Tips for Anxiety to Feel Less Scary
We all know that anxiety can feel scary, overwhelming, and controlling.
Without the right tips to fight it, anxiety reminds us of a movie many of our staff grew up watching - The Wizard of Oz.
Anxiety can feel powerful, but there are ways you can “pull back its curtain” in your daily life.
In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy seemingly reorders much of her life and decisions because of “the Great and Powerful Oz” - the wizard who made orders that all the people of Oz would follow without questioning.
That was until Dorothy’s dog Toto went behind the curtain...
When Toto pulled back the curtain, everyone saw that, instead of a mighty leader, the Great and Powerful Oz was a simple con man who used elaborate tricks and props to give himself authority.
Remember this picture, because it directly relates to how crippling anxiety can feel until you see how to better expose it and equip yourself.
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Anxiety always overestimates negative outcomes and underestimates your ability to prevent or problem solve.
The most powerful force in fighting anxiety is to name it - call it out for what it is!
Anxiety always overestimates negative outcomes and underestimates your ability to prevent or problem solve.
Practice challenging your anxious feelings and thoughts with these questions our counselors encourage our patients to ask themselves when feeling anxious:
Am I listening to my feelings or looking at the facts?
Does thinking this way help me or hurt me in getting what I want?
How have I overcome similar things of this nature in the past?
What factual evidence do I have to support this anxious thought? What factual evidence do I have that doesn’t support this anxious thought?
What might I tell a friend if he/she was in this same situation?
Could I possibly be falling into a "thinking trap" such as all or nothing thinking, jumping to conclusions, or catastrophizing the situation?
TIP: Write down 3 questions you resonate with and save them as a note on your phone. Simplify your approach to solving anxiety and remember where it's saved so you can reference it even when your emotions are heightened.
Just like the wizard, anxiety can send big and scary messages to our brains, telling us what to do (or not do) and speak with such authority that it goes without being questioned. BUT, just like the dog pulling back the curtain, you can attack your feelings of anxiety.
Yes, anxiety is strong, but you are too.
Want to go deeper into your feelings of anxiety or do you see someone you love hurt with anxious thinking?
Our Simplify Life therapists work to lead people in identifying the unique messages their anxieties send and show them how to combat their anxieties in an effective manner.
We love sharing tips, tools, and seasonal thoughts on social media, but also love connecting to real humans when they need someone to help them feel strong.
Keeping it simple - click here to share how you're feeling right now if you’d like to talk with our team.
