For as long as I can remember, I\u2019ve been a worrier. My weight, money, my career, what people thought of me \u2014 there was nothing I wouldn\u2019t agonise over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Who doesn\u2019t worry about these things, I can hear you ask?<\/p>\n
Of course, everyone has concerns that bother them, the little voice that nags away now and again. But many people experience worry that far exceeds run-of-the-mill niggles.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"Chloe](\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/03\/31\/23\/3ED244C100000578-0-image-a-17_1490998896076.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Chloe Brotheridge suffered her first panic attack at 15 and has come up with a cure for anxiety. She writes: ‘For as long as I can remember, I\u2019ve been a worrier.’ (file photo)<\/p>\n
More and more of us have worries like mine, anxieties that seem all-encompassing, endless in their scope.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The speed and ferocity of modern life has made serenity feel like the exception, rather than the rule.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As well as a sense of dread or irritableness and trouble with concentrating, anxiety can make you feel dizzy, sick and exhausted. It wrecks marriages and careers.<\/p>\n
It has physical symptoms, too. It can cause tense muscles, stomach problems, trouble sleeping and palpitations.<\/p>\n
Research proves anxiety is a growing problem \u2014 and that women are disproportionately likely to be affected.<\/p>\n
Studies have found 22 per cent of women in the UK feel anxious most of the time and, overall, are twice as likely as men to be anxious.<\/p>\n
So what\u2019s the fuel for this raging forest fire of worry?<\/p>\n
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![\"22](\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/03\/31\/23\/3ED2450D00000578-0-image-a-18_1490998901281.jpg\")
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22 per cent of women in the UK feel anxious most of the time and, overall, are twice as likely as men to be anxious. Chloe writes: ‘I am a different person from the one I was \u2014 happier, freer, liberated.’ (file photo)<\/p>\n
Well, I believe we\u2019ve become increasingly obsessed with being in control. Women see busyness as the Holy Grail; endless productivity \u2014 \u2018doing\u2019 rather then just \u2018being\u2019 \u2014 as virtuous.<\/p>\n
Our poor brains are, put simply, struggling to cope with all we demand of them. We just don\u2019t know how to relax any more.<\/p>\n
The modern cult of perfectionism is equally insidious. Instead of measuring our achievements in contentment or peace of mind, we instead pursue an unobtainable happiness based on things like money or professional success.<\/p>\n
The worst part? Doctors are often baffled by the problem, as there\u2019s no definite cure for this anxiety epidemic.<\/p>\n
That is, until now.<\/p>\n After realising that no one else was going to help me with my agonising anxiety, I devised my own cure, drawing on my training as a clinical hypnotherapist and NHS nutritionist.<\/p>\n And I\u2019ve shared what I\u2019ve learned in a new book, The Anxiety Solution \u2014 packed full of simple, calming tips and invaluable diet and lifestyle advice \u2014 serialised today and next week in the Mail.<\/p>\n These days, I am a different person from the one I was \u2014 happier, freer, liberated. I\u2019ll show you how you can achieve this too.<\/p>\n For me, anxiety started in my childhood. My parents tell me I was a very cautious child, the kind who clung to the bannister as I gingerly made my way down the stairs. At ballet classes I would cry in the corner, too inhibited to take part.<\/p>\n Chloe’s first panic attack only ended because she was so exhausted that she was able to fall asleep.\u00a0During a panic attack your body reacts to what it perceives as a threat (file photo)<\/p>\n I first realised my worries weren\u2019t \u2018normal\u2019 when I was just 15 and had my first panic attack while at a friend\u2019s house.<\/p>\n Long adept at keeping my emotions hidden, and desperate not to upset my kind and caring parents, I was in a state of some turmoil at the time.<\/p>\n For those lucky enough not to have experienced a panic attack, let me tell you what it feels like.<\/p>\n My heart raced at a seemingly unstoppable rate. My chest tightened. I truly thought I was dying. I prayed. I begged my friend to call an ambulance.<\/p>\n I genuinely thought: \u2018This is it.\u2019 The attack lasted for several hours and only subsided when my body became so exhausted that I was able to fall asleep.<\/p>\n ZAP NEGATIVE THOUGHTS IN JUST A FEW MOMENTS<\/span><\/p>\n This simple mental exercise is extremely effective.