Anxiety self-help is easier to use when it starts with one manageable step. This guide helps you choose something to try now, work with recurring worry and review what is helping over the next week. You do not have to force yourself to feel calm or do every exercise.
For a short reading path and practical sheets, visit the anxiety resource library.
This guide is educational. If symptoms are new, severe or medically worrying, seek medical help rather than assuming anxiety. If you cannot stay safe or someone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services; in Ireland call 112 or 999. The HSE urgent help page lists crisis-support routes. Samaritans Ireland can be reached on 116 123.
Start with what you need today
- Feeling overwhelmed now: begin with a brief pause and one small action below. The separate grounding guide offers more detail.
- Stuck in worry: try the short written exercise in the next section.
- Avoiding something important: choose a small, safe step rather than the hardest situation.
- Need support: you can explore help with anxiety now; self-help is not a requirement before getting care.
A brief pause when anxiety rises
If you recognise a familiar anxiety pattern and are physically safe, take a moment to notice where you are. Feel the support of the chair or floor. Look at something ordinary nearby. If focusing on breathing feels helpful, let it become gentle and unforced; if that increases discomfort, return your attention to your surroundings. The NHS breathing exercise explains a simple approach.
Then choose what comes next: return to one small task, have some water, take a short walk or speak with someone you trust. The question is not whether you can make every anxious thought disappear, but what would be a workable next step. For recurrent panic, use the more specific panic attack plan.
Put a worry on paper
Try this privately on paper; you do not need to enter personal worries into a website. The distinction between a problem you can act on and an uncertain possibility can help interrupt repeated mental problem-solving. The NHS guide to tackling worries explains this approach and the option of a short, planned worry period.
- Write the concern in one sentence. For example: “I am worried about tomorrow’s meeting.”
- Identify any useful action. Preparing one question may help; rehearsing every possible conversation may not.
- Decide when to act. Choose a realistic time and a small task.
- Notice what cannot be settled now. You cannot control every response from other people. Gently bring attention back to your present activity.
If writing becomes another long checking exercise, make it shorter or pause it. A therapist can help adapt an approach that is making you feel more stuck.
Take one safe step towards something you value
Avoidance can provide immediate relief while making a feared situation harder to approach later. Gradual practice is one way of working with this, as described in the NHS guide to facing fears. Choose a situation that is safe and a step that is manageable. You do not need to recreate trauma, enter danger or push through medical symptoms.
For example, if anxiety has kept you from a familiar café, a first step might be a short visit at a quiet time. Decide what you want to practise, rather than demanding that you feel perfectly calm. If distress is severe, the situation is complicated or trauma is involved, plan it with a qualified professional. The guide to comfort zones and gradual change explores this more carefully.
A small plan for the coming week
Pick one line from each of these prompts. This is a planning aid, not a treatment schedule or a test of willpower.
- Something supportive: a regular meal, time outdoors, a conversation or an activity suited to your health and energy.
- Something to practise: one brief worry exercise or one safe step towards an avoided activity.
- Someone or somewhere to turn to: a trusted person, GP, therapist or appropriate support service.
- A review question: “Did this help me take part in life, and what would make the next step more manageable?”
The HSE anxiety guide discusses activity, sleep, alcohol and other everyday supports. If bedtime is the main difficulty, read sleep anxiety and fear of sleep. For work pressure and exhaustion, the burnout guide offers a different starting point.
My small plan for the coming week
Choose what is manageable. This is a planning aid, not a treatment schedule. Complete it privately on paper; there is nothing to submit.
One supportive thing I can make space for:
One small, safe action I would like to try:
A person or service I can turn to:
When I will briefly review what helped:
Ask: did this help me take part in something that matters? If an exercise increases distress or becomes repetitive checking, pause it and seek advice. You do not have to finish the week before asking for help.
Persistent, worsening or life-limiting anxiety deserves professional support. For immediate danger call local emergency services; Ireland: 112 or 999.
Educational planning sheet · jonathanhaverkampf.com · 20 September 2026. Based on the site’s anxiety self-help guide and HSE anxiety guidance.
When to seek more help
Speak with a GP or qualified mental health professional if anxiety persists, worsens, interferes with daily life or if self-help is not helping. Repeated panic, substantial avoidance, low mood, increasing substance use or thoughts of self-harm are reasons to seek support. Do not wait for a self-help plan to finish if you need help sooner. NHS guidance explains when to ask for care.
For body symptoms, read physical symptoms and medical warning signs. Sudden or severe chest pain, fainting or severe breathlessness should not be diagnosed from an anxiety webpage.
Psychotherapy can help you work with patterns that are difficult to change alone; NIMH’s psychotherapy overview describes different approaches. Medication options, including any change to medicines you already take, need to be discussed with a qualified prescriber.
If you are considering private support, read about anxiety therapy and counselling in Dublin and online, check fees, view appointment times or make contact. For other routes, see anxiety treatment in Ireland and free and low-cost counselling.
Common questions
Should I try every anxiety exercise?
No. Choose one approach that fits your situation and review whether it helps. More exercises are not automatically better, especially if practising becomes another source of pressure.
Can I use self-help alongside therapy?
Yes. Discuss what you are trying with your therapist so the exercises fit your needs and care plan. Ask for help adapting anything that increases distress or becomes repetitive checking.
What if I still feel anxious after trying?
Feeling anxious does not by itself mean you have failed. Notice whether you can do something useful or meaningful despite the feeling. If anxiety remains distressing or limits your life, seek professional support.
More reading at your own pace
Return to the anxiety hub for a wider overview, or choose social anxiety and shyness or books for anxiety and overthinking. You can read in small portions and stop when you have something useful to try.
The anxiety forum is for general discussion, not diagnosis, medication advice or crisis care. Avoid sharing identifying or private clinical details publicly.
Updated 19 September 2026. The independent sources linked in this guide were checked for this revision. This information is educational and cannot replace individual assessment or care.