Wellbeing

Anxiety: self help guide + natural support

Beat anxiety and improve your quality of life with our guide to natural anxiety support. Get ready to feel calmer and enjoy life today!

Anxiety and stress statistics are worrisome. Anxiety among workers in the UK is at a record high, according to figures from the UK Council for Psychotherapy. Their research shows that rates of moderate to extreme anxiety among employees has soared by 30.5 percent since records began in 2013. Understanding anxiety is a complex task, and there are many theories of anxiety’s causes in our hectic society.

According to nutritionist Louise Pyne, “From a low-level migraine to a full-blown panic attack, anxiety manifests itself in many forms, and having to deal with this troublesome condition is something that affects around one in 20 of us each year. A worrying 17 percent of us confess to having taken time off work due to stress, and the risk of anxiety is thought to be higher in women than in men. With our non stop, ever-hectic pace of life, these figures are only set to rise as our brains are becoming unable to separate real physical threats from non-physical threats.”

Does anxiety go away?

If you’re not sure how to explain anxiety, and you’re looking for some anxiety facts, Louise has got you covered: “There’s a huge range of factors that cause anxiety, but your body’s stress response is always the same. During times of pressure, the amygdala region of the brain kicks in. Responsible for igniting our survival instinct, known as the flight or fight reaction, the amygdala controls emotions such as fear, sadness and worry. When this part of the brain senses that you’re in a dangerous situation, it prepares your body to defend itself or to escape. Hormones like cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine are released, which starts off a chain reaction of stress-like responses. Your heart rate increases, breathing becomes shallow, muscles tense up, and blood is diverted away from your GI tract and to your brain (which causes you to be more alert).

Being in this state of constant stress has far-reaching effects. From increasing the risk of depression, insomnia, migraines and digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety can even lead to obesity and premature death if not properly treated.”

The good news is, you can treat and beat anxiety. The NHS has excellent resources on treating this condition, while helplines from an anxiety charity such as Anxiety UK can provide comfort to those who are suffering from its effects. We’ve rounded up experts to discuss how you can naturally beat anxiety and that constant state of feeling on edge. Get ready to let go of those waves of dread!

Symptoms of anxiety

We all know that the experience of stress isn’t good for us. We’ve seen the research that links it to numerous health issues, and we’ve tried to feel more relaxed at work and not worry excessively about issues at home. But what happens if, despite all our best intentions, we still can’t let go of feeling anxious?

If you’re wondering, ‘can anxiety cause sickness?’, Suzy Glaskie has the answer. “Stress can have devastating long-term consequences for our health,” says Suzy, a functional medicine certified health coach and founder of Peppermint Wellness. “In fact, the World Health Organisation has classed stress as ‘the health epidemic of the twenty first century’. That’s not surprising when you stop to consider that 95 percent of all illness is caused or worsened by stress. So many of the physical symptoms and other complaints that have come to be seen as ‘normal’ can be caused by anxiety and stress, and include poor digestion, low libido, anxiety and bad memory.”

Stop catastrophising: how to calm an overactive brain

Develop self-awareness

If you can’t stop worrying and feel like your anxiety is getting worse, Anjula Mutanda, TV psychologist and mental health expert, advises journaling as a way to calm the racing thoughts of anxiety: “Turn into a detective and keep a journal for a week. Write down when your negative thoughts pop up and notice how they made you feel and how you reacted to them. Once you do this, then you can see a pattern emerging, so you can start to challenge the negative thinking. So, for instance, when you start to imagine a terrible outcome, simply ask yourself, ‘What’s the concrete evidence that things will turn out dreadfully?’ People find that this helps them take control. The more you practise this, the less you will engage in catastrophic thinking, and you won’t be so worried all the time.”

Improve your self-esteem

Dr Rafael Euba, consultant psychiatrist at the London Psychiatry Centre suggests that “Feelings of helplessness can stem from past events that we’re unaware are still affecting us. Low self-esteem exacerbates anxiety symptoms, and can make us feel stupid, unattractive or lonely, so improving your self-awareness and esteem will help you feel more in control and less like a victim. Positive affirmations can feel cheesy, but they work for a lot of people. Try, ‘I’m in control of how I feel and today I feel happy’.”

Measure your thoughts and put them in perspective

“Ask yourself if you’re magnifying the possibility of threat or diminishing the positive,” says psychotherapist Lynette Evans. “How would someone else see it? What is the bigger picture? Consider the alternatives. What other reasons might there be for the situation, feeling or emotion? And most importantly, balance the evidence. Do you have enough genuine evidence to come to your conclusion? By more logically examining the evidence against your catastrophising thought, you can strike a healthy balance and create an alternative realistic outcome.”

