If you’re struggling with anxiety right now there’s a good chance that you feel overwhelmed. You might even feel like you’re headed in the wrong direction and like things might get worse.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. What’s crazy is that changing this mindset is relatively easy. All you have to do is rip a page out of your junior high algebra book and apply the concept of simplification.
This is where you literally try to find the simplest form of a problem to make it easier to handle. The same concept can be applied to your anxiety. And when you do something magical will happen.
Your anxiety, with all of its complexity, will be boiled down to more manageable pieces. That’s not to say that addressing these will be a breeze, but it also wouldn’t be impossible.
For example, one of my biggest problems used to be a general feeling of nervousness. I was just always uneasy. So I hit the gym to address my constant angst. And although my anxiety didn’t disappear, I was able to decrease the duration and intensity of this particular symptom.
And once I felt physically calmer, I was able to address my anxious thoughts. In short, I solved my anxiety problem in phases. This is the subject of this week’s episode of The Anxiety Guru Show.
In this episode, I discuss:
- How to best define your main problem(s)
- How to breakdown that problem into smaller pieces
- Unique skills that can help you manage anxiety in the moment
- What you can do today to start lowering your anxiety
Listen to The Anxiety Guru Show…
To listen, you can click the play button below or visit the AG iTunes page.
Keep going,you are helping
thanks
Dear sir,as I wake every morning my brain starts searching for problems, I e today its anxiety ,tomorrow will be my heart following day depression, next day has my wife had an affair start reminiscing on past events thoughts going back and forth all day ,when I think I have solved 1 my mind reverts back and circle starts over again this is continuous every day my brain scares me regards john.
Hey John, this is classic anxiety. The more anxious you are the more you will worry about pretty much everything. When you experience thoughts that you know aren’t based in fact try the best you can to remind yourself this is worry and anxiety – labeling it that way doesn’t make it stop but can take off the edge.
Hi tasunka, thank you for the encouragement. I will keep plowing ahead!
The site looks great! And what you do here is so very useful and helpful!
Hi Paul,
I think what you do is get to the heart of the matter for most of us, keeping it real, manageable and in control. Cheers, t
Thanks Sheila, that means a lot! Change isn’t easy but in this case I hope it leads to a better experience for you and others like you.
Thank you Theresa, I try my best!
I love your podcast. It is very motivating and helps me lower my stress when I have a long day at work. Keep it up.
Thanks Kayden, thank you for your support!
Seriously. I just want to give you a bear hug. You hit the nail on the head every time. Thanks for making this journey a lot less painful.
Haha… thanks snave107. Thank you for allowing me to lend a hand!
For the email person.
I need to take medication for ever. I know now. BUT, even the best pill for you is not magic and will not be anxiety proff all the time.
I also have a predisposition. Sometimes I don’t even know why I have a racing heart or shaking hands.
That is where meditation, exercise and breathing techniques come in handy.
I’m not saying it’s impossible to overcome anxiety without medication, but for some people, like Paul said, it’s terribly helpful.
I want to tell you from my experience; meds are not as evil as some may think. I’m still me; I’m not a brainless zombie; I can drive, I can work, I enjoy life.
That being said, it’s also not for everyone because people react differently.
But I’d rather take medication for the rest of my life than feel terrible for the rest of my life.
It’s not a perfect life, but it’s a pretty good one.
🙂
This is incredibly helpful. I listened to it twice, once while taking notes haha. I also think it’s important to surround yourself with supportive people while anxiety.
I recently had an anxiety attack this past week. It started on Monday when I started writing my essay for class. I began having anxiety thinking something was going to come get me seeing how I wrote my paper on ghost hunting which is something I am not too familiar with. I had trouble sleeping and concentrating in class. When I talk about it now it seems so silly but it has really taken a toll on me. I don’t know if it is because I kind of let my guard down on spring break and had so much fun and now that I am back in school the pressure to be on top is back overwhelming me. I researched some more especially after my anxiety attack yesterday. It turns out that my birth control that I just started has depression and anxiety (mental effects) as some of the side effects. I feel like it is taking me a while to get back on track and I really want to. I have never experienced this before and I really don’t want to again. It feels so much better to talk to a group of people who have probably experienced the same thing as me. I just need some clarification on this.
Hi Paul,
Exercise was a huge part of the recovery process for me. The main reason was it helped me be ok with feeling anxious. When I went and exercised anyway without caring how I felt it taught me not to worry about it in other areas of my life.
I’m in a lot better shape now and the way you feel physically certainly transfers to how you feel mentally too.
The discipline and determination needed for a regular exercise regime is also important too.
Hugo