Mental Health Awareness Month - 8 Tips to Ease Your Anxiety

Watch our recent Facebook Live video where William Bird, MD, CGH Medical Director, is joined by Sarah Alvarez-Brown, RN, Director of Emergency and Behavioral Health Unit (BHU), and Amy Meyer, MA, LCPC, (BHU) Clinical Therapist, to discuss strategies and resources available to help with anxiety and depression. Click here

Mental Health Awareness Month is an opportunity for all of us to raise awareness about people living with mental health conditions. If someone you love is going through a hard time, you don’t need to have all the answers. There are a number of ways to get help. One great place to start is with your CGH primary care provider. They can provide initial screenings and give you referrals to mental health specialists. Call 815-632-5325 if you need to establish with a provider.

CGH also has a full service, inpatient behavioral health unit (BHU), which specifically provides care related to mental health. Issues can include minor episodes of stress, anxiety, and depression, along with alcohol dependence or drug use. This also includes more serious conditions such as major depression, panic attacks, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and even more severe issues such as suicidal or homicidal thoughts. If you’re in a crisis situation, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It’s a free, confidential hotline that’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 988.

Everyone feels anxious now and then. These worried feelings are usually a normal reaction to stress. But just because anxiety is normal doesn’t mean you shouldn’t address it.

Here are eight simple strategies you can use to diffuse anxiety in the moment.

1. Step away from what’s worrying you.

2. Take a pass on caffeine and alcohol.

3. Sleep on it.

4. Practice mindful relaxation.

5. Get moving when your mind is racing.

6. Talk to a friend or loved one.

7. Keep an anxiety journal.

8. Reframe negative thoughts.

CGH Medical Center : 100 E. Le Fevre Road : Sterling, IL 61081 : 815.625.0400 : cghmc.com