Mind | What is anxiety and how to soothe anxious feelings
What are anxious feelings?
It’s normal to experience anxious feelings every now and then, when your at a job interview or waiting for exam results. There is however a distinct difference when you are unable to control these feelings and they start to have an impact on your day to day life. Anxiety can present itself differently in everyone and symptoms can range from both the mental to the physical and often the impact that anxious feelings may have are easily missed or brushed aside in an attempt to ignore them.
Several Ways to Soothe anxious feelings
Whilst it is important to seek practical medical advice and confide in someone you trust if you think you may be experiencing overwhelming feelings of anxiety, below are some recommendations of activities that may help to soothe you, if only in the short term…
Take some deep breaths
At times, anxiety can present itself with rapid, shallow breathing. Try taking some deep breaths straight from your belly, helping to stimulate your body’s relaxation response, which will help to lower your heart rate and blood pressure. There are various breathing techniques which may help install calm, try: inhaling deeply for a count of 4, holding the breathe for a count of 4, exhaling for a count of 4 and repeat.
3-3-3 Rule
A technique commonly suggested with different variations to help ground and bring a sense of reality and calm when things might feel a bit overwhelming. Look around you and out loud name three things you can see, three things you can hear and three things you can reach out and feel.
Avoid Caffeine
Thought many of us believe we wouldn’t be able to function without our morning coffee and often reach for caffeine fixes throughout the day, caffeine is actually well known as an anxiety inducer. Try making a conscious decision to skip the caffeine and see if you’re able to notice a difference to how you’re feeling.
Write out your feelings
Understanding your feelings can be part of the problem. Not knowing why you feel anxious can exasperate these feelings. Writing down how you feel can help to build an understanding and work towards exploring your anxiety. Journalling can be a healthy way to deal with negative feelings and helps to reduce stress. Expressing yourself through writing can also provide an alternative when talking out loud might seem impossible.
Take a relaxing bath
Taking some time out for yourself and relaxing with a long bath can help to recharge your batteries and relax a little. Relaxing the muscles in your body with a hot bath with epsom salts can help to ease the physical tensions that anxious thoughts can cause on your body. Why not try a soothing lavender candle alongside your bath to help promote further relaxation
Planthaya Signposting Service
Here at Planthaya, we recognise that wellbeing isn’t a fad or a trend, there’s no right way to go about your wellness and it won’t all be smooth sailing, it’s a journey. We want to go beyond the business and we recognise that our customers may sometimes need something more than a candle or supplement, because whilst these may help ease your feelings, they are rarely a long term solution for severe anxiety. We also recognise that finding help and reaching out can be difficult, if not for uncertainties about reaching out then finding the information out there can be just as tough too. To help point you in the right direction we have compiled a signposting page which contains the names and contact information of businesses and services that offer various support for your wellness journey. We have personally been in contact to all of the services or individuals recommended over on our sing posting and we have the upmost faith in what they do. To visit the page and find out more click here.
"I’m Aimee, Im an MSc Marketing student from Cardiff and I’m the Planthaya Social Media intern over on Twitter and Pinterest. I also run my own beauty blog peahesandgleam.com!"