Part of Health and wellbeingMental and emotional wellbeing
Worry is something that we all experience from time to time.
Worry might mean that you:
There are many ways to deal with worry:
Wellbeing professional, Lorna Walker, gives us some advice about coping with worry.
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Some of us might worry more than others, but we definitely all experience it.
Worrying might leave you feeling scared about what might happen or give you unpleasant sensations in your body like sore heads, upset tummies and sometimes, trouble getting to sleep.
And when worry is at its worst it can even stop you from doing things that you actually really enjoy.
So what can we do about worry?
Well, the first thing that I found helpful is to be really clear about what it is that's worrying me,like "I'm worried that I might get this wrong", "I'll be laughed at", or "I'm worried that if I don't get this piece of work done in time people will be angry or disappointed with me".
Sometimes there are things we can do to stop worrying so much.
Maybe if you're worried about what someone is thinking you can ask them. Or if you're worried about doing something well you can ask for help.
Sometimes though there isn't anything we can do, and instead all we can do is calm ourselves and accept that we don't know what will happen next.
We can slow down and take everything a little bit at a time and one way we can do this is through slow breathing.
When we breathe slowly our body and mind feel safer and more settled.
So let's try some square breathing together.
There are four stages, like the four sides of a square.
What you do is you breathe in for four seconds鈥
and then hold your breath for four seconds鈥
and then breathe out for four seconds鈥
and then hold for four鈥
and then start again.
So let's try it.
We will breathe in for four, then hold, breathe out, hold鈥
And you can do this three or four times, or until you feel your body and mind start to calm down a little.
It's a great practice to help slow your heart rate and help you to think more clearly.
So whatever the worries you have are, remember that you can ask for help, share them and look after yourself by breathing slowly and settling your body and mind.
Try some square breathing to help you to slow your heart rate and think more clearly when you're feeling worried.
There are four stages, like the four sides of a square:
Practise square breathing along with the video below. Once you know what to do, you can try it yourself, any time you are worried.
Practise square breathing.
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