I will walk you through different strategies to cope with anxiety and delve into the reasons behind its occurrence. It’s a natural reaction in certain circumstances. It’s almost as if we, as a species, haven’t fully evolved and still experience anxiety from our primitive fight-or-flight instincts.
Some individuals experience deep anxiety daily. It’s an entirely natural and common emotion to feel, as it serves as a warning signal when something is amiss. However, feeling anxious every single day is not healthy. If this is the case, it’s essential to address what is causing this constant anxiety in your life before it escalates into a bigger issue.
The reason might be a genuine reaction, but at times, it’s not an appropriate response – it’s simply out of context.
Sometimes, when people return to a scenario like that again, they experience all of the anxiety they had in the one-off past event, even though the real trigger for the situation that initially happened for them is not happening anymore.
We call that an “anchor.” You have an internal feeling that is triggered by something that happens in the outside world. Even though it is not a trigger for an in-context anxious moment, if the stimulus is the same again, you can react in the same anxious way.
Can you retrace where the anxiety started from?
This is not always possible, but if you know where the anxiety first started, you need to deal with the situation that caused those emotions.
Sometimes, we need to address situations that have been left unaddressed and apologise to someone. If you’re feeling anxious without a specific reason, there are various methods to uncover the root cause of your anxiety. One effective approach is through drawing. This technique, which incorporates NLP, confidence building, and stress management, has proven to be beneficial for children dealing with anxiety, as well as adults facing similar challenges. We also utilise a method called “personification,” where we create a character representing the source of your anxiety.
The character I use when I’m working with children has a face and a body to illustrate my anxiety. Mine looks like a spiky and grumpy face. After I’ve finished drawing it, it gives it a physical form. We then give it a name, but not something like “Growly” because you want to give it a name with something silly and pathetic.
So you start to name it around your anxiety that makes it sound stupid. You could change it to wobbly, it takes away the scary parts.
There was a guy I worked with who stayed in the house every day. He didn’t go to work anymore and the anxiety he experienced was so severe it even showed in his words, he had made up words to explain his anxiety. He convinced himself that some of these words were real.
As advocates of personal growth, we often believe that maintaining a positive mindset is the key to overcoming challenges. However, the reality is that sometimes we must take decisive action to achieve our goals. If anxiety is holding you back, don’t hesitate to push it aside. There’s no benefit in being gentle with anxiety when it’s an uncomfortable state to endure. Remind yourself that you’re capable, affirm that you will tackle the task at hand, and adopt a firm internal dialogue. If necessary, don’t shy away from expressing your frustration—tell that anxiety to get lost!
To tackle this challenge, you must cultivate a stronger mindset. It’s essential to confront your feelings head-on to overcome them, as anxiety can be an overwhelming force. Remember, this emotion belongs to you, which means you hold the key to its control. You have to harness your inner strength to regain your balance and keep anxiety in check.
So to summarise:
1) Identify the primary causes of the anxiety.
2) Ridicule it, diminish its influence.
3) Take a firm stand against yourself. You hold the control over the anxiety. Use that control to take a firm stance on your reaction and refuse to be a victim.
By Gemma Bailey