Focus on your resources

“Catastrophising compromises the feelings of control and power that create instability. Reconnect with what makes you feel grounded and secure,” adds Lynette. “Mindfulness is good for dealing with anxiety, stress and depression, because it encourages awareness of the present moment and stops your judgement through your skewed thinking or feeling.”

Impatience: how to get a handle on it

“Impatience belongs to the family of anxiety and stress, which can get out of control if we don’t learn how to manage it,” explains Jacqueline Harvey, a qualified coach, NLP expert and the founder of natural health clinic Crystal Clear Health Live. “It can have a negative effect on our mood and energy and, if unchecked, can develop into other feelings such as anger and frustration.” Just like stress and anxiety, this can cause you to feel sapped of energy and become unstable within yourself. “Learning to be more patient allows you to acknowledge the challenges that occur in life and helps you overcome them, as well as become more accepting of results and consequences,” she adds. The problem is that today’s modern living encourages impatience on many levels.

“The more that we have seen technology improve, the more we have become accustomed to almost instantaneous results,” says mindfulness practitioner and advanced hypnotherapist Jo Howarth, who’s also the founder of The Happiness Club. “We no longer want to wait for something to happen. We’re impatient to see the results of our efforts and to be able to see, do and have immediately. We have forgotten the art of slowing down, letting things happen naturally and appreciating the world around us.”

6 steps to becoming more patient

Just how can we learn to check our impatience and become better at waiting for things to happen in their own time? Our experts have the following advice.

1. Think about what you have control over

It’s often the thought of things being out of our control that makes us feel stressed or anxious – and the same is true when looking at the reasons behind our impatience. “Impatience is often focused on other people delivering or sometimes not delivering things on time,” says Jo. “But if you concentrate on the things that you can change, instead of the things that you can’t, you will instantly feel as if a huge weight has been taken off your shoulders.”

2. Practise positivity

It’s amazing how a positive mindset can change the way you approach events, and Jo recommends starting each day with an upbeat outlook on what you’ve got on your plate for this very reason. “By doing this and envisioning how you would like your day to pan out, you are getting yourself in the right frame of mind. Then, if a curve ball comes your way, you’re able to see it as a challenge that can be overcome, instead of getting impatient about finding a solution,” she explains. Jacqueline also advises using positive thinking when approaching a situation that’s making you feel frustrated. “You could try making a list of the positive outcomes that will happen if you do not get what you’re waiting for – this is a great way to look at your situation in a more optimistic way and reduce the stress of impatience,” she says.

3. Breathe deeply

“It sounds like an obvious thing to say, but making the time to take five deep breaths three times a day will help you slow down and appreciate what you have going for you,” says Jo. “During these times, focus on something that makes you smile. It works wonders for helping to reset your mind and get you back into thinking positively.”

4. Remove yourself from the situation

If something is making you feel anxious or impatient, Jacqueline suggests trying to detach yourself from it if you can – either physically or emotionally. “This allows us to desensitise our emotions from a situation where our feelings may escalate from impatience to frustration, anger or resentment,” she says. “It also helps us to achieve a more balanced view of what we want and allows us to develop better coping strategies for dealing with disappointment or not getting what we want easily.” Jo agrees: “You could simply count to 10, or try going for a quick five-minute walk to get some fresh air so you have a new perspective on the problem,” she says.

5. Think things through

Remember, some things in life are worth waiting for and, often, it’s the big dreams that take the longest to achieve. You may want to move into a house you’ve just viewed immediately and feel frustrated by the paperwork that needs to be completed first, but checks and measures like this are representative of the importance of taking our time to do things properly. “If we get what we want quickly, we may not have necessarily thought of all the repercussions,” Jacqueline warns. “Fast results usually carry a number of consequences, and we may regret our hasty actions and wish we had taken a different course. Hurrying sometimes means the quality of what we achieve is reduced, too,” she adds. “Results don’t always occur without challenges or obstacles, and both of these can help us to slow down and check all aspects of our decisions.”

6. Distract yourself

Sometimes distraction is the only way forward. If you’re awaiting results from a recent hospital appointment, or are desperate to find out what school or university your child will be heading to, the only thing you can do is wait. In this case, what Jacqueline calls displacement activities can be useful. “Distract yourself or focus on another activity to take your mind away from waiting for the situation to change or for news to arrive,” she advises.

Types of anxiety

You may have heard of situational anxiety: feelings of stress and fear that arise when we have a job interview, for example. But for some people with anxiety disorders, this sense of unease pervades every day of their lives. Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) causes sufferers to feel anxious most of the time, while another common type is social anxiety: the NHS explains that this is a problem which usually starts out as anxiety in young people during the teenage years, whereby social situations are feared. But when times appear troubled, other types of anxiety can creep up on anyone – especially when it comes to the state of the planet, and other concerns that are always vying for our attention.

