Hello there! Thank you for reaching out. The situation outside is genuinely one that is very fearful and scary- with the virus mutations and the fear of contracting the virus. We understand that it would be very scary to go outside, especially in medical related areas. It is very valid of your body to respond to the perceived fear in ways like increased heart rate, sweating, feeling dizzy, feeling uncomfortable in your stomach among others. This is your body preparing itself against a fearful situation, just like it would do, say if a tiger came right in front of you. The difference here is, this situation is one that you can vividly perceive. However, the body tends to react very similarly as it considers it as an equal threat. We are very happy that you decided to reach out to learn how to be more mindful and help yourself out in these situations. We hope these help you out when you step out for your daily chores and even to the clinics. Try to engage in mindful activities - Whenever you see yourself getting anxious and your body starts stiffening up- try to look at where in your body you feel the fear and increased heart rate. - Then, hold onto your heart/wherever you feel the heartbeat the fastest and close your eyes. Try to then follow the 4-7-8 breathing method. Breathing in for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds. Grounding - grounding essentially asks you to focus on your here and now, i.e grounding yourself in the present moment. - Herein, you can look around your environment to connect to your surroundings, and shift the focus from your body. You could use the 5 senses method- look for 5 things you can identify with your senses (5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste. - Another fun thing you can use is, close your eyes and think about one random colour. When you open your eyes- find as many objects around you of the said colour. Develop a strategy of Anxiety-coping - In moments of calm, establish a few steps that you can take which will help you to cope with anxiety. These can be a set of strategies like calling a friend, doing a quick meditation, gardening, or drawing 10 flowers. Anything that you can remind yourself to cope with the stress. ‘How likely’ activities - Use the question- ‘how likely is this to happen to me?’ to catch yourself whenever you start thinking down this rabbit hole. - Understand that you have taken all logical steps like wearing a mask, sanitising your hands and maintaining social distance. Reassure yourself that you are safe and protected. If this is something you feel like its getting too much for you to deal with alone- we would recommend you to please reach out to professional mental health practitioners from organisations or independent set ups for the same if you need emotional support! Credits: Parul Pushkarna, Intern at Heart It Out

You are having fear of crowded places. Fear, anger or any negative emotions affects physical and physiological responses. That's why you get higher BP. You need to consult a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist to manage and overcome this problem.

Hello, Glad to know that you want to seek help,while testing and in covid centers being anxious is normal as so many things are going in mind like what if I test positive or what if I get infected but if these thoughts persist in otherwise situations like in gatherings and normal health check ups then it needs to be checked.Try deep breathing and relaxation exercises, introduce a physical activity in your routine.

1.. Maybe you feel suffocated  while you are amidst the crowd.. Maybe you need wider space which you are comfortable.. To improve your lung capacity  you can practice Pranayama.. 2.. The Anxiety you go through while you in an environment like clinics hospitals etc., could be that, you are worried about your health and the due to pandemic conditions we all are living in.. For the first, reason, you can practice pranayama and you can overcome it. For the second concern, it js better to seek a professional support.. Consult a psychological Counselor..

You can try 4-7-8 breathing every two hours for 3--4 times.Breathe in through nose for four seconds hold for seven seconds and release through mouth for eight seconds.When this becomes a daily practice,you will be able to do this in anxious times like you mentioned and this will calm you instantly.