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Anxiety Hotline | Call Our Free Anxiety Helpline

Virtually every person experiences anxiety as a natural response to stress. You may have felt it before preparing for a big meeting, a social gathering, or an important exam. However, some people experience excessive anxiety that controls and impairs their daily lives.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting more than 18% of American adults. Although there are many effective approaches to treating anxiety disorders, only 1/3 of those with anxiety disorders seek treatment.¹

According to a study by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, the U.S. spends more than $42 billion a year treating anxiety disorders,¹ more than half of which is spent on patients who repeatedly use general health care services to address anxiety symptoms that mimic physical illness. Increased awareness of anxiety disorders and its potentially far-reaching health effects could lead to a more efficient use of appropriate health care services. Additionally, if you are struggling with an anxiety disorder and another health condition, it is important to find treatment that effectively targets both disorders.

There are different types of anxiety disorders, including panic disorder and certain phobias. The prevalence of anxiety disorders is often related to specific factors, such as:^1,2,3

Genetics and early life experiences: Your risk of developing an anxiety disorder may be higher depending on your genetics and certain environmental factors, including:
- Having a low income.
- Being divorced or widowed.
- Being exposed to stressful life events.
- Having a family history of mental disorders.
- Having elevated cortisol levels.

Gender: Women are 60% more likely to experience an anxiety disorder compared to men.

People with anxiety are also more likely to experience or exhibit:¹

Concurrent depression: People with an anxiety disorder are more likely to suffer from depression; nearly half of people diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with anxiety.

Frequent doctor visits: People with an anxiety disorder are 3 to 5 times more likely to visit their primary care physician and 6 times more likely to be hospitalized for a psychiatric disorder.

What Questions Should I Ask?

When calling an anxiety crisis hotline, you can ask any question you want. To get started, you might ask the call center specialist:

How do I know if I have an anxiety disorder?
Where can I go for an evaluation?
Does my insurance cover treatment for an anxiety disorder?
What can I expect in treatment?
What types of therapies do they use when treating an anxiety disorder?
What kind of stress-management techniques can help people with anxiety disorders?
What types of medications are used in treatment?
How can I talk to a doctor about available clinical trials or studies?
How do I find a clinical trial near me?

If you have any other specific questions related to your mental health, physical health, or substance abuse issues you may be experiencing, be sure to ask the person on the helpline for more information. You should feel as if your questions have been answered to your satisfaction. If you still have questions, don’t hesitate to ask again or even call back later.

If your loved one is battling an anxiety disorder, you can call a free anxiety helpline for support and answers. You may want to talk about what you’re going through and how to find help for your friend or family member. Other things you may ask include:

How do I know if my loved one has an anxiety disorder?
What are the next steps in helping my loved one get treatment for an anxiety disorder?
Where can I find resources (support groups, information) for concerned loved ones?

Should I Call an Anxiety Hotline?

People with anxiety disorders often experience an excessive amount of anxiety or worry and display anxiety-related symptoms. If you are wondering whether you or a loved one has an anxiety disorder, take this short quiz to see if you might have an anxiety disorder:^3*

Are you easily fatigued?
Do you feel a sense of restlessness, feeling wound-up or on edge about things?
Is it hard for you to control your worry?
Do you feel irritable?
Do you have problems sleeping—falling asleep, staying asleep, or having an unsatisfying amount of sleep?
Do you have trouble concentrating?
Does your mind go blank?
Do you have muscle tension?

If you answered yes to all or most of these questions, you might have an anxiety disorder.

*The results of this quiz do not qualify as a medical diagnosis. This quiz is only intended to provide you with general information about whether or not to see a doctor. Please see a medical professional for a full examination if you think you may have an anxiety disorder.

If you are contemplating calling an anxiety hotline but you’re not sure that you are ready or if it’s the right time, just remember:

You can always call a helpline, day or night.

They are free and confidential.
You can share as much information as you wish.

