Breaking free from high stress and anxiety is no easy task. But once you do manage to break away how do you prevent them from coming back? Well, although you can’t ensure permanent remission of high anxiety, you can certainly do a lot to avoid it in the future. You can also do a lot to make sure that a recurrence of symptoms is more manageable than it may have been in the past. When you take a proactive approach towards managing your stress and anxiety you become not only more effective at managing those issues but you will likely develop a more balanced outlook on your ability to effectively cope with any stressful situation. This can make all the difference as you seek to get better. One of the biggest mistakes I made as a former anxiety sufferer was to not stay on top of my stress management. If I wasn’t feeling anxious I pretty much forgot about it. And if I was feeling particularly worried or nervous I wouldn’t do much beyond hope for the best. In this regard, I never took preventative measures or actively worked toward remission. That’s why today I want to share with you 7 specific steps you can take to improve your current and future levels of anxiety. They include:
- Understanding the difference between a lapse and relapse
- How to develop the correct perspective about relapse
- Active and long-term stress management skills
- The importance of knowing the triggers of your anxiety
- How to identify the signs of high anxiety
- How to mobilize all of your skills and resources at the right time
- Being patient and developing realistic expectations
As I went through this list I thought about how helpful it would have been to me during the height of my anxiety. This is what makes bringing these tips to your attention so important. Given that there is so much we can do to lower long-term anxiety, I’d hate to think that there are still people out there that are doing what I used to do, which is to say pretty much nothing. That’s not an accusation, but rather what I tend to see in the anxious people I work with. Many times they are filled with good ideas and the best of intentions but still struggle to implement their recovery plans. I hope that by learning about these 7 steps that you can improve your own efforts to decrease high stress and anxiety.
So, listen now.
In this episode of The Anxiety Guru Show you’ll hear about:
- How to prevent a relapse of high anxiety
- How you can support the production of The AG Show
- Details about upcoming live online events
- Answers to listener emails
To listen, you can click the play button below or visit the AG iTunes page.
Helpful links:
- Learn to manage stress
- Important information about anxiety disorders
- How to prevent high anxiety
- More ways to prevent anxiety
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Here’s How to Increase Self-Knowledge and Lower Anxiety at the Same Time
This is definitely something I needed to read. Paul is about the only guy ive heard be honest about anxiety relaspse. It’s real and will happen to most of you. I find when I start feeling better I go back to my old way. Drinking a bunch coffee, eating bad, getting into political debates and worst of all stop listening to the anxeity guru podcast. Lol But sorry guys for most of us it comes and goes in waves and you have to stay on it to minimize the affect of the relapse. Thanks as always Paul!
Thanks for listening Mike. I appreciate the feedback!
Thanks Paul. There was much in this that I related to as I feel a regression at the moment brought on by a weird upper body sensation that I attributed to heart attack. Two years ago I went through the full gamut of test (up to ct angiogram with a calcium score of zero) and received a clean bill of health. My doctor says these results should be good for the next five years, but I can’t help but think that 2 years is an awfully long time. As a result I have regressed to fear once more.
I can definitely relate and wish nothing but the best for you and your journey with anxiety. I too find comfort in numbers and know that you cant just will the anxiety away and we all need a support group. If any of you want to be in a facebook community that focuses on the lighter side of anxiety to help it become “normal” you’re more than welcome to chime in at:
https://www.facebook.com/iheartanxiety/
Greetings from Great Britain! This podcast is invaluable to me. It helps enormously when I am having a tough time and I have directed a number of others to this site. Thank you for doing it!
Thank you for listening Karen!
Hi, Paul. I don’t know if you remember me from a while back? Well, here I am again all the way from Scotland! This podcast episode has been INVALUABLE!!! I am currently experiencing a relapse due to the pressures of dealing with a surgically induced menopause and having to stop my HRT (anxiety + menopause – double whammy, huh? Yay, me). Sadly, I ‘took the eye off the ball’ with my anxiety, and so I’m having to go back to basics again. I’m also being supported by my local mental health Intensive Home Treatment too – those guys have been brilliant.
I saw some of the team when my anxiety was SUPER bad about 2 plus years ago. They are very impressed with how much better I have been coping, and I can honestly say hand on heart it was ALL down to your podcast and the lessons I have learned. Now I am back for a ‘refresher’ as it were and the greatest lesson I have learned today is to keep my tool kit open! Yes, I didn’t do this. Hence the relapse!!
Thank you so much for your generosity of spirit in keeping on giving to us folk who live with anxiety. I promise to take away your sage words and to continue to work hard on my recovery. Can I just say that my Husband wants to thank you too, you have given him his wife back from the very dark place I was lost in a couple of years ago.
Much love to you and your family, Paul.
Thank you for your kind words Marie. I appreciate it!
Paul
I have nothing much to tell Paul, when I feel anxious I just open your website automatically and feel better.. Thanks and keep it up!
The alligator story was pure made up bravo sierra to get exactly the reaction the emailer had. In order to not be suckered, we should all turn off the diabolical “news” that is constantly streaming into our brains. Steel yourselvses into not falling for propaganda no matter whether it comes from without or within. Start practicing logical thinking like Paul advocates. We have been lied to so much that we must actually consciously work on this. We have all lied to ourselves, for goodness sake. Think about how and why you got here! Don’t forget who the “Father of all lies” is.
Been dealing with GAD, Panic & depression for 50 years. This is some of the best and most helpful info I’ve come across. Thank you for your hard efforts in getting this useful info out there. May you be blessed.
Hi, Paul. In short, after over 4 years of being free from constant general anxiety, I’m now back to overwhelming constant anxiety. During these last 4 years I’ve had panic attacks come and go sometimes frequently and have accepted them and floated through them without too much “2nd fear” anxiety. On a couple of occasions I dealt with a day or 2 of strong general anxiety but recovered quickly. I’m now into my 4th day of overwhelming anxiety and feel as if I have completely relapsed. I live a very stressful life of working 12 hour rotating shift work and raising a large family of 8 kiddos with my wife, some of whom were adopted with special needs. This current anxiety started after working 14 nights in a row (I do not work much overtime but in this case I was forced to due to a plant shutdown for maintanence) and feeling very “burned out”. I started reading about adrenal fatigue and in doing so anxiety crept up on me and I started freaking out. I’m fully on board with a natural recovery but opted for meds my last go around with anxiety. It’s difficult for me to fully remember the time frame it took to go from living in hell 24 hours a day every day, to slowly recovering but I believe it was about 4-6 months. I used Dr. Weekes “Hope and Help For Your Nerves” in my recovery and once recovered thought to myself, “I know the secret now! I’ll never go back to that hell again.” Well, here I am…back in it. I’m not as deep into it as I was years back, but it is very overwhelming and constant. Have you ever relapsed to a point like this? I’m scared of being “stuck” like this and scared because this is the longest relapse I’ve dealt with. I can’t seem to “accept” all of the symptoms…the burning chest, the surges of panic associated with random thoughts or memories, the constant dread feeling. Please help!
Thank you I really related well. I have 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and my daughter does too so anxiety is to be expected with health issues and I really am grateful for your podcast. You are very encouraging.
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