3 strategies to help you cope with anxiety.
When anxiety begins to interfere with day to day life, it is helpful to have a tool box full of strategies to assist with decreasing how it impacts our quality of life. The journey of discovering techniques to minimize how anxiety impacts our life is a personal one and can be ongoing as life changes and fluctuates. Strategies that helped with anxiety in our thirties may no longer work as well as we move into our forties as our responsibilities and obligations change and evolve. In addition, unhealthy coping mechanisms we once utilized to cope with anxiety, such as alcohol and/or recreational drugs may begin to negatively impact our life and our health. Finding numerous coping strategies to help when anxiety strikes can give us options with it begins to feel overwhelming and unmanageable.
One potential coping strategy for anxiety is practicing mindfulness that allows for us to focus on the present moment and remove ourself from feeling chaotic and out of control of our life and emotions. Mindfulness, specifically pulling ourself out of the spiraling moments, where our thoughts meander into the what’s if and worst case scenarios allows the mind and body to focus on the moment at hand and can purposefully create a sense of calm within ourself that can be accessed whenever life feeling like it is careening out of our control.
Another potential coping strategy for anxiety is journaling in order to tease out the things that are in our control and those things that are out of our control. We are unable to believe everything we think and journaling allows for thoughts and feelings to be placed onto paper so that we have an opportunity to clearly see the items that are catastrophic thoughts and/or emotionally driven ideas. When we have the option to write out our emotions, feelings and thoughts it can give us a tangible resource to plainly see our cognitive distortions which are not based in reality and are simply driven by our anxious mindset.
The final potential coping strategy for anxiety is reaching out for support. Anxiety can make us feel isolated and alone when we are feeling afraid and worried and our mind can tell us that we are a burden on others when we ask for help and/or support. Commonly, those who experience anxiety try to manage on their own until it gets to the point where they feel detached and like they are bothering their friends and loved ones when they are at the point of drowning in anxious thoughts and feelings. Therapy can provide a safe and non-judgemental place to express what anxiety feels like for you. With your therapist, you can develop personal strategies that will assist you so that it does not get to the place where anxiety feels overwhelming and unmanageable.
Please note: this blog post is for informational and instructional purposes only. The information included may not be the best fit for your personal situation. Blog posts should not be considered as medical, legal or financial advice. The educational content included in blog posts are not intended to replace professional advice or information. Check with your own medical or business professional before implementing any information or advice provided here on the Chatwin Counseling blog.