<\/p>\n Every time you catch yourself getting caught up in negative internal chatter, hear it out and then say: \u2018Thanks for sharing.\u2019 Acknowledging the thought is easier than trying not to hear it.<\/p>\n This technique teaches you to step back and observe your thoughts. It helps put you back in the driving seat.<\/p>\n You can beat the anxieties by acknowledging their existence and sending them on their way.<\/p>\n BREATHE YOURSELF CALM IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES<\/span><\/p>\n We get so used to being on high alert that we forget being calm and at ease is our natural state.<\/p>\n Relaxation is something you can practise and get better at.<\/p>\n Try this incredibly simple \u20183-5\u2019 breathing technique. Put your hands on your belly take a deep breath in for a count of three and then breathe out for a count of five.<\/p>\n As you breathe in, let your belly expand like a balloon; as you breathe out, let it deflate.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t matter how quickly or slowly you count; what\u2019s important is that the out breath is longer than the in breath and that you\u2019re breathing into your belly.<\/p>\n What this exercise does is send a message to your nervous system that it\u2019s safe to relax.<\/p>\n Lengthening the out breath and breathing into our bellies gets us out of fight-or-flight mode and in to relaxation mode, while focusing on counting helps to distract and calm your mind.<\/p>\n MAKE TIME FOR 15 MINUTES OF MEDITATION<\/span><\/p>\n Chloe recommends people meditate for just 15 minutes a day to let go of anxious thoughts. Mindfulness helps 90 per cent of people to reduce anxiety levels (file photo)<\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to sit cross-legged or wear sandals to meditate. Just think of it as the ultimate \u2018me time\u2019. Who wouldn\u2019t want that?<\/p>\n You need only 15 minutes a day to meditate. How much time do you waste slumped in front of the TV?<\/p>\n Start off with a mindfulness meditation, which involves paying close attention to your breath. This trains your mind to be in the present moment, which is so helpful for relieving anxiety.<\/p>\n One study found that mindfulness meditation helped to reduce activity in the amygdala \u2014 the part of the brain responsible for feeling fear \u2014 while in another, mindfulness helped 90 per cent of people reduce anxiety levels. Set a timer for 15 minutes. If possible, use a timer app on your phone with a gentle gong sound that goes off at five-minute intervals.<\/p>\n Sit comfortably (it doesn\u2019t have to be on the floor or cross-legged), with your hands facing upwards on your lap and your eyes closed.<\/p>\n Inhale and exhale normally, focusing on the sensation of air passing into and out of your nostrils. For the first five minutes, after each complete inhale and exhale, count silently: \u2018one\u2019 after the first one, then \u2018two\u2019 after the next one.<\/p>\n Do this all the way up to ten, though don\u2019t be surprised if you don\u2019t get anywhere close to ten before your mind has wandered off down some thought trail.<\/p>\n As soon as you notice that your mind has wandered, gently bring it back to the breath, starting at one again.<\/p>\n After five minutes, change the count so it\u2019s before the inhales. Though technically it\u2019s the same thing, changing where you place the count emphasises the inhale more than the exhale, making it subtly different.<\/p>\n Continue for another five minutes, this time losing the count and focusing purely on the sensation of the breath going into and out of your nostrils, throat and lungs.<\/p>\n Immerse yourself in this sensation until the timer goes off at the end of the 15 minutes.<\/p>\n GIVE YOURSELF 30 MINUTES TO WORRY<\/span><\/p>\n One of the worst things about worrying is that it invades your everyday life. So, let me introduce you to \u2018worry time\u2019.<\/p>\n This means having a designated time slot \u2014 say 30 minutes a day \u2014 that you reserve for worrying, keeping your anxious thoughts contained there.<\/p>\n If you find yourself worrying at any other time, write down the worry and postpone thinking about it until your allocated worry slot.<\/p>\n Choose a time when you know you\u2019ll be alone. Get some paper and a pen and write down all the things you\u2019re worried about.<\/p>\n If there are things you do have some control over, find a way to take action right now. Worry, after all, can be a way of avoiding having to deal with things.<\/p>\n So, for each worry, ask yourself: \u2018What action can I take right now?\u2019 If there is no obvious immediate action, can you at least make a plan? Jot down the first three steps of your plan and schedule them into your diary.