Be AWARE of Your Anxiety

I deal with anxiety and depression. I have been dealing with these things throughout my life and I probably always will, but I am learning on how to deal with these things, how to not let them control me, but I to control them.

For the sake of the title, let's start with talking about anxiety, shall we? With a counseling program I involved myself in, myself and a group of others my age were taught a lesson on dealing with anxiety. We were told to be AWARE. Let me walk you through what that means.

A: Accept the anxiety

This is simple in concept, but maybe not as simple in practice. The idea is to, as it says, accept that you are dealing with anxiety. Don't reject or resist it. By doing that you prolong the effects of it and make it responsible of how you think, feel, and act. By accepting it, you open things up to dealing with it and moving on from it. 

W: Watch your anxiety

Look at your anxiety without judgement. Trust me, judging it would just make things worse. Instead try to look at your thoughts, feelings, and actions as if you are a friendly, but not overly concerned bystander. The point is to be in the anxiety state, but not of it. Just observe yourself and try to understand you.

A: Act with the anxiety

 The point of this is to act as if you are not anxious; function with it. Sounds easier said than done, right? I would agree, but it's important and I never claimed any of this was easy. This all requires work and effort. Here's some tips that were given to us on this step. Breathe slowly and normally. Watch your breathing. If you do, it will make you feel more calm. Why do you think they talk about breathing control in Tai Chi and all that? Because it is relaxing. Also, slow down if you have to, but keep going on with your day. Don't let the anxiety crush your day. If you run from the situation, your anxiety will just go up, but if you stay and deal with it, your anxiety will go down. I promise.

R: Repeat the steps

I am going to assume that I do not need to explain this one. Cool beans, let's continue!

E: Expect the anxiety

So you have done all of the above until your anxiety has come to a comfortable level. What now? You expect it for next time. Chances are that your anxiety will return. That is just a fact of life, so expect it. By expecting future anxiety, you are putting yourself in a good position to accept it when it returns. Making this whole process way easier! That would be awesome!!

Anxiety is a struggle that is hard to overcome, but I hope that this helps any who read this. I believe it helped me to understand myself more and to deal with my anxiety as it comes. Do I still struggle? Yes, I do. I am still learning and figuring things out, but I like to think I can handle it better now.