Handle Someone's Anxiety

How to respond to someone's feelings of fear, nervousness, tension and the associated physical 'fight or flight' sensations.

• Remember you're not replacing a professional therapist or making any diagnosis. You're just supporting someone with anxious feelings in that moment.
• Encourage the person to take several deep breaths to calm their nervous system, clear their mind and relax their body. Breathe with them if that helps.
• Without minimising their feelings, help the person work through the facts of the situation rather than their emotional interpretation. Focus on reality vs perception only.