Feelings you may have

Anxiety

What is anxiety?

• A normal emotion that occurs when we perceive a threat or danger.
• Can be used to enhance performance but problematic when frequent or severe and affecting social life, academic performance and/or mood.
• No one factor is responsible for the development of anxiety, rather it is a combination of things including genes, difficult life events, learning by example, social environment.

Three Characteristics of anxiety

Anxious thoughts

• Over-estimate “danger”; underestimate ability to cope
• for example: 'I’m going to fail', 'I’ll never get into uni', 'I’m terrible at Maths'

Physical sensations in the body 

• Adrenaline is released
• Racing heart, difficulty breathing, sweating, trembling, feeling sick

Anxious behaviour 

• Behaviour aimed at helping you anticipate and avoid future danger

Stress

Facts

• Stress is something we all experience
• It is a normal reaction
• It happens to us all in situations we find stressful, at times of threat and uncertainty, or when we have taken on too much
• Stress can be useful and can improve for example; a footballer before a match; going for a job interview or speaking in public

Fiction (common misunderstandings about stress)

• Stress and anxiety are signs of mental illness.
• If you’re stressed, you should know what’s causing it.
• Stress only affects weak people.

What causes stress?

Anything can cause stress! It depends on how we look at the situation and our understanding of what is happening. The things that contribute to our stress can fall into two categories, internal stressors, and external stressors.

Internal Stressors. There can be things going on inside us that cause us stress, for example telling yourself you aren’t good enough. These things can often be within our control so we can change them, such as appreciating when you do something well.

External Stressors. There are also things going in the world around us which can cause stress for example national lockdown, losing a job, noisy neighbours. Often, we may have less control, however we can sometimes take steps to reduce this like look for another job.

Steps for dealing with Stress

Healthy diet: 

• avoid drinks which are high in sugar or caffeine
• eat five fruit and vegetables a day
• drink plenty of water
• have regular meals or healthy snacks and do not miss out on breakfast

Exercise:

• broadening your activities
• reducing physical tension and thereby improving your sleep

Better Sleep:

• relaxing before going to bed to help you to unwind (choose a time to shut down)
• avoid alcohol or caffeine in the evenings
• write down what preoccupies your thoughts. Helps switch off worries. Don’t focus on them when you are trying to sleep
• shut of electronic devices

‘I’ve learned there’s power deep down inside yourself, and you can find it when you don’t give up on yourself and when you ask for help.’ Selina Gomez

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