Please read on for top tips on how to manage anxiety from our Primary Care Network Health & Wellbeing Coach…

Gain awareness to maintain control.

Three simple tips to help keep anxiety at bay:

1. Rescue the mind with the physical body

   • It is hard to control the mind with the mind. We can use our body as an anchor to get results faster.

   • Physical movement, a walk in nature or simply concentrating on breathing for 60 seconds can help bring us back down when the mind starts to spin faster than we can control.

2. No time to exercise?

   • Incorporate 1-minute-long movement routines every hour or so when you take a short break from screens and you will have completed your workout by the end of the working day. Squats, sit ups, yoga poses, stretch positions, anything you like will bring movement and flexibility whilst helping to keep the mind in a healthy state. You can do that while you wait for the kettle to boil! It does not matter where, move for 60s every hour or so and you will get some exercise into your life without any need to dedicate special time to it.

   • Experiment for a week and see how you feel at the end. If you like it, keep it up for 6 weeks and you will have incorporated a new healthy habit to keep for life.

3. How many times do you need to check your social media every day?

   • Beware of the subconscious drive to look at social media apps that keep you hooked to your mobile phone. Give your mind a rest from the constant checking and stick to set times of the day to check your messages. It is frustrating for the brain to go in there and find nothing of relevance. Keep it to the end of the day and you will find all you want at once. It is more rewarding for the brain and a better use of your time. Avoid the repeated empty feeling through the day. Even the downward gaze with the eyes when we are hooked to a phone influences the brain. It is not a coincidence we say ‘things are looking up’ when everything is going well and we feel excited. According to neuroscience, the head position as well as the eye position send signals to the brain.

   • Paradoxically enough, having to wait for results is healthy for the mind. Immediate rewards requiring little or no effort to achieve bring frustration in the long run. The more effort we put in the process to achieve a goal, the more significant the results are for the mind. Easy immediate results chip away at our resilience. This is one of the negative aspects behind video games and social media – they offer immediate short-lived rewards that lead to addictive behaviours. It is a vicious circle and a downward spiral.

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