Tips to conquer anxiety

There are some simple things we can do to help limit anxiety and its fallout.

The most important thing to do is to acknowledge when you're having an anxiety attack, by acknowledging it, you've already taken the first step to defeating that monster.

Using something as simple as self talk can help, remind yourself what's happening and try and talk your way through it. One thing that people having an anxiety attack tend to do is use too many negative words, "I should...", "I can't...", "I always....". These negative words just keep that anxious cycle going and before we know it, the anxiety is consuming us.

Try and start changing those negative words into something more positive and realistic. Instead of saying "I can't do this by myself", you can say something more realistic like, "I can do this, and if I need to ask for help I will". By just changing the way we say things, it can help.

When trying to improve yourself or correcting a negative behaviour or pattern of thinking, it will never happen overnight - but it will happen! Remember - Rome wasn't built in a day!

When you're working on anything like this, remember to set small, achievable goals, don't expect to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Start small and gain your confidence and before you know it you'll be running rings around your old self.

Try and learn some strategies to overcome your anxiety. If you're out shopping for example and you feel an anxiety attack coming on, acknowledge that you need to take some time out and perhaps go treat yourself to a coffee and a cream bun. You can work out strategies that will suit yourself, just take some time to think about what ways will help you through your anxiety.

Thinking realistically about the possible consequences of an action and try not to exaggerate it out of proportion. An example of this might be, your boss has criticized you for failing to do something properly. You blow the situation out of proportion by thinking, "That's it. He really doesn't like me, and he'll probably fire me. Then what will I do about meeting my financial commitments?" Realistically, your boss has criticized you for one isolated incident and there is absolutely no evidence that he intends to fire you. Often in situations where things get blown out of proportion, you have to sit down and look at the evidence for your conclusions.

Don't forget your nutrition! Eating a balanced diet and getting all your vitamins and minerals does help.