We all experienced anxiety in our lives. Whether it’s the one that froze us in our room for days, or as subtle as nail-biting and teeth-gnashing. We are over-familiar with the shallow breathing, sweaty palms, and a racing heart. These are the symptoms of anxiety. It can also occur when our “fight or flight” response goes into overdrive, activating various responses at once. We can beat this problem with the help of Melanie Greenberg, a cognitive-behavior therapist who has been dealing with anxiety patients over the last 15 years. The psychologist unfolds 6 excellent ways to rewire the brain to remove anxiety.
Say hi to your fear
As cliché, as it sounds, facing our fears, is one of the best things we can do for our anxiety. Putting ourselves in an uncomfortable situation that makes us anxious will teach our brain to learn and deal with it. It helps to slowly remove the anxiety as we gradually become more comfortable with the situation.
Change your focus
Anxiety walks side by side with fears. Thus, to let go of our anxiety, we must pay more attention to our values, not our fears. We can practice ACT, or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as it will teach us to admit that fear is part of life but don’t give it the power to control us.
Keep calm and breathe
Take your time to relax and breathe. This is the simplest way to fight anxiety yet so easily forgotten. This practice will loosen the tension in our muscles which automatically calms our mental and physical down.
Stop over-thinking
Whenever we are anxious, our mind will start racing and generates tons of ideas that will make us afraid of the outcome. But the truth is, what we assume is way worse than the actual outcome. Stop thinking ridiculously and solve the problem rationally.
Be careful
We are easily blinded by anxiety and simply lose track of our responses and behaviors. Keep watch of our own reactions and actions before doing anything else. This will ease your anxiety and give a proper time to analyze whether you’re acting rationally.
What if….
Stop catastrophize the issue and bombard yourself with the ‘what if’s’ questions. Instead of overreacting and thinking about thousands of negative possibilities, give us some time to solve the issue appropriately and recognize what has been wronged. Remember that it’s not the end of the world.
