Anxiety Can Make You Feel Powerless

Anxiety is a mental health condition that can be devastating to some people. Some people suffer from racing thoughts, while others feel physiological symptoms. When you’re anxious, you can experience a racing heart or profuse sweating. Anxiety has a way of making you feel uncomfortable in your body and mind. Those who have panic attacks don’t always have an indicator that one is coming on. These attacks may come at the most inconvenient times. Anxiety doesn’t care about what you’re doing. It wants to make you feel like there’s imminent danger. Because of the uncertain nature of anxiety, it can be challenging to determine how to cope with it. It often surprises you. That can make a person feel powerless to their anxious thoughts and feelings. Even though anxiety is unpredictable at times, you can find ways to manage it. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an excellent modality that helps individuals manage their anxiety. One of the benefits of CBT is that it helps people reframe their negative thoughts into positive ones. You can learn more about the benefits of CBT for anxiety and other mental health issues at MyTherapist. Anxiety may be unpredictable and downright scary, but thankfully there is hope. Here are some tips to help you take your power back, despite the challenges of anxiety.

Learning about what makes you anxious

One thing that can help you feel more in control of anxiety is to know your triggers. It can be scary not to know what makes you anxious or have a panic attack. However, if you start to pay attention to what happens directly before these attacks, you’ll find some common themes. Maybe it’s being in a crowded store or going to a social gathering. It could be feeling unprepared for what’s happening. Some people get anxious when they don’t know what to expect. There are people who become nervous about flying. Going on a plane can be an extremely challenging thing for some. Understanding your triggers can be an excellent way to fight back against anxiety. Instead of feeling powerless or out of control much of the time, take a moment and observe what the themes are with your anxiety. One way you can do that is to write them down.

Keep an anxiety journal

Writing down your feelings can help you gain clarity on things. It’s a poignant way to take control of your emotions. We don’t have the ability to control how we feel, but we have the power to decide how we respond to it. An anxiety journal is a great way to be mindful of your emotions and your reactions to them. If you notice that you’re feeling anxious and you have that anxiety journal with you, take that opportunity to jot down how you’re feeling. It doesn’t have to be an organized essay. Write down how you feel. It can be a stream of consciousness try. It doesn’t have to make sense or feel linear. If you are able to write down how you feel, it gives you power. You’re taking your mental health into your hands. If it helps you to journal each day, do that. Even if it’s not related to anxiety, it can be beneficial to your mental health. Journaling can help you be more self-aware. If you don’t have a pen and paper handy, you can always grab your smartphone or tablet, or laptop and jot down what you’re feeling. If you’re in a place where you can record a voice memo about your emotions, that can work too. One excellent option is to use a voice memo feature on your phone. Some people process their feelings by speaking them aloud. No matter how you keep track of your feelings, it helps you gain emotional insight and combat anxiety.

Mindfulness mediation

Mindfulness mediation is about observing how you feel in the moment. It goes back to that concept of observing your anxiety. Even though you don’t have control over what you feel, you can be a silent observer. You don’t have to respond or react to your anxiety. The more you don’t try to control anxiety, the better you’re going to feel. You cannot tell anxiety to go away. So, the best option is to work with it and not against it. Try to experience your anxious thoughts and feelings without judging or trying to change them. You can let go. Anxiety wants you to believe that you need to act and control the situation. However, the best course of action is to release your need to micromanage your emotions. The more you try to manage anxiety, the louder it comes back. It’s not easy to let go when you’re feeling anxious. It takes practice, and the more you do it, the better you will become at doing so.

Deal with anxiety in therapy

Therapy is an excellent place to get help for anxiety. Talk to a mental health professional in person or online. You have the power to fight back against anxiety. Anxiety wants to win, but it doesn’t have to if you use these techniques. Explore the reasons that you’re feeling anxious with a skilled mental health professional and start feeling better.