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"I get anxiety if I feel uncomfortable
about doing something. For me, it
comes from a lot of different things.
It could be going to a party where I don't
know a lot of people, when I have too
much uni work to do, or if I have an exam
coming up. When I feel anxious, my thoughts
are all over the place and I think of the
worst possible thing that could happen in
every situation. I really work myself up
when I begin to feel a little nervous.
I start worrying that I'll get more
anxious and it just makes everything
worse. My anxiety always gets worse when
I'm depressed. It's affected my job and my
studies. I've had to leave work because
I was so anxious that I had a panic attack.
I've been too anxious to approach my
lecturers at uni for help when I've had
to hand things in late. It's hard to know
how to handle it sometimes, so I
just avoid things and that really
doesn't help."

Anxiety is a normal human experience.
Feeling anxious can actually be helpful
sometimes.A small amount of anxiety
can help us to perform better in certain
situations like exams or public speaking.
However,sometimes anxiety can be so
intense that it takes over and feels
paralysing.When it gets in the way of
life, this may be a sign of having an
anxiety disorder.

People with generalised anxiety disorder
often feel anxious or worried most of
the time, and this worry causes them
significant distress.This anxiety can
be about lots of different things,
including health, work, study, financial
issues, or family and friends. In fact,
around 12% of uni students experience
clinical levels of anxiety.Anxiety can
be a really physical experience. People
sweat,have blurry vision, a racing
heartbeat, and feel sick to their stomach.
When this feels overwhelming, it can be
really scary. Some people feel like
they're going to die. This is called a
panic attack. Sometimes panic attacks
can come out of the blue or be
triggered by certain places or
situations.

There are a number of things you can try
to help manage your anxiety. We suggest
these two: targeting anxious thinking
and reducing anxious feelings. First,
let's look at the thinking side of things.
In our video about tackling unhelpful
thoughts, we spoke about the link between
thoughts and feelings. Take some time to
notice and write down the exact things
you're thinking when you feel anxious.
It might help to first think of a situation
that makes you anxious. For me, it's when
I feel overwhelmed with work or I doubt
my ability to do a good job at something.
I think things like, "there's no way I'll
get all of this done" and "I'll let others
down" or "they'll think I'm incompetent".
Consider the likelihood of these thoughts
coming true or the helpfulness of having
these thoughts. What's a more realistic
way of thinking about the situation?
It could be something like, "I do have a
lot to do, but I can get it done if
I take it one step at a time" or
"I don't often let people down, and
it's unlikely that others will think
I'm incompetent. They'll probably just
think I'm busy". We all get overwhelmed
sometimes. You can try this exercise on
your own using the form attached to this
module.

Another thing you can try in the moment
when you're feeling anxious is to reduce
your body's physical reaction to feeling
anxiety.This can be done by calming and
regulating your breathing.You can do this
by breathing in for five seconds, holding
your breath for six seconds, and breathing
out for seven seconds. Make sure you count
in your head and take the breaths slowly.
There are lots of apps you can download
on your phone to help you practice
calming your breathing. If you don't
find breathing exercises helpful, you
can try 5-4-3-2-1. This is a grounding
exercise to help you lessen the focus
on your anxious feelings and focus more
on the world around you.The distraction
works in very much the same way as the
breathing exercise. It helps you moderate
your breathing and slow your heart rate.
The exercise is simple. When you're feeling
anxious or even in the midst of a panic
attack,try listing five things you can see,
four things you can feel, three things
you can hear,two things you can
smell, and one thing you can taste.
Or something that you like about
yourself. Remember, if you've been feeling
anxious and it feels like it's too much,
there are people who can help.
Go and see your university health or
counselling centre. The sooner you do,
the sooner you can start to feel better.

Thanks for watching.

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