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Even though I understand my anxiety and coping skills from a logical perspective, such as what triggers my anxiety and how I can calm myself down, why doesn't understanding make the problem better?

24 Answers
Last Updated: 12/24/2019 at 1:52pm
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Top Rated Answers
SMStar
July 12th, 2016 5:37pm
Possibly you could write down the coping skills that help you and keep them in your purse or car and at home as well. After you use these skills for a while, you brain can eventually learn to turn off the fight or flight and you can hopefully improve your anxiety.
Anonymous
April 25th, 2015 5:42pm
I see it as wounds... we may know what caused the wounds, and what makes it worse, but healing needs to take place. If there is no healing, the pain will still be the same or get worse... understanding the cause of your anxiety is only one of the first steps in the healing process
Anonymous
September 7th, 2015 11:56pm
Understanding does make the problem better in a small sense. It definitely helps, but taking action each day will work in the long run. Having and creating expectations that you will get better in a specific amount of time, is not viable. You just have to trust the process and when you're better, you're better.
Anonymous
October 26th, 2015 5:43pm
Sometimes we can get so consumed in our own anxiety that we truly aren't thinking about how to cope with it....even though we are fully aware of how to calm ourselves down.
Annasear
December 24th, 2019 1:52pm
the problem doesn't get better because life doesn't work like that. you can understand cancer, but it is still going to do what it is going to do. the best thing for anxiety besides seeing a psychiatrist and therapist for appropriate treatment is to try yoga breathing. Breathe out with your stomach going out for 4 seconds, breathe in with your stomach going in for 4 seconds. do this everyday and it will calm the limbic part of your brain responsible for anxiety.I do it everyday and it works and its science based. I'm not saying you have to do yoga. Just try that breathing.
9hereforyou9
November 20th, 2018 12:37am
I am a dancer and we often say: i understand it, i’m just not getting it. That means you know what you have to do, but it’s not sticking in your brain enough for you to actually do it. In your case, you seem to understand the issue and how to help it, but it’s just hard to get over it. Plus, anxiety is really hard to overcome, but making it better would be very hard. I think that when you have panic attacs, you just have to sit down, close your eyes, take deep breaths and go to your happy place. Whatever you know can calm you down, do it at that time. I hope this helped!!
hopefulParadise73
August 6th, 2018 11:41am
Understanding isn't enought. Pray and meditate. Try deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation and visual imagery. Try being grateful for at least three things in daily life.Take healthy diet and maintain sleep.
Anonymous
April 9th, 2018 3:57am
Being able to understand them after you have background knowledge on why it occurred is because anxiety can occurred for many reasons even if you know the triggers and coping skills for one but there may be another anxiety trigger that is unsolved right now.
Crystalskies15
March 27th, 2018 5:28pm
By being mindful of where you are really helps so you could try observing your senses in the moment like what do I see, Feel, hear and smell. It brings you into reality more
funnySpring23
January 2nd, 2018 9:49am
Sometimes understanding the problem isn't what fixes it. To calm myself I always do the 7-4-8 breathing technique. You breathe in for 7 seconds,hold for 4, and then breathe out for 8.
itcanend
April 4th, 2017 4:58am
Anxiety is an emotional disorder. It isn't strictly caused by a disconnection in the brain. It is hard to cope with anxiety in the moment because when you get into your own head, you can't find the way out. It's like being able to see the key to get out of the room for seconds before the lights are turned off and everything goes pitch black. It is hard to remember the way toward the key, let alone to find the door and lock. Because the whole time we focus on coping skills instead of finding the problem and focusing on getting to the exit.
Craftsman
March 15th, 2016 4:26pm
Because many things are involved when anxiety is triggered and the combination is different every time. You cannot stop the anxiety but you can always manage it better.
Anonymous
December 8th, 2015 12:40am
Because it's an I'llness. Understanding the symptoms that come with the flu won't make it disappear.
Anonymous
November 16th, 2015 6:49pm
Because understanding is not the only part, there is also the fact that after you understand, you must interpret and also you must troubleshoot to figure out the entire equation.
Anonymous
March 6th, 2015 6:12pm
Because the understanding it does not help you get rid of your anxiety..It might just happen that the person starts avoiding those situations all together.
NotDownYet
July 14th, 2015 4:25pm
I believe it is because everyone uses two different ways to view the world and make decisions: the logical side and the emotional side. With the logical side, you can see that, for instance, you should break up with so and so because things aren't working. On the emotional side, though, you really don't want to hurt them. This can cause a lot of internal conflict.
JakeTheLad
June 29th, 2015 8:00am
Understanding a problem might not always be the solution to the problem. If you understand it, then that's the first step to solving it, such as not putting yourself around your triggers, or making sure you have a positive way to calm yourself down if you do have an anxiety attack
Anonymous
June 29th, 2015 4:53am
Because anxiety is not something one can control or get rid of easy. But understanding can help cope
MissCarla
June 22nd, 2015 12:38pm
Unfortunately anxiety can really be a prison for the mind. Although you understand where it comes from and how to bring yourself down from that, the anxiety will always be working against you to tell you that you aren't good enough.
Anonymous
June 17th, 2015 8:25pm
because it doesnt make it go away. you know what it is and maybe you know how to handle it somehow but it wont go away just because you know what it is
Anonymous
June 5th, 2015 4:02pm
Because when you have anxiety or panicking you know its a panic attack but a part of you thinks that its something totally different but for others it could be different.
Zora17
April 4th, 2015 12:22am
Although you understand what triggers it and how to calm yourself, have you questioned your anxious thoughts? Questioning your thoughts involves replacing the anxious thoughts with more positive, realistic ones. This can be done with CBT techniques. Then you practice this new way of thinking by challenging yourself, putting yourself in anxiety triggering situations gradually or accepting the triggers and being neutral about them. Overall, it takes practice and time. The most important thing is to question your anxious thoughts and gradually expand your comfort zone.
Alwaysdreamin
April 1st, 2015 9:04pm
Even though you know this logically, when you have anxiety or panic attacks, you brain goes into fight or flight mode and all of the rational thinking stops. One way to do calm yourself is to be proactive and have a plan. Possibly you could write down the coping skills that help you and keep them in your purse or car and at home as well. After you use these skills for a while, you brain can eventually learn to turn off the fight or flight and you can hopefully improve your anxiety. Try to prepare yourself in advance if you think you will have anxiety or panic. Tell yourself that you can be logical and follow the steps in your plan if possible. Having a plan to focus on is helpful to our brains as it gives it something to follow instead.
Geveda
March 9th, 2015 2:01am
I don't think anxiety comes from a very rational place in your mind. I know when I'm having a panic attack or anxiety attack, there's a little part of my mind screaming at me about how irrational it is for me to be feeling this way given the circumstances, but sometimes it still just happens. I don't know why exactly, but I know it doesn't and I think that's what can make dealing with anxiety difficult is that it's not always rational.