
How many of us suffer from anxiety?
We’ve all swallowed a mouthful of uncertainty when swimming upstream through life’s currents. Firstly, I’d like to say that you are not alone. Everyone deals with anxiety at some point, no matter age, gender, or how mature you may be. It has no respect for culture or race. It targets the healthy and the sick, the rich and the poor all the same. Even those who seem to have it all together get anxious that they don’t have it all together enough. Anxiety is the fear of not knowing what will happen next. The unexpected. The unknown.
Honestly, life feels unfair at times. Why can’t I know what happens next so I am better prepared to face those curves and bends up ahead? Take this year, for example: the unexpected turn of events that you have experienced thus far. Maybe an unplanned pregnancy, the loss of a loved one, or perhaps the loss of a friendship. This year, you undoubtedly found yourself reshuffling, readjusting, and re-discovering a new version of yourself in times challenging your grit.

I find it interesting that fear is only present when dealing with the unknown. Think about it for some of us, we’ve traveled to some part of the world that required a flight. Some of us have to deal with a fear of flying over gallons of water, thinking that something can go wrong at any moment. But once you’ve landed, there’s so much satisfaction in knowing you’ve done it and can do it again. I want to be able to help you in those moments when the unknown tends to hold us in place, robbing us of beautiful memories we can create. An article, Tips and Strategies to Manage Anxiety and Stress, by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, shared a few tips that may work for you in managing your anxiety:
Take a time-out, like for self-care. Think of meditation, or yoga, or even napping.
Eat well-balanced meals.
Get enough sleep.
Exercise daily.
Take deep breaths. This video here shows a great four minute breathing exercise that teaches how to breathe deeply.
Do your best. But, this doesn’t mean pushing yourself past your limit.
Accept that you can’t control everything.
Use humor. Laughter really is good for us.
Keep up a positive attitude.
Learn what triggers your anxiety. (This is something awesome to explore in therapy!)
Talk to someone. This can be friends, family, a therapist, or anyone else that helps you.
I feel that, at times, where the frustration increases is where we want to eradicate our anxiety. What if we adopted a mindset where our level of anxiety should be managed instead of erased? This helps us lessen our frustration with the impossible task of getting rid of it to bring down the levels of our anxiety so that we are still able to function properly throughout our day. I hope these tips are helpful as we continue to fight the good fight of managing the unexpected.
For even more great information, here's that link to Tips and Strategies to Manage Anxiety and Stress: https://adaa.org/tips
RM
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