ANXIETY : THE FEAR OF unKNOWN

Have you ever caught yourself biting your nail or shaking your leg before an exam or an interview? While it is normal to feel nervous before an important interview, it is not normal to feel anxiety without a particular known cause. Anxiety can vary from nervousness before a stage performance to feeling freely flowing anxiety all the time which happens in Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Anxiety also has physiological symptoms guided by autonomous nervous system like palpitations, sweating, change in blood pressure, shaking of hands or legs and restlessness and many more. And psychological symptoms like lack of concentration, panicking, distorted perceptions, worry, fear et cetera.
It is important to remember that every experience of anxiety is subjective and everyone experiences different set of symptoms. If you are someone struggling with anxiety, here are few self help techniques you can try to get rid of that anxiety:

1. Mental health first-aid kit
Just like the normal first-aid kit, mental health first-aid kit includes all essentials you need while experiencing acute anxiety to a panic attack. This kit can be made account to your needs or necessities. Here is my suggestion of what you can include:
a.) Notes for you written by your family members and loved ones, so when you read them you are reminded how loved you are.
b.) Stress ball : it is very useful when you feel anxious and you have something to put your frustration on.
c.) Earphones : these are essential for everyone. Music helps in soothing your self.
d.) Your medicines if you take any.
e.) Chewing gums/dark chocolate

This is my kind of mental health first-aid.
You can customise your own!


2. Identify the trigger
You get anxiety when you're gonna perform in front of a large crowd. You say "I am having performance anxiety". Simple. The end. Have you ever tried to consider the other possible factors for performance anxiety? Maybe you're not prepared for the performance. Maybe you have low self esteem or you have inferiority complex. I want you all to fix the root cause of anxiety and not the surface cause. Dig deeper. Question yourself. Maybe you know the answer/trigger and you avoid it to avoid more anxiety.

3. Guided imagery
I know If I'd type meditation you all would have skipped this point. This is why I have mentioned guided imagery which is a part of meditation. Meditation is very helpful for an anxious person, but why do most of the people avoid doing it? Maybe because they dont know how to do it. There are many types of meditations like Mindfulness Meditation, Guided Imagery, Movement Meditation and Transcendental Meditation here I am suggesting one type, i.e. Guided Imagery in which you sit in a relaxing positing. Breathe very slowly and then let the inhaled oxygen go into your brain and whole body. Then imagine a place of your choice, it could be a beach or middle of a cloud (whichever way you feel relaxing). Then imagine yourself in that set up and focus on your breathing for few minutes.


4. Know the severity
Anxiety can be due to any normal cause like exam as I mentioned before or It can be because of a mental disorder like GAD or Panic Disorder in which a person has episodes of panic attack which is feeling of sudden terror when there is no real danger. If you know you are experiencing anxiety WITHOUT a proper cause, consult a mental health professional.


5. Follow 4-4-4 breathing
If you are an anxious person, this is a very helpful technique for you. This is a breathing exercise.
i.) Breathe in slowly while counting till 4
ii.) Hold your breath and count till 4
iii.) Exhale while counting till 4

Do this for few minutes and your brain will be relaxed. (This technique is also used if you are having suicidal thoughts or intense physiological symptoms of anxiety).