Ten Skills to Navigate Unhelpful Anxiety

Anxiety can be very distressing and is something that virtually all of us experience. It’s also a normal and helpful emotion that we’ve evolved to keep us safe! Sometimes, though, anxiety becomes unhelpful and gets in the way of our lives. Here’s 10 of the best ways to navigate unhelpful anxiety.

Image Credit: Vino Li

WHAT IS ANXIETY?

Anxiety is an emotion linked with fear that involves unease or nervousness about a perceived threat. It includes physical changes in the body (e.g., increased heart rate, shallow breathing, muscle tension, sweating, etc.) and changes in our thinking (e.g., mind racing or blanking, frequent worrying about the upcoming event, etc.). Anxiety often makes us want to avoid the thing that we’re concerned about in an effort to keep us safe (this is a result of the fight-flight-freeze response). This can be very helpful sometimes.

However, anxiety can become unhelpful and overwhelming when it’s happening too often, too intensely, or at inappropriate or unwarranted times. This happens to all of us from time-to-time, but if you find yourself overwhelmed by anxiety and believe your anxiety is out of proportion with what you’re worrying about, it may be time to consider seeking help. Some people who experience unhelpful anxiety could be diagnosed with a group of mental health diagnoses called Anxiety Disorders. These include Social Anxiety Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Specific Phobias, and others. Thankfully, psychotherapy is one research-supported way to work on your unhelpful anxiety.

UNHELPFUL ANXIETY IS TREATABLE!

Here’s a list of 10 of the most helpful things you can do to manage your unhelpful anxiety. Most of these are skills that you can learn on your own, although a few are probably more effective if done with a professional.

1. Learn relaxation skills. Try deep breathing, grounding, progressive muscle relaxation, and others. Like any new skill, these can take some time to learn and become helpful, so don’t give up if they don’t solve your problems right away!
2. Try meditation. I’m sure you’ve come across the buzz around meditation, so give it a shot. Look for a local group with whom to meditate, or try out one of the many meditation apps available, including Calm, Headspace, Insight Timer, and others. This is a skill that I find particularly helpful for me when I’m stressed.
3. Practice daily mindfulness activities by bringing your attention to what you’re doing in the moment. For example, when you’re brushing your teeth, brush your teeth with full awareness of that activity, and, when you get distracted, bring your attention back to teeth-brushing. Try this with showering, cooking, eating, and other daily activities.
4. Ask whether what you see as threatening is actually dangerous. For example, many people become anxious about public speaking out of concerns that others will judge them negatively. I certainly know that I do sometimes. If that’s you, try asking yourself, ‘What’s the worst that’s will actually happen if I make a mistake when speaking in public?’ and remind yourself that it probably won’t be as bad as you think. A note here that if you determine that the trigger truly is dangerous, it’s important to find a way to keep yourself safe instead of trying to shift your thinking.
5. Emotion surf the anxiety. Anxiety, like all emotions, comes and goes like waves on the ocean, and we can learn how to surf our emotions like surfers on the waves. Try to focus on your anxiety with curiosity and openness about how it feels in your body rather than trying to avoid or suppress it. Let it come and go like a wave.
6. Practice exposing yourself to anxiety-producing triggers repeatedly and staying with the triggers until your anxiety decreases (again, assuming the triggers aren’t actually dangerous). Confronting what makes you anxious like this is very difficult because it intentionally produces stress in the short-term to help you stop perceiving the trigger as a threat in the long-term. This approach is difficult to do on your own, so I would usually encourage you to consult a professional to help you with this one.
7. Incorporate physical exercise into your life. We all know that moderate-to-vigorous exercise is a wonderful preventative way in to manage stress and improve health. What is probably less well-known is that vigorous exercise (if it’s safe and possible for you) is itself also a helpful reactive way to cope with acute anxiety episodes that you’re currently experiencing.
8. Try a general mental health app: Examples include Sanvello, Mindshift, nOCD, Rootd, and others. They can help you learn relaxation skills and change unhelpful thinking habits.
9. Speak with friends and family. Getting some separation from your worries by saying them out loud and having others witness that can be very healing. This would only be recommended if those trusted others are actually going to be supportive of you.
10. Seek professional support if your anxiety is causing significant distress or dysfunction in your life. Speak with your family doctor to explore your options, possibly including medication, and/or seek out a qualified psychologist or psychotherapist to help you.

These are some introductory ideas to help you navigate your unhelpful anxiety more effectively. Many of the skills mentioned will require further learning and practice, so don’t hesitate to connect with a professional to work on them. Take care of yourself!