Anxiety

Banish Worry and Anxiety in 5 Steps

By Jay Chase

Anxiety and worry are caused by different emotions, reactions and thought processes, but they go hand in hand as one causes the other in a vicious circle which is why we need to battle at least one of them to help the other. If you are a person who leads their life by the 'What if's' you are a worrier. Now, worrying is not 100% bad as we need to worry in order for survival; being able to calculate the real risk factor in anything we do or happens to us, it acts as a warning signal.

However, the problem is when this worry becomes increased to an extent that we shy away from everything as there is a feeling of threat and danger even if this is not based on facts. It is this stress that causes anxiety as worry manifests into unproductive behaviours where by the brain begins to associate certain events, objects, emotions and situations with danger. This then leads to such things as panic attacks, social fear and phobias; socially, mentally, physically, financially, geographically and emotionally paralysing us.

Worry falls under 2 categories productive and unproductive. It is unproductive worry that is the unhealthy type and relies heavily on the idea of 'what if's' and events that are either unlikely to happen or just not important. Our lives consist of so many factors that worrying excessively over the things we either can't control, might not happen or don't really matter is a waste of time and energy. Use some or all of these tips to stop that worry of what people think of you, worry of success, worry of failing, worry of impending doom, worry the things that may not happen, worry of the things that have happened and the worry of might happen:

* QUESTION EVERYTHING

Ask yourself questions to get real answers, write them down if necessary so you can see them in black and white and evaluate the situation for what it really is:

- Will it really happen? What is the real possibility of it happening?
- How often does it really happen?
- Should I worry about this if the chance of it happening is small?
- Should I worry about it or is it for someone else?
- Will I even think about this worry in the near or far future?
- What will really happen?
- What is the worst/best that can happen?
- If something happens what does it mean for me?
- If I don't worry anymore what will happen to the situation?
- Do I have control over what will happen?

* WORRY ABOUT THE REAL THINGS

With life so hectic and varied there will be things that are a persistent worry for us but sometimes this can cause more stress than necessary. This type of worry cannot be combated 100% but what we can do is ensure we deal with situation in the right way to shorten and lighten how the worry is dealt with and in tun build confidence and resilience.

- Put an action plan in place to deal with the worry to sort it out, get rid of it or control/maintain it.

- If it is something that can be dealt with immediately then just do it, get it out the way and move on or delegate it to someone who is willing to help so you can concentrate on the next thing.

- If your worry is something completely out of your control then what use is it worrying, do something you love to do and find fun and do it to take your mind off worrying.

* KEEP A WORRY DIARY

Keep a small note book or diary on you at all times.

- Write down each worry you experience every day: thoughts, feelings, emotions, actions etc

- Write down real outcome if applicable.

- At the end of the day look at the things you write down and scale them 1 - 10 (10 being the highest) of how strongly you felt worry or anxiety.

- Put each point into 4 categories to see what type and level of worry you are feeling:

1: Worried that it might happen
2: Worried because it has happened in the past
3: Worried about the small things in the day (Small things that will probably go unnoticed by most)
4: Worried about the big things (Something that will really have an impact on your life).

- Look at the list and see how it is distributed and see if the points are relative between the score you gave them and the categories you put them under.

- Seeing them in this way will give you an insight to false and irrational beliefs and give you the tools to make changes as you can begin to work on changing the way you think and moving these points to lower scores and different, more realistic categories.

- From this you can begin to take the initiative to make decisions and take responsibility and control for your life.

* FACE YOUR FEARS BIT BY BIT

Exposure therapy can be if done in the right way can be extremely effective. Look at your diary and look at the worries that are scored on the lower more minor scale and gradually expose yourself to them and record how you think and feel. Try doing something new towards your worry such as delegation of a job, looking at it for what it is, research facts and figures or speaking to someone about it.

You will be able to get used to dealing with worry and the things associated with it learning that you can cope. You can then move along the scale until you are adept at handling negative thoughts, feelings and actions.

* KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE WORRY

Ask yourself these questions:

- Do you feel it useful to worry about things in general?
- Do you feel it useful to worry about the minor things things?
- Do you try finding solutions to the worry to help it?
- Do you end up feeling anxious, depressed, sad, left out, stuck in a rut, negative, neglected, lonely, frustrated, nervous etc from worrying?
- Do you procrastinate, leaving the worry to fester as you cannot act to change it?
- Do you avoid taking any action at all to avoid responsibility of what might happen?

If you answer YES to most or all of these questions then you are a negative worrier which means you can now move forward knowing this and make those changes now to a better life.

The vicious circle between worry and anxiety can be broken and no matter how long you have been trapped by either or both of these conditions you can escape to a life that you control and lead independently.

To watch a presentation that will show you how to destroy the worry of what others think about you in 5 easy steps visit "Secret Social Weapons."

Secret Social Weapons

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