Picture the scene: a cave man is walking through the jungle, minding his own business...
until he comes across a rather hungry sabre-tooth tiger.
Once he has noticed the tiger (the threat), his adrenal system gears his body up to either flee the tiger or kill it - increasing his heart and breathing rate, sending blood to his arms and legs, focussing his attention on the task at hand.
Anxiety is the body's way of alerting us to a threat.
Unlike the cave man in the story, most of the time the threats that we face are not life threatening, but the feelings of anxiety triggered can almost convince us that they are.
Nonetheless, there are strategies you can use to manage anxiety when it gets a bit "trigger happy" in your life.
Taking Back Control

1. Don't panic! - Remember Douglas Adams' advice at the beginning of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? One of the things about anxiety is that it is, well, anxiety provoking, making it easy to panic.
   This is how anxiety takes control...
   because we feel afraid of it, and will do anything to avoid it.
   Anxiety is unpleasant, absolutely.
   But it won't kill you.
   Think of a headache...
   unpleasant and, most of the time, benign.
   And we generally manage it by telling ourselves just that, and then we take steps to manage it.
   Try reminding yourself that this is just anxiety, and then focus on managing it.
   
2. Worry - the definition of insanity Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.
   Meet worry...
   the ultimate definition of insanity.
   Have you ever noticed that you never, ever come up with good solutions through worry? That obsessive, circular thinking (the sort that keeps you awake at night), never actually results in the resolution of the problem that triggered the anxiety, does it? And yet, we keep doing it! Worry-thinking, even though we hate it, is actually habit-forming, and can be difficult to break.
   Develop a strategy: the second you notice yourself worrying, gently acknowledge that yourself ("ah, there's that worry again") and then stop...
   pause...
   and go do something else.
   Go for a walk, call a friend, read a book.
   Anything.
   Break the pattern and change your behaviour.
   That's not to say that there isn't a problem to be solved, just that you will be more likely to come up with a solution or find a way to deal with it, when you're not caught up in the anxiety and overwhelm.
   
3. Practicing acceptance - this too shall pass No matter how intense the anxiety, like a headache, it will eventually pass.
   But, like a headache, there are things that will make the symptoms worse and things that will make the symptoms better.
   Focussing on how bad the anxiety is, how much you hate it and want it to go away, is definitely one of the things that makes it worse (and can lead to panic).
   You don't have to enjoy having anxiety but, like the headache, right now this is what you have.
   Remind yourself that this anxiety will pass.
   
4. Breathe and relax It's almost impossible to be relaxed and anxious at the same time.
   If you don't believe me, try it out for yourself right now: imagine something that you find anxiety-provoking and whilst connecting with the anxious feelings, see if you can relax at the same time.
   Pretty difficult, huh? A good way to start to get back on top of anxiety is to develop the skill of relaxation.
   And it is a skill (if you have trouble relaxing, you'll understand what I mean).
   Try doing some slow deep breaths...
   breathe in for a slow count of four, hold the breath for four, then breathe out again for a slow count of four.
   
5. Watch your thinking - it's not the end of the world! No matter what the situation, chances are your anxiety is making mountains out of every single mole hill.
   Which means that whilst you're feeling anxious, you're probably not going to be very good at detecting when it really is a mountain.
   Try asking yourself questions like: "What's the worst thing that could happen? How likely is that really to happen?", "How would I deal with that if it did happen?", "Who else can I ask about how to deal with this?".
   
6. Focus on what you can control Often anxiety escalates because we're focussing on what we can't control (eg: the job market, our partner).
   To reclaim a sense of power over the situation (and therefore your anxiety), focus on what aspects of the problem are inside your control.
   Sit down and analyse the problem in terms of what's inside and outside your control.
   What aspects can you influence? If nothing else, we can control our own attitude and approach to the situation.
   
7. Laugh! Laughter truly is the best medicine, and is like kryptonite to anxiety.
   It's pretty difficult to be worried about something when you're enjoying a full, belly laugh.
   Spend time with people who make you laugh, watch a funny movie, or just do something you enjoy that will put a smile on your dial.
   

Remember that, like any skill, anxiety-management takes practice.
Breathing slowly only a few times most likely won't make the anxiety go away completely, especially if you're doing it for the first time when you are already anxious.
It's a bit like a fire drill...
you don't want to be trying to figure out how to deal with a fire once it's happening.
Practice these skills regularly and you will find anxiety much easier to manage when it happens, and be on your way to a happier life.