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Managing Anxiety

Experiencing some stress, worry or anxiety while being at university is normal, and happens to everyone at some point in their life. It is common to experience a rise in anxiety levels during your transition year to university, which can be especially tough being in a new environment.

At times small amounts of anxiety can help motivate us, for example, to create a structured revision plan. When anxiety is prolonged, intense and starts to get in the way of day-to-day functioning it becomes a problem. It can be difficult to control worries, leading to a constant feeling of worry and anxiety that can have a detrimental impact on your life. Anxiety can negatively impact how we see ourselves, others, and our future.

 

Additional information

General anxiety management advice:

  • Sleep is important for managing anxiety, as it can help you cope with the difficult thoughts and feelings.
  • What we consume can impact anxiety, including caffeine, alcohol and too much unhealthy food. Mind have an excellent video around “food and mood”.
  • Physical activity can be helpful, even going for a short walk around the town can boost your mood.

 

Manage your worries:

  • Setting aside specific time to focus on your worries – called “Worry Time”. You can do this by setting a timer for 10 to 15 minutes and noting down all of your worries. This can help reassure yourself that you have thought about your worries but in a controlled way.
  • You can use a Worry Tree to give this some structure and to understand the difference between hypothetic worries and problems.

 

Breathing exercises:

The NHS has some helpful resources around breathing exercises, here is one we use with students.

  • Sit down with both feet placed on the floor.
  • Breath deep down into your belly, try and do this comfortably without forcing it.
  • If you can, breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
  • Breathe in gently and regularly. Some people find it helpful to count steadily from 1 to 5. You may not be able to reach 5 at first.
  • Then, without pausing or holding your breath, let it flow out gently, counting from 1 to 5 again, if you find this helpful.
  • Keep doing this for 3 to 5 minutes.

This HeadSpace video may also be helpful if you would like more directed experience.