Mental Health Information

Anxiety is a broad mental health disease that affects every person differently. Whether or not you have received an official diagnosis for your disorder, there are excellent resources available online to help you better understand your mental health.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): 1-800-950-NAMI (6264). If you are in a crisis or looking for mental health information, you can call NAMI’s helpline for free support. NAMI has programs designed specifically for those who identify as living with a mental health condition, caregivers, veterans, teens, and LGBTQ.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): 800-662-HELP (4357). This national helpline is available 24/7 in English and Spanish for anyone facing a substance abuse or mental health disorder. You can call the helpline at any time to speak with a trained information specialist who can provide you with local resources and support.

MentalHealth.gov: This website provides information about mental health disorders and how to get help. There are a number of helplines listed on the page, and you can enter your zip code to find mental health services in your state or zip code.

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): This is an excellent and reliable resource to learn more about anxiety disorders. You can read about signs and symptoms, what treatment and therapies are commonly used in treatment, and much more.

Anxiety Hotlines

Anxiety helplines are staffed by qualified support representatives who can help answer your questions about mental health issues. If you want to know what the symptoms of an anxiety disorder are, your treatment options for anxiety, or how to find local support groups and anxiety services, you can always call a helpline.

If this is a medical emergency or you are having any suicidal thoughts, call 911.

These helplines are a good resource when your anxiety has reached an overwhelming point and you need someone to talk to:

Crisis Text Line: Text CONNECT to 741741. When you text this helpline, you’ll be connected to trained counselors for individualized support.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). If you are having suicidal thoughts, you can reach out any time for free and confidential support.

Mental Health America: This website offers anxiety screening tests that you can take, as well as a way for you to contact the program and speak to someone.

Sources

1. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. (2016). Facts and Statistics.
2. National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Any Anxiety Disorder Among Adults.
3. National Institute of Mental Health. (2016). Anxiety Disorders.

Anxiety Hotline - 866-903-3787 | Free 24/7 Support Helpline

Anxiety Hotlines

There are many ways that you can get more information about what anxiety is and where you can find treatment. One such example is by calling any number of anxiety hotlines. These hotlines can help you identify if you or someone you love is suffering from an anxiety disorder and can help you find ways to get treatment. The Mental Health Hotline, available at 866-903-3787, can get you the information that you need about anxiety. In addition, the representatives that you will speak to can point you toward resources that can help you recover. Don’t wait. If you or a loved one is suffering from an anxiety disorder, you deserve to live a happy life. Call 866-903-3787 today.

Anxiety Statistics

Everyone feels anxious sometimes. In fact, most of our behavior is motivated by anxiety. You go to work because you would get in trouble and not get paid if you didn’t show up. Today, you are worried about your anxiety, or that of your loved one, so you are searching online for help. Anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness, uncertainty, worry, or fear that triggers the body’s stress response in reaction to a threat, which may or may not be real. Unfortunately, sometimes, anxiety can grow out of control, taking over our lives and making us so afraid that we have a difficult time functioning. In these instances, anxiety becomes more than just annoying. It becomes a chronic condition that may require medical intervention and treatment. Thankfully, anxiety is no longer a problem that needs to be kept in the dark. Indeed, according to available information, anxiety disorders affect more than 40 million people. This makes anxiety disorders among the most common that Americans endure.

If you are looking for information about how anxiety can be managed, there is good news because a variety of high-quality sources of information exist that can provide you with this information. One perfect example is the National Mental Health Hotline, which provides a wide array of information on what anxiety is, how it can be treated, and where such treatment can be found. You may access the information at The National Mental Health Hotline by calling 866-903-3787.

Stages of Anxiety

No anxiety–of course this is good but sometimes we do have worries or concerns.
Mild anxiety–this is normal and healthy. If you have a job interview or are taking an exam, mild anxiety helps you focus and do the right thing.
Moderate anxiety–in this condition, the person could still function, but their focus is narrower. They may have trouble concentrating and making decisions.
Severe and panic anxiety, “panic attacks” when anxiety gets to this point, the person cannot cope, cannot function, and he or she needs help.

What Are Anxiety Disorders?

