Techniques for Dealing With Anxiety

Anxiety, while a common daily occurrence for many individuals, does not represent anything abnormal or wrong with your mental well-being. It is only considered a problem when you experience it very frequently and consistently. However, this does not mean that you necessarily need professional help. In fact, it is best if you begin by trying to deal with anxiety attacks yourself. With discipline and the application of certain mental techniques, you can treat almost any anxiety related disorder yourself.

Reason It Out

• A pre-condition of dealing with any anxiety-related problem is to know exactly what you get anxiety attacks about, and what kind of situations cause them. Think carefully about it. Once you have brought your condition and its causes to your conscious awareness and assessed them, try to evaluate, as rationally and objectively as you can, whether they are based on real factors and whether they are rationally justifiable.

  If you come to the conclusion that certain fears of yours are irrational, consciously retain this awareness and quietly observe those fears whenever they attack you. You do not need to fight against them. Try not to give in to them either. The idea is to try to maintain your equanimity and observe anxiety attacks from a distance. See if they eventually pass and finally stop bothering you.

The Magic of Thinking Positively

• 'Think positively' is an overused phrase and often sounds like patronizing advice, but the fact is that it is a very powerful mental technique when you are gripped by a panic attack. You will observe that generally panic and anxiety attacks begin with a negative thought. This is known as mentally predicting a disaster, and it triggers a panic alarm in your body. To get over this, calm yourself and try focusing on something positive instead. Try telling yourself how strong a human mind is, and how much potential you have, if you really begin to channel it positively right now. Remind yourself that you can get over this. You could also try imagining a relaxing place and breathing deeply.

Adopt the Promotion Approach

• It is commonly said that prevention is better than cure. However, in most cases, promotion is even better than prevention. Essentially, promotion refers to the process of seeking such changes in your lifestyle that will help you achieve more positive outcomes than you are currently achieving. For instance, you could use your spare time to start a new hobby you have been contemplating, or set aside a little bit of time during your day to work on your fitness. Basically, make an attempt to incorporate fun things into your life and such activities that will produce results that you will enjoy. Make sure you acknowledge and respect every positive achievement, and allow yourself to feel the good it is doing to your life.

  There is no reason why using these techniques should not help you counter your anxiety related problems. However, if you feel that you are not being able to produce the desired effect for yourself, don't hesitate in seeking professional advice. Finally, whatever you do, always remember that your problem is curable, no matter how chronic.