A Counselor’s Guide to Identifying and Managing Anxiety
Do you ever feel uneasy or worry about things you can’t control?
Do you over-plan to feel in control of your life?
Do you lack focus in school or on your job?
Do you feel fatigued even after a full night of rest?
Repeat after me: I do not have to feel ashamed about struggling with anxiety.
If you have been feeling anxious for quite some time, you need to be gentle and patient with yourself as you begin to learn new ways to manage your anxiety. Getting to a place of feeling calmer, happier, and more at ease is possible!
Here’s how I guide my clients through identifying, tracking, and managing their anxiety.
It’s helpful to start by understanding the science as it pertains to the brain and how the mind-body connection affects our moods, in particular anxiety.
The brain is connected to the rest of the body via neural pathways that both signal the rest of the body and receive signals from the body.
The gut contains neurons, and the vagus nerve between the gut and brain also regulates digestion, heart rate, breathing, some reflexes, and blood vessel dilation and constriction. Sensory organs carry messages to the brain, triggering memories, thoughts, and certain responses, like fight-or-flight.
With all that said, if any part of this system is thrown off, there is a negative impact. An inflamed gut affects immune responses, brain function, allergies, absorption (or prohibition of absorption) of vital nutrients needed for healthy overall functioning.
Additionally, an inflamed brain affects everything negatively and causes negative moods like anxiety and depression.
The wrong diet, dehydration, or fever in the body can inflame the brain and the cycle then continues. Therefore, it’s necessary to slowly introduce some calm and restore order to this system.
Before considering anxiety, it’s always recommended that you see your medical provider to rule out any physical conditions that may cause similar symptoms!
If you’ve identified that there are no other medical concerns present, you’re likely dealing with anxiety.
The next step is to follow the symptoms down to their roots to figure out best management strategies.
I always recommend going back to the basics first with these three questions:
Am I maintaining a healthy diet? Improving your diet will improve not only your health, but your mood as well. You are what you eat!
Am I getting enough physical activity? A little activity can mean a huge improvement in mood.
Am I getting enough sleep? If you’re always tired, almost everything feels impossible. Being sleep deprived leads to frustration, conflict, and heightened anxiety.
Once you answer these questions, begin to observe yourself for a week or two by tracking your daily habits. There are various ways you can do this: via table or checklist that you keep on your refrigerator, by your bed, in a notebook, or even electronically on your phone!
For 1-2 weeks, observe these things daily:
Time asleep & quality of sleep.
What you ate.
What you drank.
Outdoor time or exposure to natural light.
Movement/exercise level (1-3) - what did you do?
Bowel movement(s)?
Pain/discomfort - where and how much (1-3)?
Average stress level (1-3).
Average energy level (1-3).
Main emotional state of the day.
Other – i.e.: medications taken, menstrual cycle, or illness.
*standard scale: 1 being little to none, 2 being somewhat/average, and 3 being high/a lot.
Once you have this data, decide which area you want to target first and begin there. Don’t try tackling them all at once! As you work through each target, before long you will be setting new, healthy habits that will yield overall better health.
As you’re tracking your daily habits, try incorporating some of these simple activities to reduce anxiety in the moment.
Deep breathing exercises
Progressive muscle relaxation
Challenging irrational thoughts
Imagery: what do you see, hear, taste, feel, and smell?
Journal or brain dump your feelings (handwritten, electronically, drawing, etc.)
For young, school-age students, try:
Blowing bubbles
Shaking up glitter bottles and watching the glitter to calm down
Squeezing a stress ball
Playing with Play-Doh or kinetic sand
Coloring
Always remember: Gratitude is one of your greatest weapons.
The practice of acknowledging and showing gratitude everyday can build happiness, self esteem, and provide other health benefits inclusive of reducing anxiety.
Gratitude is appreciating the good things in life no matter how big or small.
Additionally, gratitude also acknowledges what is hard in life. We don’t often acknowledge this as a form of gratitude, but it can be dangerous to focus only on an attitude of positivity, falling into a pattern of toxic positivity where everything appears right in your world—because we all know that’s rarely the case.
Create space to acknowledge or talk about what’s hard or challenging in your life, because these are your actual experiences as well. We learn and grow from both the good and not so good aspects in life!
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It can be dangerous to focus only on an attitude of positivity, falling into a pattern of toxic positivity where everything appears right in your world.
Here’s a quick list of my favorite gratitude exercises to recommend to clients:
Keep a gratitude journal.
Give thanks. Keep your eyes open for opportunities/reasons to say, “thank you”.
Mindfulness walks.
Write a gratitude letter.
Gratitude conversations. With another person, take turns listing 3 things you were grateful for throughout the day.
Grateful contemplation. Remove yourself from distractions and spend 5-10 minutes daily reviewing the good and the not so good things from your day. This can be through prayer, meditation, or on its own.
When we take the time to, as they say, “stop and smell the roses” we discover that we have a lot to be grateful for.
As we are coming into the Thanksgiving season, now is a great time to incorporate this into your routine. I bet you’ll find that it lifts your spirits and reduces a lot of the negative emotions you may be experiencing!
If you’re struggling with anxiety, you’re not alone.
One of the best ways to combat anxiety is to talk about it with someone. Consider reaching out to a professional to help you navigate anxiety in your life and equip you with the tools to manage it.
Meet the Author & Simplify Counselor
I love when my clients leave their sessions feeling empowered, confident in their abilities to face life's challenges, and able to facilitate overall balance and healing from within.
In essence, my clients learn to live their best lives unapologetically!
Nichole Walker, LAPC, NBCC
