10 Strategies To Build Your Anxiety Toolkit

"1. Name it

When you start to feel anxious, pause and try to identify your feelings as precisely as possible. Labeling feelings helps your prefrontal cortex organize chaotic emotions into rational thoughts.

2. Investigate

Explore what’s behind the feeling. Maybe your work anxiety is fueled by fear of being laid off or judged harshly by a boss. Tune into your triggers. Also, practice what’s known as cognitive reappraisal, which means reframing the meaning of an emotion to alter its impact.

3. Take deep breaths

Taking a few deep belly breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth, can turn down your body’s stress response, which is particularly helpful if your anxiety is accompanied by physical symptoms such as shallow breathing, a racing heart or churning stomach.

4. Listen to music

Several studies have found that music can reduce levels of anxiety in critically ill patients. Experiment with different types of music to see what helps you feel calmer.

5. Take a brisk walk

Walking outside while focusing on your surroundings can help you feel more connected to your present experience and away from the worried thoughts in your head.

6. Take a mindfulness class

A recent study by Hoge found that people who attended an eight-week, in-person course in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) experienced a decrease in anxiety similar to those who were prescribed escitalopram, an anti-anxiety medication.

7. See a CBT therapist

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) teaches you to challenge your irrational thoughts and behaviors.

8. Monitor your diet

A journal review found higher levels of anxiety in people whose diets included high intake of sugar, refined carbohydrates and high-fat foods, and low levels of tryptophan and protein.

9. Challenge your habits

Anxiety can become an addiction. Let’s say you feel anxious every time you give a presentation. Your mind gets in the habit of worrying in the days leading up to the event. Worrying stokes your anxiety. And then anticipating the next presentation becomes more fraught and a negative loop becomes established. Instead, you could sit with the original fear and get used to the feeling, rather than fretting about it.

10. Consider medication

There are many medications that have been proved effective at reducing anxiety. Talk to your health-care provider about your specific symptoms to determine which medication might work best."

Read the full article on The Washington Post

✨Takeaway: Approach anxiety like any other surmountable problem by making friends with it, becoming curious, and putting an arm around the part that gets anxious.

✨Reflection: What helps you cope with your anxiety?

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