Exam coming up? Got a job interview next week? Going on a first date on Saturday? Your oldest child learning to drive? Ageing parents needing more care? All these things can cause anxiety to build up.
There are several ways to manage stress and panic attacks down and help you recover your poise and self-control.
Realising you're stressing is the first.
Without self-awareness, we are caught up in the 'doing' of life and not the 'being'.
3 tips to become aware of yourself and your anxiety level: 1.
Once each day, when you are not stressed and are doing something very routine - cleaning your teeth say - look in the mirror at your own eyes for a few seconds and acknowledge yourself.
Simply say 'hello', don't pass judgement on what you look like or if you're running late - just say 'hi' to yourself.
Note if you are breathing normally, or slow, or fast.
Then go back to what you were doing.
2.
When you are travelling somewhere today - commuting to work, taking the kids to school - as you leave the house, again think of your breathing for a few breaths.
Is it deep, calm, shallow, fast? Just acknowledge what is happening and then go back to what you were doing.
3.
When you are in a group of people in the next few days, when you are not speaking, take a few seconds to again 'check-in' with yourself.
Just notice if the voice in your head is chattering a million miles an hour, or is it quietly listening to what's going on around you? Is your breath normal, or is it deep and calm from your belly? Is it fast or shallow, coming just from the top of your chest? Just acknowledge what you're feeling in your body, then focus back on your activity.
Now you have a tool to become more aware of yourself, and how you react to different situations.