​Sometimes when we feel anxious, it is because at some level, the perceived threat that we feel is greater than our perceived ability to cope with that threat.
 
In other words, we tend to over-estimate the danger and under-estimate our ability to successfully deal with it.
 
So the cycle of anxiety can go something like this:
 
Step 1: We imagine future scenarios which are scary, such as redundancy, health problems, unpleasant social situation etc.
 
Step 2: We (often unintentionally) underestimate the coping resources we already have in place, for example, supportive family and friends, cognitive skills, our ability to take positive action, experience in dealing with similar situations in the past, innate resilience etc
 
Step 3: We engage in safety-seeking behaviours, including avoiding and escaping any situation which may be perceived as dangerous. This helps in the short term, but does not help us break the cycle, because we believe that this behaviour was what prevented the feared event from occurring.
 
To help stop maintaining the anxiety cycle we can do two things:
 
1.    Spend some time realistically assessing the events we feel anxious about. What is the worst case scenario? Do you have any evidence that it is likely to happen? What is most likely to happen?
 
2.    List all the resources you have available to support your emotional health. Do you have strong, positive relationships with friends and family? Can you think of at least 3 examples of how you coped with hardship in the past (not necessarily the exact situation that causes you anxiety--we are looking for proof of overall resilience). Can you remember an example of a difficult situation where you didn’t think you could work through it, but you did? What specific action can you take if the worst case scenario happens? Can you visualise yourself successfully coping with the situation you feel anxious about?

The above suggestions are not about blind optimism or positive thinking, but helping us recognise the full extent of the resources we already have in place, whilst being realistic about the level of threat we face. 

If Fernwood Clinic can help you with anxiety management, please feel free to call us on 020 8673 8604.

Best wishes
Fernwood Clinic Team

Read more articles on emotional health from our blog

We are now in week 7 of the lockdown and you may find yourself settled into a new routine. Hopefully you have found ways to get some exercise, structure your work and reach out socially. However, you may notice that despite your best efforts, anxiety still creeps in and we wanted to share 4 evidence-based exercises to help manage it:

Acceptance exercise

Take a deep breath and give up the fight. Just give it up. Embrace your anxiety and all the other feelings that float up--boredom, frustration, fear, restlessness. Do not waste your inner energy resisting emotions which are natural, understandable and appropriate for the current situation. “Giving up” resistance is different to “giving in” though. You are still able to take thoughtful action which is in line with your goals and values.  

Breathing exercise

This is an absolutely great exercise to do any time you feel overwhelmed (Hillary Clinton in her book confessed to using this exercise to cope with the loss of the presidential election). It is called Alternate Nostril Breathing:

--Sit in a comfortable position

--Exhale completely and use the right thumb to close your right nostril

--Inhale through the left nostril

--Use the ring finger of the right hand to close the left nostril

--Exhale through the right nostril

--Inhale through the right nostril

--Close the right nostril with your right thumb

--Exhale through the left nostril

--Repeat this cycle for about 5 minutes

Anchoring exercise

This exercise involves tapping into your past positive experiences to support you now. Remember a time when you felt happy and well. Close your eyes and recall as many details as you can: where were you? Who with? What did you see? What did you hear? What did you wear? What did you do? You may find it helpful to use old photos / videos for this. This exercise can be done with any past event that brought you joy, e.g. successful graduation, relaxing holiday, time you felt cared for and supported etc. Concentrate on the good feelings as if you are feeling them now.

Journaling exercise

Transferring your thoughts and feelings onto paper has long been a helpful way to relieve anxiety and stress. You can either try unstructured writing (e.g. write for 5 minutes at the end of each day about things that worry you) or create a little daily plan, e.g.

--write down 3 things that worry you
--write down 1 practical way you can address each worry and test it over a course of 3 days
--write down what worked and what didn’t during those 3 days

We hope you are staying well and healthy. 

Best wishes
Fernwood Clinic Team

Read more articles on emotional health from our blog