3 tips to overcome anxiety without complicating your life

Has the experience of feeling a knot in your stomach happened to you? Or what squeezes your chest? Have you felt fear when facing situations such as exams, a job interview or going out with the girl you like?

Well then, it is possible that what is happening to you is an anxiety problem.

But... What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a normal experience, we have all experienced it; even the most relaxed person in the world sometimes feels anxiety. This experience, when it is present in its proper measure, allows us to face challenges of daily life. It prepares us, makes us attentive and makes it easier for our senses to sharpen. Yes, believe it or not, there is a healthy and positive anxiety.

The problem is when anxiety is out of control, when it is triggered too intensely or too often. In these cases, our anxiety is no longer an ally, but an enemy of everyday life.

The good news is that anxiety can be overcome, you don't need to live in tension. Currently, the CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) is the branch of psychology that has the best results in the treatment of anxiety. And in turn, within CBT we find specialists in anxiety disorders.

Do we all feel the same anxiety?

The anxiety presents more than 100 symptoms between physical, psychological, emotional and behavioral. In other words, although there can be countless combinations of how anxiety feels, we all experience it in a similar way. That is why anxiety does not need big “presentations”, it is enough to say that you feel anxious so that your colleagues understand what is happening to you.

However, depending on where the anxiety is directed, we can be facing different disorders. For example, if what causes you discomfort is meeting unknown people (or even friends), going to bars, parties or social gatherings, we say that it is social anxiety, that is, the anxiogenic object is the people. Among the anxiety disorders, those that currently have the highest incidence are panic attacks and the TAG (generalized anxiety disorder).

Two very common forms of pathological anxiety

Before we get into the 3 tips to control anxiety in this article, I would like to briefly explain what are panic attacks and generalized anxiety disorder.

A panic attack is a very abrupt and intense rise in anxiety, which entails a great feeling of discomfort and a multiplicity of physical and emotional symptoms. It usually lasts about 10 minutes and then starts to get better on its own. Among the most common symptoms you can feel palpitations, chest tightness, choking sensation, and fear of dying or going crazy.

Although the feeling is very unpleasant, nothing bad will happen to you, after the 10 or 15 minutes it lasts, you will return to normal. You may feel tired, but nothing serious will happen to you because of a panic attack.

On the other hand, people with GAD tend to have worries, or rather, anxiety, about various things or situations of daily life. They may worry about exams, work, relationships, safety, health... Although these issues concern us all, if you have GAD your concern may be more intense than usual and with greater frequency. Those who have GAD can come to "live from one concern to another".

What can you do in the face of this discomfort?

Fortunately, all forms of anxiety are treatable and full well-being can be restored.

In this article, I want to give you 3 general tips to fight anxiety. Here I present the 3 favorite strategies of my patients.

1. live in the present

When we feel anxiety behind it, there are thoughts and fears related to the future or the past. I can feel anxiety about what is about to happen (and I imagine a catastrophic future) or about what has happened (rumination or mental repetition of facts or phrases that I said or did not say).

But if we focus on the present, if we focus on what we are currently experiencing, we will notice that there is nothing to worry about right now, at this instant.

That is why being present is one of the best techniques to combat anxiety. Specifically, what should we do? One option is to mentally describe what we see and hear, concentrate on what is happening in our environment, concentrate on conversations, on a TV series or on the mobile. That is to say, “get out” of our thinking and focus on our senses. Focus your experience on what is happening around you. What can you see? What can you hear? What do you feel on your skin?

There are many techniques to be present, but this is one of the easiest and most effective to start, and that even my patients often recommend.

2. Distrust your negative thoughts

Anxiety is characterized by a negative bias towards the future, myself and the world. When we feel anxiety, our thoughts tell us that "something bad is going to happen."

But... How many times have you predicted a catastrophic future that later did not happen?** How many times what we think is worse than reality?

This is one of my favorite techniques. Distrust your negative thoughts. To do it, You can add at the end of each phrase or negative thought, a simple "or not...".

For example: if your thought is: "they are going to fail me in the exam", doubt it by transforming it into: "they are going to fail me in the exam, or not...".

If your anxiety says: "he doesn't answer me because he doesn't like me", doubt this thought and transform it into "he doesn't answer me because he doesn't like me, or not...". This simple doubt enables us to think about reality in new ways.

3. Do physical activity

This last tip is essential! Scientific evidence says that daily aerobic physical activity significantly reduces anxiety.

In my clinical experience, this is very true! But I like to tell you that you don't need to push yourself too hard, that you already have enough to manage anxiety. That's why, my advice is to perform aerobic physical activity frequently; If you only have time to do it three times a week, that's fine too, and if you can't go to the gym but can walk to the grocery store, that's fine too. Everything you add to activity will add to your well-being.

• You may be interested in: "The 10 psychological benefits of practicing physical exercise"

To end…

Finally, I want to tell you that these are not the only possible techniques. If you feel that they are not easy for you or do not work for you, do not worry, there are hundreds of options to overcome anxiety! don't be discouraged

Practice these techniques and, if you have questions, contact us; we will gladly help you!