Find personal ways to alleviate anxiety

Identifying the Manifestations of Anxiety

To mitigate the effects of anxiety, the first step is to recognize it when it occurs. This awareness can be facilitated by identifying which of the previously presented lenses we have put on. After recognizing the significant role of our perception on a situation by identifying the mental filter(s) used, we can attempt to soothe these effects.

The list below, while not exhaustive, well illustrates the variety of anxiety repercussions:

• noticing a reduction in task efficiency

• having a tendency to forget things, feeling disoriented

• having difficulty sharing positive moments with the person being helped, because anxiety overwhelms us

• experiencing a loss of contact with the present moment, because we are caught up in anticipating the future

• feeling like losing control, unable to do what we really desire

• feeling a higher degree of irritability

• seeing a need for support, but no longer knowing how to communicate it.

Being aware of the many possible effects of anxiety, it is not surprising to find such a wide variety of ways to cope with it. Nonetheless, it is important to cultivate patience, because a spiral of anxious thoughts can be compared to a snowball rolling down a slope: it cannot be stopped abruptly. We can slow down anxiety, but its effects can linger. However, this does not mean we are not addressing it.

Exploring Some Ways to Soothe the Impacts of Anxiety

Nourishing What is Important to Us

Considering that anxiety can be nurtured, this logic implies that it is also possible to nurture something other than anxiety. Therefore, we can identify what is important to us and try to cultivate it despite the unpleasant presence of anxious effects. This can be practiced by starting a gratitude journal. Each time we feel grateful for something, we can record it in this journal. This technique allows us to connect with ourselves, counteracting the anxious thoughts that try to distance us from what matters to us.

Using Humor

Humor can also be a valuable tool for defusing the idea of a situation that terrifies us. Our thoughts may try to convince us that we will not be able to respond to catastrophic situations, so humor can help defuse the power of a thought.

Re-centering Ourselves

It can be helpful to change environments by taking a walk, trying a new recipe that inspires us, or practicing visualization techniques that have the effect of refocusing us on the present moment, as opposed to anxious thoughts that abduct us into the future. There may be times when physiological symptoms are too intense to be soothed, and it is not necessary to be hard on ourselves. During these moments, it is important to welcome ourselves as best as we can, because we will not be able to act until a little peace and security have settled within us.