Anxiety disorders occur when anxiety begins to take over your life and make it extremely difficult for you to function. This is more than just being afraid about a specific situation because that type of fear tends to abate when the situation that you are experiencing goes away. Anxiety disorders are much more significant. There are different definitions for different anxiety disorders, but they all essentially include a persistent, debilitating fear and a fear of becoming more afraid.

Common symptoms of someone experiencing anxiety include:

• Physical symptoms, such as sweating, shaking, rapid heart rate, or an upset stomach
• An overwhelming sense of fear, worry, or dread
• Difficulty concentrating, focusing, working, or studying
• A feeling that you are going to lose control or consciousness at any moment, requiring hospitalization or medical attention

Unfortunately, anxiety disorders commonly co-occur with other disorders. For example, anxiety disorders are common in people who suffer from a variety of other mental illnesses, including eating disorders, depression, substance use disorder, and more. These related conditions can make treating the other disease more challenging.

What Causes Anxiety Disorders?

Anxiety disorders are generally believed to have strong genetic components. Multiple studies have found that there are specific chromosomal characteristics that are found in people who have anxiety. These characteristics are passed from one generation to the next with clear evidence indicating that the related types of anxiety disorders can also be passed from one generation to another. While these genetic markers do not guarantee that someone will suffer from anxiety disorders, it does appear to increase the likelihood that this will happen.

For some disorders, like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a specific, real-world trigger is required for someone to experience the disease. However, a genetic predisposition can make an individual more likely to experience anxiety. There is also no question that a variety of negative life events can lead to anxiety disorders. Such occurrences include a death in the family, a loss of a job, or a change in financial status. More than other forms of mental illness, a traumatic event, like an assault or accident, can lead to some sort of anxiety disorder as well. It is also possible that a variety of minor life changes will lead to major anxiety challenges.

Different Types of Anxiety Disorders

There are many types of anxiety disorders. These disorders vary widely and may express themselves in many different ways. They are likely to develop in response to a variety of circumstances and situations that can be very unpleasant. While anxiety and fear are at the core of all of these instances, anxiety expresses itself in different ways. Examples of anxiety include:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

A Generalized Anxiety Disorder is among the more common anxiety disorders. It is specifically defined as an inability to shake a sense of fear or dread, a free-floating sense of anxiety, and a constant state of worry or concern. It is also defined as being completely unable to relax and living in a constant state of fear or tension. Symptoms of this disorder include a constantly moving brain, fatigue, stress, tension, and having a difficult time relaxing. The severity of the disorder may constantly shift throughout the day; there may be times where it is barely noticeable, and there may be other moments where it is nearly overwhelming.

Panic Disorder

When someone thinks of an anxiety attack or a panic attack, he or she is likely thinking of a panic disorder. Panic disorders are defined as the continued experience of panic attacks. Panic attacks are truly terrifying experiences. They involve an overwhelming sense of dread, fear, or loss of control. Someone who is experiencing a panic attack may feel as if he or she is dying and may believe that he or she will die or “lose control” and have to be hospitalized at any moment. They are also accompanied by a variety of extremely painful and frightening physical symptoms, including accelerated breathing and heart rate, dizziness, an upset stomach, sweating, trembling, and more.

Someone who is suffering from a panic disorder can be treated by addressing the source of the panic and being taught how to talk themselves out of these panic attacks. Medication can also be very helpful for panic attacks, both in terms of preventing an attack from happening in the first place, stopping an attack from occurring, or helping to reduce the overall baseline level of anxiety and enable therapy to work.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders occur when someone repeatedly and obsessively engages in certain ritualistic behaviors. This can occur in many forms, which include counting, ticking, cleaning, or touching certain items. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is considered an anxiety behavior because the behavior itself is usually driven by anxiety over what might happen if the specific rituals are not completed. As a result of this fear, someone is driven to engage in repeated behaviors, believing that this is the only way to make anxiety abate.

