By Craig Souter, Content Team Contributor

At some point in life, most people have felt that things have been out of control, whether that was challenges at work, too many assignments in their studies, too many life events happening at once, or a big demand on their social time. However, there is one tactic which is always helpful in the face of feeling out of control – to have a plan!

What anxiety challenges make a plan useful?

Anxiety is no different to the challenges stated above. In fact, arguably, the value of a plan with anxiety can be even greater. This is because in the face of anxiety we are presented with two key challenges:

• Chaos! Anxiety tends to throw so many overwhelming challenges your way all at once. These could include physical symptoms, mental symptoms, impact on your life circumstances, or simply overbearing emotions. It can easily feel like you are out of control and so it’s difficult to respond to them all with a calm rational mind.  

• Indecision! When your threat response is activated, your ability to think things through logically is inhibited. You are very often almost frozen into action or flighted into escape. This can mean that the choice of what to do next can seem almost impossible.

How does a plan help?

Setting time aside to create a plan that aligns with your goals for recovery and living your best life can help you in the following ways:

• It helps you to take an active control in a situation that otherwise feels unmanageable.
• It brings together all the knowledge and useful skills you’ve learnt into one place so that you can decide how you want to use them.
• It stops your actions from being dependent on how anxiety is making you feel. For example, if you have allocated time for exercise, then your goal will be to exercise even if you are feeling anxious.
• It helps you to hold yourself accountable to ensure that you are putting in the effort you want for relaxation and recovery.

How do you go about creating an anxiety plan?

Start by identifying the elements of anxiety recovery that you’ve decided are important for you. There are lots of different articles on Home – NoPanic regarding different skills that you can learn, but here are some that you may acquire: 

• A chosen physical activity you want to stick to
• preferred relaxation exercises
• breathing techniques
• a commitment to a regular balanced diet
• thought management
• support (e.g. counselling, mentoring)
• social engagement

Look at each of these and, over a manageable period – let’s say a week –  consider how much of each you want to achieve. These are your goals.

Now draw up a simple plan for the next week, probably split something like morning, afternoon and evening. If you have any commitments you must meet (e.g. work) plot them in. Now consider when you will fit in your recovery plan activities. You’ll have to be:

• Realistic; don’t turn this into another source of stress trying to fill every minute with tasks that you must complete or else you’ve failed. This is just creating a way to beat yourself up.
• Challenging; remember this is your life and your well-being, you have to come first, otherwise you will struggle to be there for anybody else, so consider where you can create space to engage in your recovery activities.

Pitfalls and Tips

Once you’ve got your plan, take note of the following:

• DO NOT let this be a weapon to punish yourself with. Life happens and you won’t always be able to complete every task. This plan is there to help guide you, not beat you.
• DO learn and adapt. If the plan is not working for you, adjust it. It’s your life and your plan, you are allowed to learn from it and make it better.
• DO use the plan whenever you are struggling and feel lost. Consider reflecting that right now things are tough, but you have a plan, and you know that by pushing on with the plan, you will get to a better place in the end.
• TALK to somebody about how it’s going. As with everything anxiety-related, being stuck in your head is tough, speak to a friend, a family member or our helpline. Tell them what is working and what isn’t with your plan.

Take control and best of luck!

If you would like support with your recovery from anxiety, try our CBT-Focused Mentoring Services.