How to manage anxiety – The pandemic, recession and uncertainty has increased the level of stress and anxiety most people are feeling. Anxiety is fed watered and sustained by the presence of fear, it is such a negative and primal emotion. Designed to keep us safe it can overwhelm our thoughts and emotions.
“Anxiety is created when you move into the unknown because your fear response is on high alert. Has your fear produced anxiety because there’s a genuine risk? Or has the fear produced anxiety and panic because you’ve moved into your discomfort zone?“
1. Stop it at the beginning
Fear can trigger physical responses like a racing pulse, high blood pressure or a cold sweat, or it can trigger an emotional response like aggression. Many people are more comfortable with anger over anxiety so they choose it as a way to alleviate the pressure.
The problem is behaviour can override our ability to think rationally which can create insecurity, and procrastination.
The following techniques that can help you address when your first feel the triggers of fear and anxiety.
- Meditation and mindfulness – concentrate on your breathing
- Take a walk outside – appreciate nature and get some fresh air
- Exercise – get your endorphins going and a natural high
- Talk to a friend about something else – positive reinforcement
- Pray – if you have a faith tradition.
2. Create Deeper Social Connections
Social connections are based on relationships and having quality relationships with people that you can turn to when things are difficult. Loneliness is a feeling of isolation and it is not about being alone, rather it is about a sense of having no one to turn to for support and connection.
3. Strive to Create Certainty
Make sure you know as much about the situation as possible, for most people – when you don’t know the brain will consider all the options and immediately jump to the worst option – engaging fear and anxiety.
According to neuroscientist David Rock, “Ambiguity creates a stronger threat response in the brain than an actual threat.”
4. Connect With Your Better Self
Choose to pursue the things that are truly important, when you are clear about these as priorities it flows through to change our behaviour.
Inside each of us is a innate drive for self discovery, to achieve greater understanding of meaning and to develop a better self.
Looking for more techniques to manage anxiety – see also Feeling Safe in an Unsafe World
This is synopsis of an article from SmartBrief How to manage anxiety in 4 simple ways by LaRae Quy Published: 15th July 2020 https://www.smartbrief.com/original/2020/07/how-manage-anxiety-4-simple-ways