Confronting Anxiety

In most situations, people are able to process minor stresses and deal with them. Sometimes, however, someone might develop an irrational fear of certain situations and perceive them as threatening. According to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness and affect 40 million adults in the U.S. It is hard to break mental habits of fear and anxiety, but there are many ways to try to confront your fears.

Cognitive Therapy

• Many psychiatrists recommend cognitive therapy for people who suffer from general anxiety. There are many useful exercises that help you slow down your thoughts and understand how negative thoughts affect your fears. One such exercise is to write a list of what negative thoughts and worries you are having. In a column next to the list, objectively analyze the situation. Maybe the negative thought is, "I am afraid to fly on an airplane to go on my vacation." In the second column you would state the unlikelihood of crashing, the safety compared to cars and the fact that it is a situation that you can't control. Then in a third column, you would attempt to change that negative thought into a more realistic thought. The realistic thought would be, "I'm going to have a great relaxing time on my vacation and the airplane ride will go smoothly."

Desensitization

• Another method of confronting anxiety is through desensitization. This is when you would take a particular fear and gradually expose yourself to it, effectively easing the fear. For example, again consider someone who is deathly afraid of flying. They would start by simply looking at pictures of planes taking off, people sitting in an airplane cabin and other situations in the flight experience. Then maybe they could go somewhere close by an airport to see the planes taking off. Step by step they would slowly build up to the moment of actually sitting through an entire flight. By the time the person gets to this point, they will be accustomed to the idea and may lose some of that anxiety.

Biofeedback

• Biofeedback is another method of reducing stress. This method focuses on the connection of the mind and the body. You can learn to control the involuntary body functions that are triggered by stress and anxiety. By calming these systems, you can feel more in control of your emotional symptoms. Relaxation techniques such as mediation and progressive muscle relaxation are great exercises that can help lower blood pressure, slow your heart rate and reduce tension in the muscles. Progressive muscle relaxation consists of focusing on slow, deep breathing and tensing and then relaxing each consecutive muscle group. This is usually done with the assistance of an audio recording and works best when done in a comfortable reclined position in a darkened room. After completion of even just five minutes of progressive muscle relaxation and mediation, the patient is usually much more relaxed, physically and mentally.