Dealing with Anxiety
May 6th, 2021 in News & Blogs
As part of our Year of Positivity campaign, we are giving our community of dog groomers the tools and resources to help with dealing with anxiety and general life / business issues that may arise.
Each month we will be bringing you a new blog post with different topics – last month we talked all about How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep and this month we will be talking about Dealing with Anxiety.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a natural human response when we feel that we are under threat. It can be experienced through our thoughts, feelings and physical sensations.
Anxiety can occur when we are worried, tense or afraid – particularly about things that are about to happen, or which we think could happen in the future.
Symptoms can include…
- Restlessness
- A feeling of being “on-edge”
- Uncontrollable feelings of worry
- Increased irritability
- Concentration difficulties
- Sleep difficulties, such as difficulty falling or staying asleep
Anxiety can be caused by environmental stressors such as difficulty at work, relationship problems or family issues, genetics, medical factors, brain chemistry and withdrawal from an illicit substance.
Over the past year, we have been living in an unprecedented time which has been a real challenge for many of us with our mental health and some may have experienced anxiety for the first time or to a much worse extent.
So how can we deal with anxiety?
Unfortunately, there is no quick fix when it comes to anxiety but there is lots of help out there and different things we can try ourselves to help the affect anxiety has on us and our lives.
Self-treatment
It is possible to treat anxiety at home without clinical help, but this may not be effective for severe or long-term anxiety disorders. Here are some things you could try at home:
Relaxation Techniques: Activities such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, long baths, resting in the dark and yoga.
Stress Management: Managing stress can help limit potential triggers. Organise any upcoming pressures and deadlines you have coming up and compile lists to make daunting tasks more manageable.
Replace Negative Thoughts with Positive Ones: Make a list of negative thoughts that keep occurring and then write another list next to it containing positive, believable thoughts to replace them.
Exercise: This can help to improve self-image and release endorphins in the brain that trigger positive feelings.
Support Network: Talk to people you are familiar with and who are supportive such as a family member or friend. There may also be support groups available in your local area or online.
Counselling
Another way to treat anxiety is psychological counselling which can include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), psychotherapy, or a combination.
CBT is a type of psychotherapy which helps you to recognise and change harmful thought patterns that form the foundation of anxious and troublesome feelings.
Prevention
There are also things we can do to help moderate anxious emotions and potentially reduce the risk of anxiety disorders. Things you can do:
- Reduce intake of caffeine, tea, cola, and chocolate.
- Maintain a healthy diet.
- Keep a regular sleep pattern.
- Avoid alcohol, cannabis, and other recreational drugs
We hope this blog post can give you some tips on how to deal with any anxious thoughts or feelings you have been having and also offer some advice on things you can do to reduce the risk of anxiety disorders. Remember, we are all in this together and it is ok to ask for help when you need it – don’t suffer alone and talk about how you feel.