Put another way, OCD is defined by a belief that certain behaviors are good and necessary in order to ward off bad thoughts or illnesses. The individual in question knows that these compulsions are problematic, but he or she is unable to stop them. Depending on the severity of the disease, someone may spend hours engaged in a ritual, completely held a prisoner to the disorder. OCD can be debilitating and dramatically impact someone’s life. Thankfully, there are a number of treatments designed to help it, including medication and gradual exposure therapy designed to slowly desensitize someone.

We need to differentiate obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) from obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). With the former, as described above, the condition can be very disabling to the person and they have a lot of problems in their everyday life. With obsessive compulsive personality disorder, the condition is not so disabling. The person with OCPD may be very careful and thorough doing a task or keep their home perfectly clean or always take their medication at 10:00 PM. They do this because they become anxious if they do not keep to their routine. If this lesser obsessive-compulsive malady becomes a problem in the person’s daily life, work, or relationships, he or she can consult a psychiatrist or therapist for medication or talk therapy.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is common for someone who has experienced a traumatic event. This event can vary and can include being part of a violent event, a sexual assault, a robbery, or other traumatic events. PTSD is tragically common among members of the military who have experienced any number of violent events. PTSD is caused by someone being unable to process his or her traumatic experience and come to any sort of closure with it. As a result, that person’s brain will replay the experience over and over again.

Symptoms of PTSD include constant flashbacks and nightmares, intrusive and uncontrolled memories, anxiety attacks, generalized anxiety, and an inability to function. Victims may blame themselves for the experience, noting that if they had just done one thing differently, they may have experienced a different outcome. Thankfully, this form of anxiety can be controlled with proper treatment.

Social Phobia

A social phobia, also known as a social anxiety disorder, is the name for someone who is deeply afraid of being judged by others. As a result of this fear, the person may be less willing, or completely unwilling, to appear in any number of social situations.

This phobia can occur in varying degrees. It may be that someone is unwilling to make a presentation in public because they are afraid of being laughed at. Conversely, it may be so severe that someone doesn’t want to ever leave their home and morphs into agoraphobia, which literally means “fear of the marketplace;” this is a diagnosis given to people who are afraid to be among groups of people. Social phobias are common, with an estimated 15 million Americans suffering from them.

How Anxiety Disorders Can Be Treated

Thankfully, despite its varying nature and potentially debilitating symptom set, anxiety disorders are very treatable. Treatment forms can be broken down into roughly two categories.

Pharmacological Treatment for Anxiety

Many people who suffer from anxiety disorders take medication to help them manage their symptoms. A variety of medications can be given for anxiety management. These include antidepressants that can manage serotonin levels, tricyclics, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, and more.

Benzodiazepines are also common for people suffering from anxiety disorders. These are tranquilizers that can calm someone down and potentially help them to ward off or end an anxiety attack. Depending on the dose, these can be very powerful drugs. Unfortunately, Benzos are highly addictive, and the use of these drugs can lead to addiction. As such, individuals need to be very careful with their use of these types of medications.

Behavioral Treatment for Anxiety

A variety of behavioral treatments, when managed by a trained professional, can be hugely beneficial when it comes to coping with anxiety. In fact, for many people, the physical feelings of anxiety can be lessened through learning how to alter and control their own behaviors. Possible behavioral treatments include a number of different therapies:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which manages how someone thinks about specific experiences or events, helping to turn those thoughts away from anxiety-producing reactions
• Exposure Therapy, which involves gradual and controlled exposure to the anxiety-producing stimulus
• Lifestyle changes that are designed to reduce anxiety overall, including art therapy, relaxation techniques, exercise, and more

How to cope with stress and anxiety due to the situation in Ukraine. What is observer trauma, free psychological help February-March 2022 - February 26, 2022

The human psyche is arranged in such a way that the distance between us and the ongoing frightening events does not play a special role

Illustration: Yuri Orlov

Any conflicts are a huge stress, and when it comes to military operations, it is quite normal to feel anxiety and fear. The main thing is to learn how to cope with them and try to avoid deep psychological trauma. How to overcome the increased anxiety and be less afraid? What is Observer Trauma? How to distinguish a fake? Why do we experience irrational shame? We answer these questions with a psychotherapist Igor Lyakh.