<\/p>\n But what about the things beyond our control? These still need to be written down \u2014 it can help to get them into perspective.<\/p>\n Write about something that\u2019s troubling you. Keep going for at least five minutes. Don\u2019t stop; scribble down anything your brain throws up. Sometimes writing it down can be enough to calm you.<\/p>\n TIME TO THINK ABOUT DINNER<\/span><\/p>\n Eating vegetables such as garlic, onion, leeks and avocado helps to lower the number of stress hormones in our body (file photo)<\/p>\n It\u2019s a little-known fact that having enough good bacteria in our diet \u2014 which can be supplemented from vegetables such as garlic, onion, leeks, avocados and peas and fermented food such as sauerkraut \u2014 actually means fewer stress hormones in our body.<\/p>\n While Monday\u2019s four-page Anxiety pullout discusses this in more detail \u2014 complete with delicious recipes \u2014 it\u2019s worth trying to add these ingredients to your meals.<\/p>\n Panic attacks are common for those who experience severe anxiety. During a panic attack your body reacts to what it perceives as a threat. More often than not, though, it\u2019s your nervous system overreacting to something that is really no threat at all.<\/p>\n Triggers can range from giving a speech to too much caffeine, feeling hot and claustrophobic to being overwhelmingly stressed.<\/p>\n Sometimes, though, attacks seem to happen for no reason at all. The horrible symptoms \u2014 tingling fingers, tight chest, a sensation of impending doom \u2014 that feel like a threat to your life, are really the result of your body pumping adrenaline into your muscles so you can either run away or fight off the threat.<\/p>\n In prehistoric times, when predators posed a real danger to mankind, this \u2018fight-or-flight\u2019 response was what would have saved your life.<\/p>\n Nowadays, though, a troublesome commute or a looming work deadline can trigger the same response \u2014 except in these cases, there\u2019s nowhere to run to, and no need. The excess adrenaline then sends your body into meltdown.<\/p>\n After my panic attack, I couldn\u2019t shake the feeling that this uncontrollable thing could strike at any moment. I no longer felt safe in my own body.<\/p>\n Chloe writes:\u00a0After my panic attack, I couldn\u2019t shake the feeling that this uncontrollable thing could strike at any moment. I no longer felt safe in my own body’ (file photo)<\/p>\n Like many people with anxiety, I became overly focused on how I felt physically, concluding any change or new sensation must be a serious problem.<\/p>\n Every headache or stomach ache was ruthlessly analysed for evidence of acute illness.<\/p>\n Years of obsessive worrying followed that first attack. I tried to self-medicate with alcohol and food, which only made me more anguished. I also attempted to control every detail of my life, a habit borne of my deep, crushing insecurity.<\/p>\n It was my own anxious way of trying to feel safe in a world which felt quite the opposite most of the time. I was so bound by my fears that I just felt numb.<\/p>\n No highs, but plenty of lows, and a dull ache where the normal emotions of life should have been.<\/p>\n My time at university was marked by these scars of anxiety \u2014 rather than having hedonistic fun, I look back on my student days as a time when I was locked in a spiral of worry \u2014 as well as marring the start of my career.<\/p>\n Nutritionist Chloe says she looks back on her university career and remembers a time when she was stuck in a spiral of worry (file photo)<\/p>\n Indeed, the sensitivity I\u2019d felt since my childhood continued in my adult life.<\/p>\n Wherever the characteristic came from, there\u2019s no doubt it made me feel life was nothing short of dangerous, filled with endless barbs that would harm me.<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, relationships were hugely difficult, as I\u2019d always felt incredibly uncomfortable and nervous around men. \u2018What did they think of me?\u2019 I\u2019d worry whenever I met someone new.<\/p>\n I\u2019d put on a front and play it cool, but inside I was desperately analysing the possible ways I would be rejected.<\/p>\n I tried to disguise the real me, as no one, my reasoning went, could possibly like me if I revealed my true self.<\/p>\n Unable to let anyone in, or open up, emotional loneliness came hand in hand with my anxiety.<\/p>\n The men I picked were either emotionally unavailable or only showed me the same lack of respect I had for myself. I was a bottomless pit of neediness.<\/p>\n When I started work as a nutritionist for the NHS, my primary method for managing anxiety was avoidance. I would stay firmly in my comfort zone with people I knew so I felt safe.