We all suffer stress at some time or another... it's a part of modern life these days unfortunately. But added stress in the life of someone suffering from anxiety can be enough to cause some serious damage.
Since I first starting suffering from depression I've found myself becoming extremely anxious when stress levels rise. Thankfully I've found a couple of coping strategies that generally work for me. They're not new or particularly clever strategies, but I thought I'd share them in case they can help others.
Controlled Breathing
You know that feeling when your heart starts hammering and you begin getting all sweaty and your breath comes in short, sharp pants? In case you didn't know, that's anxiety... and you need to control it.
Try not to worry about the pounding in your chest; you're not going to have a heart attack and keel over, trust me. The thing to do is to get hold of your breathing.
For me this is best done by recognising the situation before things get too advanced and by taking a deep breath.
Suck air deep into your lungs and hold your breath while you count slowly to four. Exhale slowly counting to six (slowly) as you blow out.
Inhale counting slowly to six as you do, then hold your breath and count slowly to five before exhaling to another slow count of six.
Inhale counting slowly to seven as you do, then hold your breath and count slowly to six before exhaling to another slow count of seven.
Inhale counting slowly to eight as you do, then hold your breath and count slowly to seven before exhaling to another slow count of eight.
I'm sure you get the picture...
I keep this up to an inhale/exhale of ten and hold of eleven; the numbers are meaningless really, it's the process of slow breathing with a pause between the inhale and exhale that does the trick.
My experience has been that I'm back in control by the count of ten and my heart rate has reduced.
Visiting A Relaxing Place
The second strategy I use works for me when I'm left waiting in a stressful situation. Again, you all know what this is like... you fidget and fret and more you fret, the worse things seem to become.
In this situation I use a calming image and imagine myself at that place. The images I use tend to be by water... the sea, a river or lake, but you need to imagine something that works for you.
(click to enlarge)
This is one of the places that works for me; it's a favourite piece of coast that I have always found quiet and restful.
The thing to do is close your eyes and visualise your image in the middle of your head. If you can create it in a black void, so much the better.
Breathe slowly while you visualise and try to let your limbs go heavy as you do... concentrate on your image... feel the breeze... hear the birds... or the waves... feel the sunshine...
Just let your mind do its stuff and you may be surprised by the results; the mind is an incredible thing.
I'm not suggesting these strategies will work for everyone, but they have certainly helped me.
There are times however when nothing seems to work... I'm having a stressful week and not sleeping... this has raised my stress levels and nothing I seem to do just now is helping. 
