It can be tough when you’re looking forward to a weekend shopping with friends or taking your young family to the local village’s craft festival, and it soon turns to worry and even dread when anxiety strikes. Different catalysts trigger everyone living with anxiety, so one treatment or change in lifestyle for one person may have much more of an effect than in the case of another. This article explores four different methods for managing symptoms of anxiety including occupational health providers.

1. Keep a Daily Journal

Having the time to analyse yourself can be tricky, especially if you have a hectic life. Sometimes keeping a daily written record of how you feel can help you to identify various triggers for your anxiety. This can help you to understand where your anxiety triggers come from and how to manage your anxiety better, and can work to overcome it. You could either spend ten minutes every evening summarising your day, or keep a small notebook in your car to jot down experiences, thoughts and feelings as they happen in real-time.

2.  CBD and Supplements

CBD is a non-psychoactive compound that is found in cannabis, and there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that CBD can ease the symptoms of anxiety, though there has been no conclusive research completed. Should you be interested in giving this a try, check out CBD Guru for a range of CBD capsules and oils and if you have any questions or queries surrounding CBD, then make sure you book an appointment with your GP first.

There are other supplements and herbal remedies that are said to help with anxiety, though you should always be careful, especially if you take other medication, so always speak with a GP first.

• Valerian Root
• Lemon Balm
• Ashwagandha
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids
• Kava Kava
• Green Tea

3.  Fight the Urge to Hide Away

Sometimes, when you’re contending with anxiety, the last thing that you want to be doing is going out and socialising with family, or seeing friends after work, or maybe even going to work at all. However, sometimes, keeping yourself to a routine, and getting out into familiar places with supportive people can make a world of difference to your mental health and wellbeing.

4.   Increase Your Amount of Physical Exercise

There is no denying that mental health is linked to physical health, and while you might not feel like it, making improvements to your physical health could help to improve your symptoms of anxiety, if you create a regular exercise routine.

For those who work from home or spend most of a normal day inside, not only will you be lacking in the sufficient amounts of vitamin D your body needs, but when your body becomes sluggish, so too does your cognitive ability.

Just a fifteen-minute walk around the block, or even spending the morning outside in the back garden rather than sitting on the sofa, will get your body moving, but ideally, half an hour of cardio three or four times a week is a great way to move forward.

5. Mindfulness and Meditation

Incorporate mindfulness techniques or meditation into your daily routine. These practices can help you stay present and reduce worrying about the future. Or even simply playing Klondike Solitaire can help you a lot as this game requires you to focus on the present moment, as you assess the current layout of cards and make decisions based on what’s in front of you. This can help ground you in the here and now, reducing rumination about the past or future.