in the long term.
Reading, watching films or TV, listening to music or the radio, can also be very relaxing – in relatively small doses. It is best to have a regular routine and stick to it: reading the paper on the way to work; or watching the news or a favourite TV show at a set time.
Keep a Journal:
Writing in a diary or journal is one of the best self-help methods you can use. Put down new sights and smells, new experiences of any kind. Note down things that you have done during the day and how you felt doing them. Especially write about your feelings. Write every day, if possible. It may help to write at the same time every day, maybe after dinner or before you get ready for bed. Write for yourself only. Try not to censure it. Don’t worry about the spelling or punctuation. You are the only person who should ever read it.
