SIX SIMPLE HABITS THAT DEFEAT
ANXIETY
If you're like most
anxiety sufferers, you probably spend much
of your day wrestling with
physical symptoms, feeling afraid,
or even hiding your anxious feelings from
others. When
stressors arise your racing heart, trembling,
dizziness,
obsessive thoughts and other symptoms take over.
Anxiety
can keep you feeling trapped - and once you feel this
way, it's difficult to
know how or if you can ever feel better.
If you suffer from anxiety, take
heart. Studies show that simple
anxiety-reducing habits can go a long way
toward improving how
you feel.
Here are six simple habits you can use
to defeat anxiety and
take back control of your life.
1) Acknowledge
your Anxiety.
When you hide your anxious feelings for months or years,
you
perpetuate your anxiety by assuming it's your fault. Anxiety
is not
your fault. There is nothing inherently wrong with who
you are. You are a
good, valuable, uniquely special person. You
simply suffer from
anxiety.
Acknowledge your anxious feelings. Share how you're feeling
with
a trustworthy friend, partner, or relative. Talk to your doctor.
Go
to an online support group and talk with others about what
you're going
through.
When you acknowledge your anxious feelings, you take an
important
step toward feeling better. Facing the truth can be very
empower-
ing because once you name the problem, you can go about
solving
it. You open the door to learning how to feel better.
2)
Learn Strategies to Immediately Deal with Anxiety Symptoms.
Educate
yourself by learning strategies to immediately deal with
anxiety symptoms.
The National Institute of Anxiety and Stress
has just made available free
information that can help you reduce
anxiety symptoms quickly, easily, and
effectively.
This free information contains audio and workbook exercises
that
show you:
-- how to stop intense anxiety using a simple
three-step formula
-- how to deal with anxiety symptoms quickly
-- what to
do when you're having a panic attack
These easy-to-follow strategies are
freely available to anyone
wishing to download them at:
http://www.conqueranxiety.com/Anxiety_Pyramid.htm .
3)
Use "Power" Language.
Mind-body research shows that the words you use can
have a
powerful effect on how you feel. Most anxiety sufferers
use
negative words that destroy their self-esteem and promote a sense
of
loss of control. These are "victim" words. A few victim words
include: can't,
always, never, and should.
Victim words perpetuate your anxiety and fear.
They create a
negative self-fulfilling prophecy that results in
anxious
thoughts and physical symptoms.
You can learn to defeat
anxiety by replacing victim words with
"power" language. Power language means
using words that promote
your feelings of self-worth and personal
power.
When you use power language, the statement: "I can't control
my
anxiety" becomes "I can control my anxiety, and I'm learning
skills to
conquer it." The statement: "Why do I always feel so
anxious?" becomes "I
often feel anxious, but not all of the
time." The statement: "I shouldn't be
late for dinner" becomes
"I may be late for dinner. It's unfortunate, but
it's OK."
4) Tone your Inner Power Daily.
Think of your inner
power as a muscle just like any other
muscle. The more you use it, the more
toned it becomes and the
more you are able to accomplish. Every time you
practice a
healthy life strategy, you actually increase your ability
to
conquer your anxiety. What you couldn't do yesterday, you can do
today.
With practice, your new skills will become automatic.
This is how you create
lasting freedom from anxiety.
In the words of Aristotle: "We are what we
repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
5) Set
Small, Achievable Goals.
Anxiety sufferers tend to set unrealistically
high expectations
for themselves. To counteract this tendency, set goals that
you
can easily accomplish. This builds your confidence and your sense
of
accomplishment.
When you are learning skills to handle stress and reduce
your
anxiety, small steps work best. For example, if your goal is
to
integrate deep breathing into your life, start by practicing
for
one-minute intervals three or four times a day instead of for an
hour
all at once.
Setting small, achievable goals will help will take you
farther
than you can imagine over time. It will help you reach your
final
destination: a happier, low-anxiety life.
6) Realize that Now is
the Perfect Time to Start Feeling Better.
And finally, realize that your
anxiety and fear will not go away
until you stop waiting and start learning.
There are many
resources available to you to help you overcome your anxiety
-
books, courses, doctors, counselors, support groups, and more.
Some
of you have been waiting for the "perfect" time to conquer
your anxiety. You
may be saying to yourself: "I can't tackle my
anxiety right now. I'll wait
until my symptoms aren't so strong
to make changes in my life." Or "I'll
start making changes when
my life is less hectic." The list goes on and
on.
Here's what I've discovered: You'll be waiting a lifetime
for
these things to happen. Because when you wait for something else
to
happen to improve your life, you're giving away your power.
You feed your
anxiety and feelings of loss of control.
The only perfect time to conquer
your anxiety is right now -
this moment. You do not need to feel symptom-free
or confident
or energetic, or anything else to begin. All you need to do
is
take the first step.
Practice these six habits daily, and you'll
see your skills
improve as you take back your power from
anxiety.
-------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR: Deanne Repich is the
Director of the National Institute of
Anxiety and
Stress, a former anxiety sufferer, and creator of the
Conquer
Your Anxiety Success Program. The course is a
"take-action" self-study
program that guides you step
by step through over seventy practical
strategies for
overcoming anxiety naturally. Go to
http://www.conqueranxiety.com to check out FREE
sample
exercises for dealing with anxiety symptoms
and to join the FREE "Anxiety
Tips" newsletter.
http://www.conqueranxiety.com
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