Practical Ways to Address Anxiety
We all know people who seem to effortlessly float through life without a worry in the world. You may envy their freedom and the lightness in which they go through their days. You may desperately want to be like them, quickly letting things roll of your back, and confidently checking off the "laid back and chill" personality box, but time and time again you find yourself anxious and worried. A panic attack hits you at an inconvenient time. Your anxiety spikes, your brain goes in to overdrive, and it just won't turn off. You find yourself awake late at night, and your thoughts won't let you get to sleep. Some people are prone to have more anxiety and worry than others, but there are ways to decrease the interference that it can cause in your life.
Here are some practical ideas and things to try if you struggle with anxiety:
1. Breathe. It sounds simple, right? So often we forget to breathe, and our neck and shoulders tighten up. Breathing relieves the tension and clears our head. It reminds us that even if we can't control what is going on around us, we can control the inhale and exhale of our breath.
2. Recognize unrealistic thoughts and change them. What is the thought loop that is on repeat in your head? Are they true and accurate thoughts? We often magnify the problem and make it bigger than it is (your boss talked to you about being late to a meeting and now you are convinced you are getting fired) and we exaggerate the potential outcome (once you are fired, you will never be able to find a job, you'll lose your home, your friends, your material possessions, and you will never have enough money to eat again.) Unless you recognize and change your distorted thoughts, that endless thought cycle of hopelessness and despair will continue to loop in your head creating worry and anxiety.
3. Distraction. This can be a useful tool to break the endless thought cycle when you feel like you can't turn your brain off. Read a book, watch television, listen to music, call a friend, or go for a walk.
4. Schedule a time to worry. For some of my clients, one of the things that helped them manage their anxiety the most was scheduling an "anxiety appointment." They blocked out 10 minutes where they would have the freedom to think about whatever was causing them anxiety. After the 10 minutes were up and their timer went off, they had to put it out of their mind and on the back burner so they could focus on their present task. Rather than compulsively worrying all day, they felt a reassurance that there was a time scheduled to think about it again tomorrow.
5. Try writing your worries down on paper and be curious about your anxiety. Once they are out of your head and on paper, they often lose their power. Go through each fear and ask yourself: Is it in my control? If the answer is no, then you can stop there and practice letting it go. What's the likelihood that this fear would happen? Often we worry about things that aren't likely to happen but are convinced they will. If my biggest worry or fear came true, what would be my game plan? Coming up with a plan for a worse case scenario can often help us to see that we aren't as powerless as we think, and it also reinforces using logical thinking and problem solving. Is there an action I could take now that would lessen my worry? Often times there are small things we can do that would lessen our anxiety, but we are too paralyzed to carry them out. Naming those actions and doing them can bring relief and sometimes completely alleviate what we are worrying about.
Some of these ideas may work really well for you and some may not. This isn't a checklist of the right and wrong ways to be less anxious. It isn't intended to be another thing to stress you out. This is about finding healthier ways to cope with your anxiety so you can worry less and enjoy life more. It takes time and effort to retrain the way you think about things and decrease anxiety and worry. Maybe the goal isn't to end up in the "laid back and chill" box, but the "I enjoy life" box. I'm not sure about you, but that sounds like a pretty good place to end up.
