Quick Tips to Cope with Fear and Anxiety
Photo by Patrick Mueller
Cultivate an attitude of gratitude
Every morning, run through at least 10 things you are grateful for, it could be gratitude for your loved ones, gratitude for being in good health, gratitude for having a roof over your head, gratitude for the sun, the clouds, the sea.
FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real
Refuse to accept fear at face value. Because of your fight-or-flight mechanism, your brain is trying to trick you into behaving as if there’s a very large & ferocious lion in the room. It’s false! Remember that! You choose how you want to react to it.
Repeat Roosevelt’s famous quote, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
If you have an anxiety reaction, then take action
If you are experiencing fear/anxiety symptoms, scale the fear/anxiety on a 10 point scale, with 10 being super anxious; then decide to take action to decrease the number on the scale. For example, you feel tension in your neck, and you scale it at a 7. Decide you are going to go on a walk to decrease the tension from a 7 to a 5. Go on that walk while taking in slow, deep breaths and slowly breathing out. Imagine the scale going down from 7 as you relax through it. You can do even simple actions, such as getting a glass of water, meditating, doing some deep breathing exercises. You got this. You can do it!
Have faith at all times!
Faith can be spiritually based, but it is also cultivating a firm belief that things will turn out OK: Faith that you will get better; faith that you will conquer this thing; faith that you are a good & lovable person; faith that despite the fear/anxiety symptoms, you got this, you know what to do, you take action and beat this thing.
Self-affirm
There are a number of great self-affirmations that can be repeated out loud or to yourself to help you through an anxiety episode. For example: Despite my anxiety, I know I am doing the best I can; despite my anxiety, I will persevere & conquer this thing no matter what; the anxiety does not define me, me the capable, successful, wonderful person.
Always be mindful!
Stay present-centered in your thoughts by focusing on the here-and-now. For example, what do you see in the room? What color is it? What shape is it? Is it hard or soft? Imagine it if it were a different color or shape. Imagine your favorite person sitting on it. When you take a walk, notice all the trees, the color, shapes, sizes, smell. Do that with the clouds and all you observe while walking. Don’t forget to breathe!