Anxiety

Establishing and maintaining a routine can help to manage mental health and studies. Routines can also serve to alert us that there may be some factors impacting on our mental health if bad habits begin to increase. Beyond Blue has an easy to follow guide about routines and how to create one.

The foods we consume impact on our overall health, mental health, energy levels, concentration, stress management and self-esteem. Small changes in what you eat can produce positive effect, eating well does not need to be all-or-nothing!  Try to eat plenty of vegetables, fruit, legumes, wholegrains, lean proteins and water.

Sleep plays an important role in our mental wellbeing, it can impact on and is impacted by mental health. Some people find it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or have difficulties with waking up in the morning (or all of the above), especially when our anxious thoughts are keeping us awake. Developing good sleep hygiene can be an effective way to mitigate some of these affects. Try to limit blue light (TV, Phones, iPads etc.) and stimulants (caffeine, alcohol, tobacco) at least an hour before you go to sleep. Set a schedule with a regular time that you go to sleep and try to make your room as quite, dark and comfortable as possible. It is also a good idea to only use your bed for sleep and sexual activities as this help your brain associate your bed as a place to sleep, rather than a place for your mind to be active with work or study.

Mindfulness helps us to stay in the present moment. It can be easy to let your mind wonder or engage in tasks without thinking about them. You can start practicing mindfulness by starting with moments in every day activities like noticing how the warm water and soap feels on your hands when washing up or make a cup of tea and focus on all the steps. You may like to check out the Calm app and download one of their monthly calendars to help prompt activities.

Engage in relaxation exercises that can help to reduce the effects that anxiety has on your body. Some common examples include:

• Deep breathing exercises. There are many different breathing exercises you can choose from. Try to start with 4-2-6  breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 2 seconds and breathe out through your mouth for 6 seconds.
• Progressive muscle relaxation. One of the ways our body reacts to anxiety is through muscle tension, it can leave you with body aches, pains and exhaustion. One method used to release muscle tension is by tensing certain muscles and releasing them, from your head to your toes.
• Soothing activities for all senses. Listen to music or sounds you find soothing, surround yourself by nature (go for a walk, hike or swim), visualise or look at something that makes you calm (oceans, running water, falling leaves) and for smells you can light a candle, incense or use essential oils
• Grounding exercises. Sit in a comfortable chair and place both feet on the ground, find 5 things you can hear, see, feel (e.g. how your body feels on the chair), and smell.
• Mindfulness meditation or moments.
• You can also try going to yoga, pilates, a spa or a sauna.

Engaging in light exercise can be effective for managing anxiety. You might try going for a walk, a swim, or finding yoga or pilates classes or Youtube tutorials.

Exercise helps with our overall health, mood, sleep, negative thoughts and increases energy levels. Walking outside is great way to boost your mood and you can invite friends to make it even more enjoyable! Take a look at Beyond Blue's resource on keeping active for tips on getting started and planning enjoyable activities.