What Is Anxiety Management Theory?

Anxiety management theory involves determining, managing and treating the causes of anxiety. The causes of anxiety vary; however, working theories and models suggesting how to manage anxiety have been presented. Although not an exhaustive list, distinct themes regarding managing feelings of anxiety involve managing uncertainty, managing assumptions and performing reality checks.

Health Care Data

• According to a 2006 study by the Harvard School of Public Health, $47 billion a year was spent to address anxiety issues in the United States. Anxiety is the most common mental health problem. Health care studies reveal a range of variables possibly contributing to anxiety-related problems, including personal life perspectives, nutrition and environmental factors.

The Anatomy of Anxiety

• Anxiety management theory involves reducing and identifying causes leading to anxiety. Anxiety is an asystematic relationship between a person and his environment resulting in nagging feelings of disharmony. This disharmony leads the person to make judgments disproportionate to the accuracy of his interactions. When experiencing prolonged disharmony, simple and mundane events become peculiar, evolving into what is known as anxiety. Anxiety becomes apparent when the seemingly safe routine is replaced by unfounded and overwhelming reasons for dread.

Managing Uncertainty

• Uncertainty usually brings with it feelings of angst when events are hopelessly unpredictable, possibly leading to reoccurring feelings of anxiety. As a result, the fear of negative consequences may prompt an observer into hesitation. Hesitation within social settings possibly could cause two unfortunate occurrences: a hesitation leading to an accidental acting out of context, resulting in awkwardness, followed with a heightened sense of embarrassment usually unproportionate to the act committed. According to William B. Gudykunst's research regarding ways to manage anxiety and uncertainty, increasing a person's ability to describe and assign meaning to another's behavior increases a person's ability to accurately predict the behaviors of others; and in so doing, possibly avoiding feelings of anxiety. Ultimately, managing uncertainty involves building a tolerance level for unpredictability.

Managing Assumptions

• Identifying and managing assumptions regarding any given situation is essential to the anxiety management theory. People tend to act a certain way on the basis of assumptions of what an encounter implies. For example, when a boss asks to speak with his subordinate and his "asking" is really disguised as a commandment accompanying a sense of immediacy, and the subordinate assumes the request as merely a passive suggestion and may find himself in many anxiety-filled occasions with his boss thereafter. Ultimately, identifying faulty assumptions while isolating what behavior is required from moment to moment is an effective strategy to manage anxiety.

Reality Check

• Interpreting events and encounters accurately involves avoiding the mind trap of meta-assumptions (making assumptions about assumptions). For example, people managing their feelings of anxiety specific to their circumstance rather than participating in the endless cycle of "what if" analysis avoid situational paralysis by overanalyzing. Being mindful on what you're able to predict, accompanied with tolerance for the unpredictable is the realty check method inherent in many anxiety management theories.