Simple Steps to Deal with being Anxious

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Happy Monday!



What are you anxious about?

Ok, people often talk about anxiety nowadays and for good reason. We are in unprecedented times, life is changing as we know it and really, we do not know where this will all lead in the future. Yes, i did not say when it will end because frankly, I don't think it will. We will just be lead to different realities and would have to cope accordingly.

So I guess, asking why one is anxious is already futile at this point.

We got to start somewhere, though. Some simple steps to get us started:

1. Define if you are anxious or suffering from anxiety disorder.
This is a very important step. We can be momentarily anxious over things when we hear about or are presented with a situation. Suffering from anxiety however, is compulsively worrying about things, or involuntarily manifesting extremely anxious behavior (crying, palpitations, sweaty palms) for no apparent reasons.
For now, this post is for those who are anxious and not for those suffering from anxiety disorder.

2. Know thy enemy.
What are your triggers? It helps when you list them down. For two reasons: first, you see it on paper, facing them and evaluating it when the anxiety passes; second, you can start addressing them.

3. Evaluate.
Let me be clear. Its evaluate, not validate. I do believe, if it makes you anxious, it is valid enough. However, we have to evaluate them based on these things: urgency, control, and opportunity.
How urgent should you address this vs. how urgent you feel you should address it?
How much control do you actually have over this thing you are anxious about? What aspects of it you can control? If you have no control over it, what should you do?
When does this thing hit and trigger you? How do you prepare for it when it gets to you again? What self-talk do you do to validate and calm yourself down?

4. Step forward.
With what you learn about your anxiety, make little bits of move forward - however little, it makes a difference, a ripple effect.
Is your brain foggy during these "attacks"? Make a conscious step to increase presence of mind, awareness.
Are you feeling helpless? Reach out to someone with compassion and mental toughness at the moment to talk things out with.
Are you feeling beat and unable to to make a move? Wash your face! Go for a walk. Compute your budget (surprisingly this relaxes me ahahaha). Cook a meal. Some call this procrastination. I call this starting inertia. It catches on, believe me.
In one of those tiny steps, you'd find the will to do something about whatever it is that is making you anxious.

5. Pray.
There is power in believing that everything is a test of spirit. There is wisdom in looking at reality from a human and then a spiritual plane. We are souls, remember? This helps me let go, seek deeper understanding, rely on a higher power. It may be difficult to pray sometimes when I am anxious. That does not excuse me from trying though.

What are you anxious about? Start with this. Know thyself. Then move on to the next steps above.

Are these quick fixes? Try them out and you'd know, nothing is quick in them. ❤
We try. No one has got it all figured out. Breathe in, breathe out.

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