Separate the wait from the worry
Waiting can make uncertainty feel like evidence that something bad is happening. Try writing two columns: what you know and what your mind is predicting. The aim is not to prove the worry wrong, but to stop a prediction being treated as a fact.
Give worry a next action
If there is a practical action, make it small: send the email, save the number or write the question down. If there is nothing useful you can do right now, choose a time to revisit it and return attention to what is in front of you.
Reduce the physical load
Anxiety is harder to manage when you are exhausted, hungry or overstimulated. Regular meals, sleep routines, movement and reducing caffeine if it makes you jittery can help some people. Use approaches that are tolerable for you rather than forcing relaxation techniques that make you feel worse.
Know when the plan needs to change
If anxiety is becoming unmanageable, you are unable to function, you are using substances to cope, or you are having thoughts of harming yourself, tell your GP or the service holding your referral. You do not need to wait for a routine appointment to report a significant change.
You do not have to use every suggestion. Choose the one thing that would make today or your next contact with the service a little easier.
Trusted sources
NHS: Generalised anxiety disorder ↗NHS: Every Mind Matters anxiety tips ↗General UK information, not a diagnosis or personal treatment plan. Services vary by area and UK nation. Information reviewed 8 September 2026.