Anxiety helps us get out of harm's way and prepare for important events, and it warns us when we need to take action. But you may experience anxiety that is persistent, seemingly uncontrollable, and overwhelming. If it's an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it can be disabling. When anxiety interferes with daily activities, you may have an anxiety disorder.
Whether you have everyday stress and anxiety or an anxiety disorder, you can learn strategies to help you manage your anxiety. Exercising, good nutrition, adequate sleep, and trying to reduce stress all contribute to your well-being. Discover tips to manage anxiety and stress.
Here are some suggestions for you to consider as you begin your journey...
1. Learn about YOU. It's important to learn about the situations, people, places, and topics that tend to make you anxious. Learning these things will also help you to learn what your bodies (your physiological) response cues are when you are becoming anxious.
2. Learn to Deal with Ambiguity. Sadly much of our culture does not allow for ambiguity to exist. Here's an example - our culture would say you are either brave or you are a coward - people would like us to believe that there is no fear in being brave. Well this simply isn't true. An essential part of being brave is acknowledging your fear while you are acting bravely. In my opinion, bravery without fear is stupidity. To be alive is to have ambiguity. The key to living with it is allowing the ambiguity to exist while trying to find the resolution you so desperately desire.
3. Strategies and Exercises. There are many strategies and exercises out there to help you. Identifying the right ones for you and practicing them regularly are important. This can often take some time to figure out so don't lose hope if some of them aren't working right away! To accompany her book mentioned above, Margaret Wehrenberg also wrote The 10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques Workbook. This workbook contains many great strategies/exercises, which will help manage your anxiety. But remember, it's important to not do this alone so let's move to #4 of my suggestions!
4. Find a Great Therapist. Finding a great therapist is essential to not trying to do this journey alone. A therapist who understands and knows anxiety will be able to help you assess your anxiety, identify your triggers, bring some resolution, and help you find strategies/exercises that will be helpful to you long-term. Your therapist will be an objective person in your life as you learn about your anxiety, grow and become free from it, and offer you support along the journey.
5. Learn to Not Fear your Anxiety. Struggling with anxiety does not mean you have failed as a human or that something is wrong with you. It simply means you are a human being and this is a struggle you have. Remember, it is a treatable, and manageable struggle. Learning to embrace it is essential to your growth.
6. Explore Taking Medication. Not everyone who struggles with anxiety has to take anti-anxiety medication, but to be honest with you, most do. Choosing to begin anti-anxiety medication while going to therapy will better enable you to implement the strategies/exercises you are learning. Beginning to take medication does not mean you will be on it for the rest of your life! It also doesn't mean that taking it will alter your entire personality. It will simply help you to be able to manage your anxiety while you learn the strategies/exercises that work best for you. I take anxiety med's and I am SO THANKFUL for them!
7. Have Hope. You are going to be okay and you are not alone!
8. Begin Your Journey. Choose NOW to make a change in your life. Choose NOW as the moment you began to take control over your anxiety and no longer allow it to control you.
At Avenues Counseling, we offer avenues of care to our community for those seeking healing from the pains of life, as well as those seeking personal growth. We exist to offer you a safe, trustworthy place to ask difficult questions, share your life story, and walk with you as you seek restoration.
By Lianne Johnson
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