You may find relaxation and breathing exercises helpful, or you may prefer activities such as yoga or pilates to help you unwind. You can also try listening to this 6-minute anxiety control training audio guide.

Drinking too much caffeine can make you more anxious than normal. This is because caffeine can disrupt your sleep and also speed up your heartbeat. If you're tired, you're less likely to be able to control your anxious feelings.

Avoiding drinks containing caffeine, such as coffee, tea, fizzy drinks and energy drinks, may help reduce your anxiety levels. Taking steps to enjoy a healthier lifestyle can help boost both your physical and mental health which can also help combat feelings of anxiety.

Support groups can often arrange face-to-face meetings, where you can talk about your difficulties and problems with other people. Many support groups also provide support and guidance over the phone or in writing. Ask your GP about local support groups for anxiety in your area, or search online for mental health information and support services near you.

Page last reviewed: 5 October Next review due: 5 October Home Mental health Mental health conditions Generalised anxiety disorder in adults Back to Generalised anxiety disorder in adults. Self-help - Generalised anxiety disorder in adults. Try a book or online course There are lots of books and courses that can help you learn to cope with your anxiety.

Find out more about self-help for anxiety Exercise regularly Regular exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, may help you combat stress and release tension. Is it anger? Why am I feeling this way? How to do it : Think of a person, place or thing that brings you joy or comfort, and picture it in your mind in as much detail as possible.

Then take five slow, cleansing breaths, and with each one, imagine yourself inhaling love, peace, and comfort, and exhaling fear, worry, and tension.

How to do it : If you speak more than one language — including American Sign Language — contact someone you know who also speaks one of your secondary languages and make small talk with them. Or, watch a TV show, listen to a radio broadcast, or read a book or news website in your non-native tongue.

So, if you have an instrument available and know how to use it, take a few minutes to practice a song or two. And afterward, you can just think much more clearly and solve problems a whole lot better. How to do it : Start with three of your favorite songs right now.

Then add three more songs you liked last year, or back in college or during high school or as a kid. Keep going as long as you wish, or until you have a collection that feels complete.

And when the memories and feelings elicited by certain songs are very happy, they completely distract you. The mind cannot focus on two different things at once. So, change the channel and get yourself off the worry station. Request an appointment at MD Anderson online or by calling My Chart.

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Jump To:. February 09, Diaphragmatic breathing What it is : Consciously controlling an automatic process How to do it : Close your eyes and pull as much air as you can into your lungs.

Simple stretches What they are : Releasing tension with movements you can do almost anywhere How to do them : Gently press the tip of your tongue to the roof of mouth, and your jaw will often fall open and relax on its own.

We all deserve to be nurtured, even by ourselves. Find out how to develop a stay well plan. This can help to stop your worries from taking over at other times. Keep a diary of when you feel calm or anxious. Try to identify what works to reduce your anxiety and what makes it worse.

This can help you manage your anxiety. Learn about anxiety symptoms and treatments. Visit the Beyond Blue Forum anxiety discussions. Catriona Bisset is an Olympian and the Australian record holder over m. But for a decade, she left the sport she loved.

From a place of hopelessness, Jake has come to accept that he's worth recovering for. Anxiety management strategies There are many strategies that can be used for managing anxiety.

Slow breathing. Try this exercise to slow down your breathing: Count to three as you breathe in slowly. Count to three as you breathe out slowly. Progressive muscle relaxation.

This exercise can help reduce the feelings of muscle tension that often comes with anxiety: Find a quiet location. Close your eyes and slowly tense and then relax each of your muscle groups from your toes to your head.

Hold the tension for three seconds and then release quickly. Stay in the present moment. Maintain a healthy lifestyle to reduce anxiety A healthy lifestyle can help reduce anxiety and improve your wellbeing. Healthy habits include: Keeping active Eating well Spending time outdoors in nature Spending time with family and friends Reducing stress Doing activities you enjoy.