Igor Lyakh - Chairman of the Novosibirsk regional branch of the All-Russian Professional Psychotherapeutic League. European registered psychotherapist. Expert of the Association of Supervisors and Consultants.

The very first step is to trace these emotions.

— Some people, falling into a state of fear, anxiety, panicking, notice very late that they have found themselves in this state. And they notice them not by internal sensations, but when those around them begin to say: “Calm down, relax,” explains psychotherapist Igor Lyakh. You need to understand what this feeling is.

The next steps depend on the circumstances in which the person noticed it.

- I guess that a fairly large number of people now find themselves in front of their computer screens. They get some kind of news, and they somehow cling to them, involve them. Constant reading of the news only intensifies these experiences, the expert noted. — Many people now work remotely, and the news becomes such a background that can interfere with work, perform some practical tasks.

Decide for yourself whether you need these emotions now or not. Do they help or hinder you in some way? And if you answer yourself that the feeling interferes, its intensity is too high, then it needs to be reduced.

The third step is to find effective measures to reduce anxiety and fear.

- For most people it will be quite simple - turn off the TV, computer monitor, walk around, do some small things. That is, to do something that may be related to taking care of yourself or your loved ones. And for the majority, this is enough to return to a normal state and stop being a transmitter of these emotions.

But many modern people do not just consume content, but they themselves are very active in social networks, sharing their feelings and experiences online. For many, life is sufficiently virtualized.

- They do not just look at the monitor screen, but empathize with the events that are unfolding. And it is these people who are especially vulnerable to all sorts of fakes and misinformation, because when emotionally involved, they often lose their critical thinking. And very often those people who are highly receptive and whose lives are more virtualized experience more difficult experiences.

According to the expert, such people experience a “loop”. A person is frightened by the news that he reads, and in order to calm down, he is also looking for other information on the Web.

— There is such a paradox. And the trouble is that the information that he stumbles upon has a different purpose - definitely not to reassure. On the contrary, destabilize. And people just hang in front of the screens. Unfortunately, both yesterday and today I consulted people who stayed up all night looking for news. This news frightened them, but people came up again and again looked for information. It looks like an obsession, like a compulsion. And if you find yourself in such an obsessive state, then simply moving away from the computer to do business will not help, - warns Igor Lyakh.

Stronger measures are needed here to deal with the needs that are disturbed by this panic loop. It is imperative to communicate live with a person whom you trust, with whom you can speak sincerely. If there is no such person in your environment, then you can contact a psychologist.

Modern means of communication, video, sound and text make us participants in events that take place thousands of miles away against our own desire

Photo: Alexey Volkhonsky

Feeling anxiety and panic for a long time, overloading yourself with information, you, without noticing it, can get an “observer injury”. This is a very well-known mental phenomenon, described many times in the scientific literature, when the one who observes the events receives a trauma comparable to the mental trauma that the participants in the event receive.

- We sympathize and empathize, and for our psyche there is no particular difference - the terrible thing happens to us or far enough away. Modern means of communication, video, sound and text make us participants in events that take place thousands of kilometers away from us against our own desire, the psychotherapist explains. – The natural therapy of the trauma of the observer is to return within the boundaries of one’s own body with one’s consciousness, sensations. And to communicate with those close people who surround you, with whom you can literally hold hands, which you can touch.

In this case, the observer's emotional contagion is weakened. Our own feelings, emotions, other experiences are able to separate from virtualization. And usually the person gets better. The effects of observer trauma can be dire, ranging from acute stress disorder to post-traumatic stress disorder.

There are also social consequences - a person who has experienced the trauma of an observer very often panics and, unwittingly, begins to spread misinformation.

- Our recent example is when the tragedy happened at the Winter Cherry. People passed off someone's fantasies as real and participated in its distribution, without wanting to. This is a socially dangerous act, the specialist warns.

