What is the theory behind this anxiety Self-help worksheet?
The most prevalent mental health issues people encounter are anxiety disorders. They may have social, emotional, personal, and professional consequences if neglected. Numerous self-help techniques have been suggested for anxiety, and they are successful in managing anxiety.
How will the worksheet help?
The worksheet will work as an anxiety management toolkit. It makes it easier for clients to understand their anxiety and manage it in a better way.
How to use the worksheet?
The therapist can use this worksheet during a session with clients to make them understand that they can manage their anxiety on their own. It can be used as a self help guide to manage anxiety. There are different activities that clients perform to manage their anxiety.
Anxiety Self-help worksheet
Although managing your anxiety might be quite challenging, there are some things you can do that can be helpful. Let’s learn some ways to manage anxiety.
| ⚪Get to know your Anxiety Learn about your anxiety. Identify the triggers that are causing anxiety. Track your physical, emotional behavioural symptoms of anxiety. ⚪Practice breathing exercise Learn and practise breathing exercises. Do deep breathing or slow breathing. Count 4 when breath in and then count 4 when breath out. ⚪Practise Progressive muscle relaxation Find a quiet, relaxing place. Close your eyes and slowly tense each muscle of your body from head to toe, Hold the tension for 2-4 seconds then relax the muscles. It will release the muscle tension that is caused by the anxiety. ⚪Positive Self talk Negative self talk makes you weaker in front of anxiety. Let’s change the gears and change this negative self talk to positive self talk. Identify the inner dialogues, challenge them by identifying the evidence for and against them. Practise the positive self talk. ⚪Keep check on your physical health Have a proper and quality sleep. Do not forget to have a healthy diet. Be physically active. Make a 30 minute walk part of your routine. ⚪Talk about your anxiety Talk to someone you trust about your feelings. It could be a relief to discuss your worries with someone you can trust. ⚪Learn healthy coping strategies Make a list of activities that help you in dealing with anxiety. That can be spending time in nature, practicing deep breathing or doing yoga. It can be any activity that can help you in anxiety management. |
| Now you have learned different ways to manage your anxiety on your own. Make your own self help plan to manage anxiety. List the activities, their timing and how you will perform the activity. Do not forget to rate how effective the activity was in managing anxiety. |
References
Self-help – Generalised anxiety disorder in adults. (2021, February 10). nhs.uk. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/generalised-anxiety-disorder/self-help/
You can download this worksheet here.