Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can range from mild to severe.
At times, feeling anxious can be perfectly normal -when you're about to sit an exam or go for an interview.
But some people find it hard keep their worries under control. Their feelings of anxiety are more constant and can often affect their daily lives.
Anxiety is due to an overload of stress in the body. This then affects our thought patterns. We can start to negatively introspect about things that happened in the past (going over and over something that we said 5 years ago!) We can also negatively forecast the future. We play scenarios over and over in our head, start catastrophising and doing the 'what ifs'.
To reduce anxiety, we therefore need to reduce our stress load (cortisol) and create more serotonin (the happy hormone). The biggest change we need to make is that of our mindset - starting to focus on small positives where ever we can. This can be challenging for some and therapy may be a good place to start.
Exercise, fresh air, a healthy diet, spending time with people who you know are good for you and keeping a gratitude/what's been good diary will all help.
When you do feel overwhelmed by anxious thoughts, try challenging them. Ask yourself, is this 100% true? Will this matter a year from now? What advice would I give a friend who was having this thought? All of these can help move us back into rational control