<\/p>\n She writes: ‘Anxiety can hype us into such a fearful state that it feels impossible to see a way out. It\u2019s like being stuck in a suffocating glass box’ (file photo)<\/p>\n At heart, I guess I was ashamed, as are so many people with anxiety. Indeed, one study estimates that just under a third of those with anxiety feel so embarrassed they don\u2019t get help.<\/p>\n In hindsight, this was the case with me. When I discovered some therapy sessions that would have been beneficial for me, I refused to go to them because they were in the middle of the day.<\/p>\n So to attend them would have meant telling my manager where I was going and that something was wrong with me \u2014 something mentally wrong.<\/p>\n I feared the prejudice and misconceptions that are so common when people are confronted by anxiety. Broken legs are socially acceptable, broken minds \u2014 not so much.<\/p>\n Despite my industrial-strength avoidance techniques, things soon came to a head when my workload dramatically increased.<\/p>\n As well as working full-time, I had been training as a clinical hypnotherapist and was now pushing to set up my own therapy practice during the evenings. Pressure on myself to \u2018be better\u2019 and \u2018be more productive\u2019 fuelled my deep-seated fear that I would never be good enough at anything.<\/p>\n In short, I was burning out. For weeks on end, I would get home at 10pm, crawl into bed and cry, my brain and body still buzzing with thoughts about my endless to-do list. I developed irritable bowel syndrome, a stomach condition often associated with anxiety.<\/p>\n I was completely miserable. I knew I needed to detox my mind and my life, but I didn\u2019t know how. Now, however, I am calm, content and no longer tortured by worry.<\/p>\n So how did I stop my lifetime of worrying?<\/p>\n In 2013, I read a quote that changed my life: \u2018Set peace of mind as your highest priority and organise your life around it.\u2019<\/p>\n How many of us can claim to do this? Not many.<\/p>\n But I saw immediately that this was what I had to do.<\/p>\n Being \u2018productive\u2019 and trying to feel worthy by working hard had been my priority, but it wasn\u2019t making me happy. Instead it was utterly destroying me.<\/p>\n I vowed to make changes. I quit my job to focus on my own business and work at my own pace.<\/p>\n I used my skills as a hypnotherapist and nutritionist to work on my mind and detox my body by cutting out refined carbohydrates and alcohol. And rather than constantly pushing and pressurising myself, I made going for walks and brain exercises a non-negotiable part of every day.<\/p>\n With the space I\u2019d created in my life, and my new kinder-to-me attitude, I began venturing out of my comfort zone to try all the things I had previously been scared to do.<\/p>\n In the process, I taught myself that I could cope.<\/p>\n Before long, these new habits dramatically alleviated the severe worrying that had been with me for so many years.<\/p>\n Needless to say, after around six months, I felt immeasurably better. Ironically, I had feared stepping back and being less busy in order to calm my mind would have a detrimental effect on my work.<\/p>\n I imagined I would suffer financially. It turned out the opposite was true.<\/p>\n My work life improved as my ability to calmly focus and offer the best of myself increased.<\/p>\n Anxiety can hype us into such a fearful state that it feels impossible to see a way out. It\u2019s like being stuck in a suffocating glass box, feeling sick as you gaze at the world, wondering what it\u2019s like to feel \u2018normal\u2019.<\/p>\n I\u2019m here to tell you that it doesn\u2019t have to be this way. More than that, I\u2019m going to help you escape from your prison of worry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For as long as I can remember, I\u2019ve been a worrier. My weight, money, my career, what people thought of me \u2014 there was nothing I wouldn\u2019t agonise over.\u00a0 Who doesn\u2019t worry about these things, I can hear you ask? Of course, everyone has concerns that bother them, the little voice that nags away now Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-166785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166785\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/03\/31\/21\/35235DD800000578-0-image-m-34_1490991921251.jpg\")
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Mother who filmed ‘horrifying’ TSA pat-down of her special…<\/span>
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<\/p>\nTricks to calm you down – in 30 seconds\u00a0<\/h3>\n
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![\"Chloe](\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/03\/31\/23\/3ED245A800000578-0-image-a-20_1490998919298.jpg\")
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