Ten Tips To Help With Anxiety

General Anxiety Disorder is the most common mental health issue in the UK, torturing at least 5 percent of the population. Below are 10 tips to help you live a liberated and anxiety-free life.

Controlled breathing 

Anxiety is the way our body responds to the warning signals in our brain. Red flag messages are sent by our amygdala, and the alarm bell is raised to notify the rest of our body that we are in danger. The amygdala stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, which then triggers the release of adrenaline. As our heart rate increases, we begin to breathe more heavily, our muscles tense up, and our body starts to sweat to cool us down. We become physically agitated as our body optimises itself to fight or to take flight.

Deep breathing helps to counteract this process by relaxing our muscles and releasing the tension. It allows us space to think properly, as opposed to the distortion of thoughts that occur when we become anxious.

Take a deep breath in through your nose for the count of 4, and then through pursed lips exhale for the count of 8. The exhaling part of the exercise is key in relaxing your muscles and releasing tension. Ensure that the breathing process throughout is controlled, such that by the end of the count of 8 you have emptied your lungs. Repeat this process 5 times and notice the change in your physiology.

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