For physical health, such an injury can also be quite dangerous. Psychosomatic illnesses may begin.

- If a person spins for a long time in the trauma of the observer, he has the same disorders that people in emergency situations have: ulcers, complications in the heart, lungs, intestines. And relationships with others deteriorate. Then he can be very ashamed of those words that he says in vehemence. I propose to restore not only self-control, but also high-quality social interactions. Meet those who support you. You can just walk around in the park, hold hands, drink a cup of coffee together, visit each other, - the psychotherapist advises.

Reduces stress, which leads to feeling more secure from a perceived threat. Perhaps now is the time to do some house renovations, clean up your browsers, do something about information security, to protect some social interactions.

- It is important to understand here that when we panic, age regression very often occurs within us. It is not an adult who is afraid, in some respects a solid and respected person, a small child is afraid. Therefore, simple symbolic actions help a lot of people. For example, take a hot bath, wrap yourself in a warm blanket, go to sleep in a back room, Igor Lyakh lists.

We need security sometimes just like small children. And this little child inside you needs to be taken care of, he needs to be given the opportunity to speak out, he needs to be listened to.

— And such an approach and self-care makes it easier to experience this stress. Someone needs to go to the rocking chair, someone needs to take a steam bath. It is there that this inner frightened child becomes more calm and pleasant.

When you can’t do anything to help someone, an irrational feeling of guilt may arise inside

Photo: Aleksey Volkhonsky

Novosibirsk is several thousand kilometers away from hostilities, but many residents are unable to avoid “survivor's guilt”.

— Very often it manifests itself in the form of an irrational feeling of shame, pain, loss due to the fact that we live in a fairly prosperous place and a fairly prosperous time, while others do not. And you have to be very careful not to do stupid things, the doctor advises. - When the events in Crimea took place 8 years ago, the entire world community said: "Russians, get on your knees, ask for forgiveness." They tried to stimulate this survivor's guilt in everyone around them. They said it then, but it fired now.

“Survivor's guilt” pushes many people to not quite rational actions. People cannot somehow change the situation and, engaged by this guilt, they try to do at least something that sometimes even looks frightening.

Fake information spurs guilt, anxiety, and stress. With such a huge stream, it is very difficult to understand where is the truth and where is the lie. Social networks are full of revealing shots, messages, videos. From a psychological point of view, a fake can be defined according to several criteria.

- Any informational message should be treated with caution. Fakes, as a rule, highlight what is immediately visible in them, what they are trying to push you to, what kind of experience or participation in something. He is always engaged. Second, he is always emotional. When you see that your emotions and reactions go much earlier than your consciousness - potentially this information can also be a fake. Text, video or photo - it doesn't matter. There are very professional directors of such fakes.

The third criterion is that you get the feeling that some secret is being revealed to you.

- This technique is focused on our children's perception. How the secret is revealed. And this is a rather bright psychological criterion - a secret to the whole world.

Many people say that now they have completely lost their mood and the approaching favorite holiday of March 8 is not at all happy.

- This reaction can be defined as obliterated mourning. If a person at some time has experienced the trauma of an observer or the guilt of a survivor, or both, and there are a lot of such people in society, then he parted with the illusion of former well-being. It always comes with some grief.

And it doesn't matter what kind of well-being we are talking about: informational, financial, etc. This parting is always experienced with some loss or grief.

— So that it passes quickly and without serious losses and does not become a problem, meet with one close person, as happens with real grief. After such communication, we form new connections, relationships and plans. And don't be afraid to ask the experts for help. Now there are also free psychological assistance services, the expert concludes.

Center for Emergency Psychological Assistance of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia — +7 (495) 989–50–50. Emergency psychological assistance service, including for children — +7–800–200–01–22.

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On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided on a special military operation in the Donbass. His decision and what is happening in Ukraine changed the lives of millions of not only adults, but also children. Children see our anxiety and ask questions. How to explain what military action is? How to help a frightened child? But what if a teenager does not agree with your opinion about what is happening? We spoke with a clinical psychologist, a psychoanalyst working with children, to find answers to these questions.