Eco anxiety

In modern times, eco anxiety is becoming a larger problem. The difficult thing about eco anxiety, and overcoming it, is that it is a valid worry. While we may illogically catastrophise in other areas of our life – worrying about whether our partner might leave us, or if we might get fired from our job, or develop a terrible rare disease – the state of the planet has never been more talked about.

“The media coverage, public protests and social sharing of climate change causes an intense fear of environmental collapse,” explains Angelina Nizzardi, a wellness coach specialising in anxiety and panic disorder. “The sheer magnitude of the problem is overwhelming for many people. Combine this with feeling like you have little or no control in the matter, and anxiety and even panic can naturally arise.” So unless we close our eyes and ears to the news, it’s no surprise that some of us are becoming a little worried.

“Eco-anxiety can manifest in many different ways,” agrees David James Lees, wellbeing expert and co-founder of Wu Wei Wisdom. “It can be a mild but constant background worry or, taken to the extreme, it can lead to a state of severe panic. These emotions can also be mixed with a sense of anger, grief, hopelessness, despair and depression.”

At its worst, worry about the climate crisis can cause a great deal of stress on the body. “The health impact of eco anxiety is no less damaging than any other cause of anxiety,” Angelina explains. “When we hear continual catastrophic environmental statistics, it triggers the primitive part of the brain responsible for the fear response in the body. This engages the sympathetic nervous system, which in turn switches on the acute stress response.

“The amygdala begins the process and sends messages to the hypothalamus, raising the alarm. The hypothalamus activates the pituitary gland which activates the adrenal gland, which secretes the hormones adrenaline, cortisol and noradrenaline. These hormones trigger the flight or fight response.”

3-step plan to tackling eco anxiety

Wellness coach Alexandra Lees, and the other co-founder of Wu Wei Wisdom, says these practical steps can protect yourself from anxiety:

1. Talk about eco anxiety

Don’t avoid, deny or internalise extreme emotions associated with eco issues, as this will only make matters worse. Instead, speak to a trusted friend or therapist, or join a local group of like-minded people where you can share and discuss your concerns. Writing a journal and putting your thoughts down on paper can also help. This process of opening up will help you calm your mind and emotions, gain clarity in your thinking, and pave the way for positive action.

2. Widen your perspective

Rather than only giving attention to ‘negative’ worst-case scenario eco-outcomes, it can be helpful to also write out a list of all other possible outcomes. This can include both ‘positive’ resolutions and ‘neutral’ outcomes. We can’t know for certain what the future holds, but it’s important to broaden our perspective to accommodate all realistic possibilities.

3. Take local action

Just because eco issues are global in scale, it doesn’t mean you can’t make an impact as an individual, or at a local level. Take back control and shift from a mindset of helplessness to one of resilience by planning how you can make small changes in your lifestyle that will make a positive impact. This could include choices about what you and your family eat, where you shop or take your holidays, and how you travel. You can also extend your sphere of eco-influence by joining a local activist group that will allow you to take collective action, and raise eco awareness in your neighbourhood.

Anxiety recovery

While it’s perfectly natural to feel anxious at times, it’s important not to let these feelings spiral out of control, as over time they can take a serious toll on your health and wellbeing. Whether you’re worrying about a specific event on the horizon or simply feeling frazzled by the ups and downs of daily life, try one of these alternative remedies to help soothe your nerves and restore a sense of calm.

Take a deep breath

Slowing down and focusing on your breath underpins many practices that aim to maintain and improve health and wellbeing, including yoga, meditation and mindfulness. While this might sound too simple to be effective, lots of studies show that breathing exercises can help to significantly reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety, and the real beauty is that these can be done discreetly, anywhere, at any time. There are lots of anxiety resources available online, including on the Moodzone section of the NHS website.

Turn to Mother Nature

When feeling worried or anxious, sometimes there’s no better place to turn than to Mother Nature. Studies have shown that, amongst other health benefits, walking or gently exercising in forests and other green spaces can help to improve mood and reduce levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Even if it’s raining, put on your trusty mac and wellies, and take a stroll in the country or by the seaside to clear your mind and see things from a new perspective.

Take a soothing sip of tea

It can be tempting to reach for a cup of coffee or glass of wine when in need of a pick-me-up, but drinking caffeine or alcohol in excess or on a regular basis can actually increase feelings of stress and anxiety. Instead, pour yourself some chamomile tea, which has been used throughout history to help calm the mind, body and emotions. As well as helping to soothe your worries, this humble herb can also provide relief for certain digestive, urinary and skin complaints.

