3 Simple Strategies to Manage Anxiety

Let’s start by breaking down what anxiety is, and how it presents:

What is anxiety? 

Anxiety is the body’s response to situations that are interpreted as threatening. Without any anxiety, you wouldn’t have pressure to keep yourself safe. However, when our bodies get overwhelmed with too much anxiety, it can lead to other sensations that manifest in physical, emotional, or cognitive symptoms. 

The anxious spiral…

Anxiety often cycles through the four following stages:

•  Anxiety starts: An anxiety-producing situation leads to uncomfortable symptoms such as worry, fear, a racing heart, sweating, or a feeling of being overwhelmed.

• Avoidance: Uncomfortable symptoms are controlled by avoiding the anxiety-producing situation. Examples of avoidance include:
  • Skipping class to avoid giving a presentation
  • Using drugs or alcohol to numb feelings
  • Procrastinating on challenging tasks

• Short-Term Relief from Anxiety: Avoidance of the anxiety-producing situation gives an immediate sense of relief. The symptoms of anxiety lessen, but only temporarily.

• Long-Term Anxiety Growth: The fear that initially led to avoidance worsens, and the brain learns that when the anxiety-producing situation is avoided, the symptoms go away. As a result, the symptoms of anxiety will be worse the next time, and avoidance is more likely.

Three simple strategies to manage your anxiety:

• Name your anxiety – 

Anxiety is a feeling. It is not who you are. You are more than your anxiety. You are more than an ‘anxious person’. Next time you find yourself starting to say, “I’m just an anxious person”, try naming your anxiety and think of it as a visitor that comes and goes. Try naming it something that ebbs and flows or comes and goes such as weather, rollercoaster, waves, water, etc.

• Honor that anxiety affects you –

Identify how anxiety affects how you think, feel, and some of your behaviors. Try something like, “This wave makes me think that something terrible is going to happen”. Sometimes, it’s even helpful to name it before the anxiety-producing event takes place. “The wave is going to try to talk me out of going tonight.” You can then discuss the reasons you want to attend the event, why you’re looking forward to it, and move past the wave of anxiety that is passing.

• Imagine yourself on the other side of anxiety – 

Think of all of the things you’ve done this far in life to decrease and ‘beat’ anxiety:

-Engaging in therapy

-Journaling

-Being gentle and kind to yourself

-Naming the anxious feelings

-Surviving panic attacks

Perhaps you might say something to yourself like, “I’m going to ride the wave by journaling through these feelings”. Or “I can breathe through this wave”. 

When you externalize your anxiety and start thinking of it as something you can work through, it reminds you that you have a choice. Remember: choosing how to respond to your emotions is within your power.