Five Steps To Leave Anxiety Behind!

 For some people anxiety can be debilitating and they may feel out of control. However, if you face whatever is causing you anxiety and think about it in a different way then you can take the control back. CBT and Counselling Kent’s help for anxiety Ashford can help you leave anxiety behind once and for all.

Most anxiety attacks are the result of your brain’s amygdala going in to fight-flight mode in response to an irrational thought.

So in order to overcome anxiety for the long term it’s important to do things differently next time your heart starts racing or you start to panic.

Counselling for anxiety Ashford will help you try the following steps: - 

1. Get in tune with the physical symptoms experience you when you become anxious. Common physiological responses might include a rapid heartbeat, tightening of the chest, difficulty breathing, dizziness and nausea. If you notice how your body is getting worked up your mind is less likely to run with it.  

2. Practice deep-breathing to stop anxiety in its tracks. The goal is to recognise that your mind and body are over-reacting – you are not actually in any danger it is just your mind catastrophising. Being present is crucial for getting out of panic mode and back in to your rational mind. 

3. Be aware of catastrophising!  Watch out for dramatic, negative, unrealistic and unhealthy “what if” thoughts. Anxiety feeds on catastrophic thinking and over-attention “What if they think I’m boring, that would be terrible!” and worst-case scenarios: “Oh my god, what if my headache is actually a brain tumour?”

4. Replace any irrational, rigid thoughts with more rational adaptive thought processes - change the way you respond. “Here we go again, my anxiety wants to get the better of me. I’m sweating and my breathing is shallow, but I’m okay. I’m going to pull over to the side of the road and calm down. Being a few minutes late to work is not the end of the world.” Making it to this step means you’re thinking with your rational brain.

5. Behave differently. Because anxiety is rooted in the automatic fight-flight response, the brain can’t distinguish between a real threat and a perceived threat. It’s common to go into auto-pilot and either react impulsively (fight), or escape due to emotional flooding (flight). Sometimes the perceived threat is so intense, you may become immobile (freeze). Once you identify your patterns of unhealthy behaviour, you can make informed decisions about what to do instead: “Rather than turn down an invitation to a night out and avoid it, I’m going to think through ‘what am I really worried about’ and despite maybe feeling a little uncomfortable before I, go anyway”

If you would like some help with your anxiety contact counselling for anxiety Ashford kent to make an appointment.