Audio Transcript Auto-generated
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feeling anxious is something we all experience.
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Like all feelings and thoughts, anxiety comes and goes with
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time and our situations change.
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If these feelings go on for a long time or
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start to feel more difficult to manage, they can impact
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our lives here, we're going to talk through what anxiety
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is, common signs that you can notice and what we
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can do to help cope with and reduce these feelings.
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It's important to keep in mind that we all feel
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anxious at times.
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Sometimes we feel anxious without knowing why.
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However, when there are things in our lives we find
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difficult or uncertain is much more common to feel anxious
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more often and for longer feeling anxious doesn't mean you're
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not coping often.
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It's a sign that you have lost to cope with.
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Sometimes we try and just get on with it and
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this can be helpful.
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However, it can also stop us from spotting when we
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need to take steps to avoid feeling overwhelmed first let's
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talk about what anxiety actually is.
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We all experience and cope with anxiety in different ways
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and while feeling anxious can be very uncomfortable.
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It's not dangerous.
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Anxiety is a natural responsible body as it prepares to
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keep us safe when we feel threatened, stressed scared or
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that's something that we care about is at risk.
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This is known as the fight or flight response.
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This response evolved to protect us and those we care
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about from dangers like predators which we would literally need
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to fight or run away from almost was not encounter
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bears regularly anymore.
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We still find ourselves in situations where we are, something
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connected to us may be under threat or at risk,
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such as our jobs or finances, relationships or the health
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of people we care about.
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Nevertheless, our body deals with the problem in the same
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way as if it were a bear activating the fight
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or flight response In getting our bodies ready to run
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or fight.
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Our brains are fantastic at imagining situations and just thinking
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about things that could happen can trigger our body's response
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as if it really were taking place.
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What you might notice, We can notice the effects of
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anxiety in our body, our thoughts and our behaviors.
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Some of the common things we notice in our bodies
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include our hearts beating faster than feeling tense things that
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get on muscles ready to be used breathing quicker, which
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can make us feel dizzy or like me, my faint
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feeling sick or finding it hard to eat as blood
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moves away from our stomach to our muscles, having cartel
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cold sweats as your body gets ready for exercise and
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trying to cool us down, struggling to concentrate into sleep.
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Our bodies want us to watch out for dangers rather
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than focus on tasks that are less crucial for survival.
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It's common to struggle with us sleep.
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And if you're struggling, get up and do something relaxing
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and then try and come back to bed later when
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feeling anxious or stressed.
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It's also common to notice yourself having more headaches, thoughts,
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anxiety can also impact the way that we think and
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the way that we think can influence how anxious we
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feel. We might find ourselves thinking things like I'm losing
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control or I can't cope, I can't concentrate, I've got
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to get out.
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And what if thoughts about things that might happen?
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Behaviours you could notice include using more and healthy coping
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mechanisms like drinking or smoking more constantly worrying in imagining
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the worst scenarios struggling to finish tasks being irritable or
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snapping at those around you.
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Finding it hard to relax and avoiding doing things that
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you would like to.
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These are just some of the common experiences of anxiety,
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but everyone responds differently when we feel stressed, anxious or
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under pressure, we can feel like we're getting close to
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boiling point, finding it harder to get by day to
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day. Like a cattle, we need to keep an eye
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on what's increasing the temperature and getting as close to
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boiling point.
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Being aware of how hot water kettle is can help
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us to know when we need to take steps to
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reduce the heat.
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There are lots of ways to avoid reaching boiling point,
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whether it's removing the cattle from the hub for a
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while or adding some cold water to help you keep
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going. So what are some of the things that we
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can do to avoid our breaking point strategies?
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He will discuss some of the things that can help
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us to manage feelings of anxiety.
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There are things that we can do day to day
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to help with feeling anxious often.
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If we don't plan to the gap to ourselves, it
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won't happen.
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Planning things helps us to stick to our goals and
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do things that will help us in the long run
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here, we'll talk about sticking to a routine, tolerating uncertainty
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and reducing evidence 1st.
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Let's talk about sticking to a routine.
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Every team can help our lives feel less uncertain and
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help us to feel less anxious.
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Simplify your days.
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Think about what you can put down for a while,
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delegate and split things on your to do less than
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two manageable chunks and tackle them one at a time.
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Plan breaks and things that you enjoy into each day
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to let off some steam when feeling anxious, our bodies
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are preparing to be put into action.
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Whether it's a walk or a workout exercise is a
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good way for us to manage these feelings tried to
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go to bed and wake up at the same time,
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avoid caffeine and alcohol in the evenings and spend time
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unwinding before bed.
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Also plan your meals and eat healthily where you can
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tolerating uncertainty.
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While routines can help things feel more predictable.
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Uncertainty is a natural part of life.
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Increasing our tolerance for uncertainty can help reduce our anxiety.
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Try to focus on things that you can control, such
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as hobbies, housework or even planning meals.
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Think about times where things were uncertain but turned out
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okay. And try to reduce your worrying for more information
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on this and tolerating uncertainty.
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Cr worry weapon on produce avoidance.
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When we're anxious or stressed, we often try to avoid
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things that we don't want to do or think about.
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Of reading things can feel helpful in the short term,
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but often avoiding things can make things feel more difficult
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to deal with later.
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Making the problem feel bigger and making us feel more
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anxious in the long run, gradually starting to tackle the
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things that were alluding by setting small goals and taking
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things. Step by step can help us to reduce avoidance
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and feel less anxious when feeling particularly anxious.
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Sometimes, even when we take steps to reduce the heat
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or cattle can still boil over and we can feel
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overwhelmed, bar anxiety.
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Why not?
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Cattle is getting closer to boiling over here are some
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of the things that you can do.
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Step back from your thoughts.
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Think about something unrelated to what made you feel anxious.
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Our emotions and thoughts come like waves and the feelings
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will pass with time.
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Focus your senses on something other than how you feel.
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Such as the way a pen looks, the way your
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watch feels a smell that's comforting like aftershave or perfume
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or something with a strong taste like a sour sweet.
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It's common for our breathing to get quicker.
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When we're anxious slowing, our breathing can help our body
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to feel that things are okay.
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Look at a rectangle like your phone and follow it
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with your finger.
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Breathe in on the short edges for two seconds And
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then out for four on the long side, breathing out
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more than you breathe in, repeat this for as long
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as you need to speaking to someone you trust about
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how things are can also give us a sense of
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connection, helping our bodies to realize that we're safe.
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Finally be kind to yourself.
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It's common and okay to feel anxious.
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Keep in mind that we all feel anxious at times
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and this is an entirely understandable experience.
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Even when things feel overwhelming, it's important that we give
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ourselves time to look after ourselves and do the things
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that we enjoy.
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You can encourage yourself in the same way that you
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would. Others speed yourself kindly.
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You're doing the best that you can.
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It's okay to have bad days.
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Don't be hard on yourself.
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If things don't go as planned and be open to
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accepting help when it's offered to you.
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This isn't easy.
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But we all have our limits and accepting helps an
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important part of looking after yourself for further support.
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You can speak to peers or managers, the occupational health
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or in house wellbeing service at your work, your local
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GP and if you live in the Greater Manchester area
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and are helpful care staff or a family member of
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someone working in these sectors, then you can contact the
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Greater Manchester resilience hub for support by telephone or email.
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Keep your eye out for other videos on topics such
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as sleep worries, feeling low and stress