There are several methods to help people deal with anxiety including:
- Challenging anxious thoughts
By challenging the thoughts in your head and the physical and emotional effect they are having on your body, this helps you to distinguish which part of the thought is irrational and replace it with a rational alternative. Separating rational from irrational thoughts is a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) concept and there are available CBT specialist resources and individuals who can help coach you through this process to implement it independently. - Analysing your anxiety
Keep a notebook or diary and record any anxious thoughts you experience and the physical and emotional impact they have. Record additional details such as the situation you are in, the environment in which they occurred and who was present as this will help identify any potential link between anxious thoughts and external factors. - Face your fear (Exposure therapy)
By confronting your fear and facing it with the help of a trained professional, overtime you will learn to cope with that fear, reducing the severity of anxious thoughts in the long-term. Gradually expose yourself to your fear and increase the regularity of exposure over time. In time, anxiety symptoms should reduce as you become increasingly used to exposure with the fear. - Acknowledge the bigger picture
By zooming out and appreciating the entirety of the situation rather than becoming fixated on the specific detail that triggers anxious thoughts, this may help to manage anxious thoughts by developing a plan to help cope with the situation.
