Your hormones, oestrogen and progesterone are really good at keeping you calm.

They also make you much more tolerant and patient.

When your body starts to produce less of these two hormones you might become more anxious, less tolerant and more prone to mood swings and this can start to happen in your early 40's.

Fortunately there are lots of things you can do to help which are free and simple. 

Each week for the next few weeks I will be talking about the simple activities that you can do which have been shown to be very effective in helping with anxiety & low mood.

The most important habit to develop is allocating yourself at least 5-10 minutes a day to spend on yourself doing one or two of the activities. 

Get yourself a nice journal and commit to writing in it everyday.

There is loads of evidence that doing this provides an outlet for feelings, thoughts, and experiences. By writing down what is causing you anxiety you can better understand your triggers and patterns. Journalling also allows you to process your emotions and identify negative thought patterns.

If you are having problems with sleep a good time to journal is before you go to bed, otherwise choose a time that is good for you. Just be consistent

What you write is up to you but  here are some ideas

• Daily gratitude: write down three things you're grateful for each day
• Reflect on your emotions: write about how you're feeling today and why
• Recap your day: write a brief summary of what you did today and how you felt about it
• Mind dump: write down whatever is on your mind, without censoring or editing yourself
• Memories: write about a happy memory from your past and why it was special to you

Give it ago, it really will help.