Coping with anxiety

Spending time on hobbies and crafts is a good way to nurture healthy emotions. This can be gardening, cooking, art or yoga, which can be extremely relaxing and rewarding. They are also the perfect way to escape our high-tech and stressful lives.

But while slower hobbies can help you breathe easy, high-octane sports can do wonders to help with anxiety, too.

Breathing exercises can help to regulate your breath when anxiety symptoms kick in, and can also help to clear your mind.

Box breathing is one of the simplest breathing exercise. Take four seconds to inhale deeply, hold your breath for four more, before slowly exhaling over four counts and keeping your lungs empty for another four.

Sunlight encourages the production of happy hormones like endorphins and serotonin in humans.

Negative thoughts that are bottled up and kept under a lid can accumulate and take their toll on your mental wellbeing. One way to address that is to check in regularly with trusted friends, loved ones or counsellors.

Coffee may also exacerbate symptoms of anxiety. According to research, a single cup of coffee contains between 100 - 250mg of the potent stuff. So, those in the habit of consuming multiple cups daily might ingest more than 400mg of caffeine, at which point it might aggravate symptoms of anxiety, like elevated heart rate, nausea and even abdominal pains.

Food known to help with anxiety and mood disorders:

1. Healthy foods like cheese, nuts, and probiotic foods like kimchi and yoghurt

2. Chamomile tea and green tea, packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties