Feeling worried is a completely normal part of everyday life. It’s the reaction we have to the uncertainty of what is going to happen next, whether that’s in the next few minutes, tomorrow, or even in the next couple of months.
Anxiety is a feeling of unease, worry or fear. Everyone will feel anxious at some point in their life, it’s a normal response we have to certain situations. However, if you’re feeling like this most of the time, you may meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder.
This means having regular uncontrollable worries about many things in your everyday life. People with symptoms of GAD tend to always expect disaster and can’t stop worrying about health, money, family, work, or school.
We all worry about these things from time to time, but when it’s stopping you from living your daily life, it might be time to reach out to someone for advice.
Some of the symptoms can include restlessness, being easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension and sleep disturbance.
This is when your worry or anxiety is caused by social situations, such as going to parties, restaurants or your workplace. Some of the symptoms can include an overwhelming fear of situations in which you may be judged negatively. You worry about embarrassing or humiliating yourself and experience intense fear when interacting with strangers.
This fear can affect your day-to-day activities, including: having difficulty making and keeping friends, worrying about embarrassing or humiliating yourself and having an intense fear of interacting with strangers. On top of that, you fear that others will notice that you’re feeling this way too.
Panic attacks can be very frightening. They can create a sensation where you may feel as if you’re losing control, having a heart attack, or even dying. Experiencing a panic disorder can mean that you constantly feel afraid of having another panic attack, to the point where this fear itself can trigger your panic attacks.
Some of the symptoms can include a racing heartbeat, feeling faint, sweating, nausea, shortness of breath and hot flushes. You may be diagnosed with a panic disorder if you have regular and unexpected panic attacks, followed by at least a month of continuous worry.
Tip – Next time you feel a panic attack coming, make sure you do not try to fight it. Stay where you are if possible. Remind yourself that the attack will pass. Focus on your breathing, images that bring you peace and something physical you can hold on to. Remember, it is not life-threatening, and it will eventually pass.
Stay in touch
It’s tempting to withdraw from social situations when you are depressed, but socialising can help to improve our mood and provide us with an outlet for expressing how we feel when we’re feeling down. Find someone or some people you can talk with, whether they’re friends, family, or a local group. If you’re struggling to find anyone, don’t hesitate to contact us at the Space.
Stay active
Studies have shown that exercise is a powerful way to help to lift your mood. Find something that can keep you moving that you enjoy; this could be something like playing football, doing yoga, or going for a walk.
Practice mindfulness
Mindfulness is all about living in the moment. It’s a type of meditation that allows you to focus on being aware of what you’re feeling and sensing in the moment.
Focus on the things you can control
We often worry about things we cannot control; like traffic that’s making us late for work. Instead, focus on what you can control in the moment, like your breathing, concentration, and focus.
Make a routine
When you’re feeling low, you can easily lose any sense of a routine, but this can have a further negative impact on your mental health. Try to create and maintain a routine as much as possible, which includes going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day, finding the time to practice mindfulness, exercise and talking with someone.
Mind in Croydon can offer support in lots of different areas, including mental health and wellbeing, employment training and education and housing and finance. The referral pathway is dependent on the service being accessed. Usually, they are done via a healthcare professional or through self-referral.
Hear Us is a mental health service user group, which ensure service users are involved with the planning, delivery and monitoring of mental health services in Croydon. This is to improve the quality of mental health services people can access in Croydon.
Croydon Talking Therapies is a free and confidential service for adults who are registered with a Croydon GP, who would like to improve how they feel and sleep better. They offer low level CBT style interventions and self-help resources. You can self-refer by filling in the online referral form or calling the service.
Off The Record are a counselling service for young people, aged 14-25 who live work or study in Croydon. They offer face to face sessions, as well as a texting service and online seminars. There is also a refugee service for people aged 11-25. People who want to access their services should do this through self-referral.
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