Anxiety can take on a life of its own. Taking your valuable resources of time, attention and energy.

Instead of allowing anxiety to run your life, consider employing the following steps to learn how to take back your one wild and precious life from the grips of anxiety.

6 Steps to Manage Anxiety

1. Notice & Acknowledge the feelings of anxiety

   • “I am experiencing anxiety,”” I feel anxious,”” My heart is racing.”

   • Not, “I am anxious.”  You and your anxiety are two separate things.

   • Be descriptive (My hands are shaking, I feel afraid, Something feels off).

   • Don’t fall into the story/content (I’m in danger, I’m going to die, I can’t handle it, Something bad is coming my way).

   • You are NOT your anxiety.  You are a person experiencing anxiety.

   • Get curious - instead of my heart racing means something dangerous is happening, try “oh, my heart is racing, that’s interesting. It's getting a workout - it must need it” 

     • In fact, sometimes doing an activity that will raise your heart rate can resolve the racing heart sensation.
       

2. Ask anxiety what it's trying to direct your attention to

   • Sit quietly for a moment. Check in with your body to see if it has any information for you.

   • Are you hungry, angry, lonely, tired, too serious?

   • Are you preparing to present or perform?

   • Are you feeling unheard, misunderstood, invisible?

   • Does this feel familiar - like you’ve felt this before?

3. Thank the anxiety for making you aware

   • If there is something you can do about it - do it (eat, sleep, get company)

   • Check in to make sure you have done your preparation work sufficiently to present or perform and if you haven’t - maybe your body is letting you know you need to. Find time and prepare more. If you have done enough, then thanks for the warning - you are good.

   • If it’s old material, then maybe the anxiety doesn’t warrant all your current energy and the old stuff can be dealt with in therapy.

   • Don’t get fixated on the content of the anxiety. Observe, don’t engage.

4. Recall what it is you are supposed to be doing — what is next on your agenda

   • Redirect your attention to what is yours to do in the present moment.

   • Even if it’s something you would rather avoid. Avoidance makes anxiety grow.

   • If you don’t have anything to do, then use your senses to get curious about a sensory experience or object. Give your mind something else to focus on. Lean into learning something new, trying a new activity (novelty), something expansive and not shrinking your world. 

5. Engage in your life, today, as it arises.

   • JUST DO IT

   • Invest your time and energy on what makes you feel good. 

   • Don’t give anxiety any more of your time, and don’t focus on fixing anxiety, just dismiss it and move on. 

   • For a minute, hyperfocus on the activity at hand. Use your senses to help you engage. Describe what you see, hear, touch, smell and taste as you engage in your activity or task. Once you are fully engaged you’ll notice the anxiety disappears or takes a back seat.

6. Repeat

   • In fact, repetition is where the magic is. This is how we create new neural pathways. By not reacting to our body’s hiccup of anxiety, we show our mind/body that this is not  dangerous and we don’t need to respond, but in fact is just part of being human. Eventually, with enough repetitions, the new pathway is laid and reinforced and the experience of anxiety reduces or is eliminated.

Eventually, anxiety will give up. You’re no longer a target that gets hooked on anxiety’s game. And when anxiety gets you, take a breath or three - deep diaphragmatic breaths, reset and engage the steps again.