Small acts of bravery Try doing something that makes you anxious, even in a small way. Challenge your self-talk What you think affects how you feel. Be kind to yourself Practising self-compassion can help reduce your anxiety. Mindfulness is becoming more and more popular as people start to realise how beneficial it is for a number of issues.

There are many resources available to support you to develop a mindfulness practice External Link. A person who feels anxious most of the time has trouble relaxing, but knowing how to release muscle tension can be a helpful strategy.

Relaxation techniques include:. The physical symptoms of anxiety may be triggered by hyperventilation External Link , which raises oxygen levels and reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood.

It can be helpful for a person who suffers from anxiety to learn how to breathe from their diaphragm, rather than their chest, to safeguard against hyperventilation.

The key is allowing your belly to expand as you breathe in. You can make sure you are breathing correctly by placing one hand on your lower abdomen and the other on your chest.

Correct breathing means your abdomen moves, rather than your chest. It also helps to slow your breathing while feeling anxious.

Some people can find abdominal breathing challenging. There are many other breathing techniques that you can try External Link. You can also try to hold your breath for a few seconds.

This helps to boost carbon dioxide levels in the blood. Cognitive therapy focuses on changing patterns of thinking and beliefs that are associated with, and trigger, anxiety. The basis of cognitive therapy is that beliefs trigger thoughts, which then trigger feelings and produce behaviours.

This includes monitoring your self-talk, challenging unhelpful fears and beliefs, and testing out the reality of negative thoughts. A major component of behaviour therapy is exposure. Exposure therapy involves deliberately confronting your fears in order to desensitise yourself.

Exposure allows you to train yourself to redefine the danger or fear aspect of the situation or trigger. The steps of exposure therapy may include:. The mineral magnesium helps muscle tissue to relax, and a magnesium deficiency can contribute to anxiety, depression and insomnia.

Inadequate intake of vitamin B and calcium can also exacerbate anxiety symptoms. Make sure your daily diet includes foods such as wholegrain cereals, leafy green vegetables and low-fat dairy products.

Nicotine, caffeine and stimulant drugs such as those that contain caffeine trigger your adrenal glands to release adrenaline, which is one of the main stress chemicals. These are best avoided. Other foods to avoid include salt and artificial additives, such as preservatives.

Choose fresh, unprocessed foods whenever possible. Exercise burns up stress chemicals and promotes relaxation. Physical activity is another helpful way to manage anxiety.

Aim to do some physical activity at least three to four times every week, and vary your activities to avoid boredom. A person with an anxiety disorder may have trouble being assertive because they are afraid of conflict or believe they have no right to speak up. However, relating passively to others lowers self-confidence and reinforces anxiety.

Learning to behave assertively is central to developing a stronger self-esteem. People with anxiety disorder often have low self-esteem.

Feeling worthless can make the anxiety worse in many ways. It can trigger a passive style of interacting with others and foster a fear of being judged harshly.

Low self-esteem may also be related to the impact of the anxiety disorder on your life. These problems may include:. The good news is you can take steps to learn about and improve your self-esteem External Link.

Community support organisations and counselling may help you to cope with these problems. Learning how to break down a problem into its various components — and then decide on a course of action — is a valuable skill that can help manage generalised anxiety and depression.

This is known as structured problem solving External Link. It is important that medications are seen as a short-term measure, rather than the solution to anxiety disorders. Research studies have shown that psychological therapies, such as cognitive behaviour therapy, are much more effective than medications in managing anxiety disorders in the long term.

Your doctor may prescribe a brief course of tranquillisers or antidepressants to help you deal with your symptoms while other treatment options are given a chance to take effect.

Support groups allow people with anxiety to meet in comfort and safety, and give and receive support. They also provide the opportunity to learn more about anxiety and to develop social networks.

This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:. Content on this website is provided for information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not in any way endorse or support such therapy, service, product or treatment and is not intended to replace advice from your doctor or other registered health professional.

The information and materials contained on this website are not intended to constitute a comprehensive guide concerning all aspects of the therapy, product or treatment described on the website.