How to help yourself with increased anxiety: recommendations from Moscow psychologists

Anxiety itself is characteristic of most of us. The feeling of anxiety is a normal state in psychology and is considered as an adaptive mechanism that helps us overcome various stressful situations. Olga Borisova, a psychologist at the Doverie family center, told how to help herself.

“Anxiety naturally mobilizes the human body to solve problems. Our psyche is depleted, and we begin to lose strength, it becomes more difficult to cope ,” says the psychologist.

Varvara S., a Muscovite with many children, first contacted a specialist from the Doverie family center. The woman experienced an inexplicable feeling of anxiety. “The state of internal discomfort torments me. Even now I can’t find a comfortable position for a long time. Constant worry about children, endless cooking and apartment cleaning, this loan, be it wrong! - says Varvara.

Psychologists worked with the woman and her family, they diagnosed and identified the causes of this condition. Varvara was recommended a set of measures to help cope with emotions. Some of them are quite universal for many.

Physical activity. Any physical activity can restore peace of mind. Movement helps the body to relax physically and psychologically. It can be physical exercises, you can dance, go for a walk alone or with friends.
Breathing exercises. Increases attention, calms the nervous system and reduces stress. Start with the body: feel whether you are warm or cold, whether your posture is comfortable. Straighten your back and straighten your shoulders. Breathe, paying attention to your inhalations and exhalations. Do it slowly, without jerking, concentrating on each breath. Try to increase your exhalation. Even if disturbing thoughts continue to overwhelm you at this time, simply return your attention to your breathing and the state of your body. You can do this exercise for 10-15 minutes, and even 1-2 minutes when time is limited.
Water procedures. A warm shower with strong water pressure will not only relax the muscles and improve blood circulation, but also calm the nerves. And half an hour in the pool will relieve stress after a hard day. Or turn on your favorite music and take a hot bath. The effect will be enhanced if you add a few drops of chamomile, lavender, tangerine or lemon balm essential oil to the water. If there is no time for long water procedures, wet your hands and run wet palms over your face, neck and shoulders. Cold water well tones the skin and calms the nerve receptors.
Minimize the flow of information, especially negative information. Limit negative news and TV viewing and gadget time.
A glass of water or tea with honey. A glass of clean water will help restore normal heart rhythm and relax. You need to drink slowly - in short sips, taking short breaks between them. Swallowing movements calm the nerves, and sweets stimulate the production of “happiness hormones”.
Get a massage. A professional massage therapist, of course, will relieve nervous tension and eliminate muscle clamps. But a relaxing massage can be done on your own. Many nerve endings are concentrated in the head. Sit comfortably and start massaging your temples with smooth circular motions. Gradually move on to the scalp. At the same time, the fingertips should slide freely over the surface (in the direction of hair growth) and not stretch the skin. A ten-minute massage improves blood circulation, relieves stress and normalizes sleep. In addition, it stimulates hair growth and strengthens hair follicles.

At the last meeting, after 6 months of painstaking work, Varvara shared her thoughts. “After analyzing my condition, I realized that I simply cannot live without anxiety. This is how my mother and grandmother lived. I thought about the fact that I teach my children the same thing, but I don’t want to. This is my main motive for dealing with anxiety,” says the woman.

Summing up the work with the family of Varvara S., we can say that it is the unknown that often scares us. Think about specific actions, for example, how can you yourself influence the situation? How can you help? Think over your actions and start them - real things will distract you from restless thoughts.

« It is necessary to recognize what triggers anxiety. What are you worried about? Identify one or more points that are the most “troubling” for you. Answer yourself the question: what can happen or happen the worst? What help or support can you get then, what solutions can you find in this situation? Such an internal representation of events will reduce your anxiety, ”recommends a psychologist .

For reference:

28 city organizations work to support Moscow families: 25 My Family Centers, as well as the Crisis Center for Women and Children, the Vozrozhdeniye and Altufievo social rehabilitation centers for minors.

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