subject: How to Understand and Deal With Anxiety [print this page] Author: David Wheeler Author: David Wheeler
At some point in our lives we all feel anxious. This may be due to feeling nervous in advance of an important job interview, or maybe we feel apprehensive about making some huge personal commitment. Whatever the circumstance, it is difficult to ignore anxiety. Now some anxiety is perfectly acceptable but an overdose of it can become quite incapacitating. There is nothing to be gained by running away from a situation that brings on anxiety; on the contrary, it is best dealt with by facing it head on. The best cure for anxiety, like any fear, is to confront it and resolve it, no matter how uncomfortable this makes you feel. This resolving starts with your thoughts, which have a huge effect on your feelings. And of course, if you feel anxious, you will probably have anxious thoughts and so you end up in a vicious circle where anxiety takes over your life. You see if you constantly tell yourself that things are 'dire' or 'dreadful', you are giving anxiety a helping hand. So rather than jump to an immediate conclusion that a situation is 'truly awful', step back and consider it rationally. You can ease your anxiety enormously by seeing things in the right light. Labelling a situation incorrectly is the quickest way to make you anxious. A difficulty faced by anxiety sufferers is that society in general does not really see anxiety as having a huge role in mental health. People who do not suffer the same way tend not to understand how constant anxiety can totally affect someone's life to the extent that it can bring about severe mental and physical symptoms. It is typical for a non-sufferer to assume your physical symptoms have a physical cause, rather than linking it to a mental health concern. It may be wise to get advice from a doctor about the physical symptoms of anxiety, before trying to deal with them yourself. Your doctor can also confirm if it is safe for you to start facing your anxiety problems. Checking out relevant websites will help you become familiar with typical anxiety symptoms. This can actually help you deal with an anxiety attack, as you will recognise the symptoms when you get them. Becoming familiar with something helps you cope with it. It can be tricky dealing with anxiety but it is by no means impossible. It may seem counter-intuitive to fight anxiety by meeting it head-on. However, clinical studies prove that aversion therapy is an excellent way of dealing with fears. For example, a fear of spiders can be controlled by gradual exposure to them. Over time, as you become used to them, you will develop more sensible responses toward them. Let's look at how to apply this to the fear of being around lots of people. Go to a public place and stay there for twenty minutes or so, or as long as you can manage without anxiety overwhelming you. Do this each day, gradually increasing the time you spend there. As you become accustomed to being there, you will begin to exert control over your anxiety and so begin to reduce it. This is one simple technique of many you can use to handle anxiety. For severe anxiety, please consult a doctor as they will be able to suggest various options to you, including local groups catering for people with anxiety problems. Finally, remember that anxiety is a natural part of life but don't let it take over.About the Author:
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