Aromatherapy

According to Mary Dalgleish, complementary therapy practitioner and vice president of the FHT, “Aromatherapy involves using plant essential oils to help improve your health and wellbeing. The optimum way for the body to absorb the therapeutic qualities of essential oils is through a combination of inhalation and skin absorption, via a massage blend or bath water. Lavender oil is one of the most studied essential oils in terms of its relaxing effects. This natural remedy has been shown to calm the nervous system, lower blood pressure, heart rate and skin temperature, as well as change brain waves to a more relaxed state. Neroli, often referred to as the ‘rescue remedy’ of essential oils, is also a valuable oil for helping to ease anxiety and stress, along with bergamot, which is traditionally used in Italian folk medicine to relieve tension and anxiety.”

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and other psychological therapies

CBT helps you take a more objective view of yourself and the situations you find yourself in, so you can change negative patterns. Next time you feel stressed, write down your biggest worry then ‘score’ your symptoms out of 10. Ask yourself:

What is the worst that could happen?
When I’ve encountered this situation before, what has happened?
If a friend felt this way, what would I tell them?
What is the best that could happen?
What is the most likely, realistic outcome?
Now rewrite your worry in a more balanced way and score your symptoms again. You’ll probably find you feel much better and less stressed!
Learning to manage your inner self-talk can have a powerful effect on your mood and enable you to cope better with stressful situations.

To find out more, read Overcoming Low Self Esteem by Dr Melanie Fennell.

Cognitive hypnotherapy

his particular therapy combines cognitive and evolutionary psychology with neuroscience. Russell Davis, a cognitive hypnotherapist based in Ealing has created a simple technique combining Buddhist mindfulness and relaxing hypnotherapy. Use it to combat stress, re-energise or change a negative mood.

Breathe slowly and deeply from your stomach. Be aware of the speed and depth of each breath and the length of the pause between breaths.
With every exhale, say a word to yourself that represents the way you want to feel. For example, ‘calm’.
As you breathe, notice the sensations in different parts of your body, starting with your feet and moving up. For example, how does one arm feel in comparison to the other?
Recall a relaxing memory from your past. Re-experience it, remembering the sights, sounds and smells.
Enjoy reliving this relaxing feeling. Practise this for three to five minutes twice a week and notice the benefits!

What to eat to ease anxiety

Chowing down on calm-inducing foods is the ultimate recipe to conquer stress, says nutritionist Louise Pyne. Read on to discover her top five chill-out foods.

Bananas for better sleep

Aside from a healthy diet and a regular exercise routine, there’s probably nothing more important for wellbeing than a good night’s sleep. Getting enough quality snoozing time can reduce anxiety and improve concentration for the whole day. And if you’re desperate to stop counting sheep, eat more bananas. They contain the neurotransmitter tryptophan which triggers the release of the happiness chemical serotonin, necessary for sleep. You’ll get a double whammy of benefits as bananas are also high in magnesium, which has instant calming effects on the nervous system.

Oats to soothe your stomach

A bowl of porridge is the ultimate anxiety-soothing food. Stress can hamper the digestive process, leading to all manner of GI woes like abdominal pain and diarrhoea, but oats help to counteract any gastric problems. Oats are high in the amino acid l-glutamine, which helps to nourish your intestinal mucosa (a layer of cells which lines your digestive tract). This breakfast favourite is also rich in B-vitamins which are needed for energy production. Add a handful of berries and some mixed seeds for a hefty dose of morning nutrition that will fuel you up for the day ahead.

Spinach to combat stress

We’ve found another reason to make sure you get your five-a-day. Research demonstrates that women who eat 5-7 servings of fruit and vegetables a day have a whopping 23 percent lower risk of stress than women who consume zero or one serving per day. And when it comes to anxiety-busting veggies, make sure that leafy greens like spinach are top of your shopping list. It’s packed with stress-relieving iron, which helps to quell fatigue, along with magnesium, which also regulates blood pressure, making this leafy green a superfood with serious stress-busting super powers.

Strawberries for better immunity

Stress lowers immunity by reducing the number of immune cells (like natural killer cells and T cells) whose primary job is to ward off invaders. Thankfully, foods rich in vitamin C can help to raise immunity, with studies suggesting that consuming more of the nutrient can shorten the duration of common illnesses like colds and flu. Next time you need to push the pause button on stress, nibble on a few strawberries. A portion of the summer fruit contains more vitamin C than an orange, along with antioxidant anthocyanins which are thought to protect against inflammation.

Salmon for serotonin

If you’re looking to lower stress and raise your spirits at the same time, adding salmon to your diet could be the ticket to calm. The oily fish is packed with omega-3 fatty acids which help to blunt anxiety in stressful situations. These special fats play an important role in nerve transmission, and help to build healthy cells and form brain chemicals such as the feel-good hormones serotonin and dopamine.