Celebrate The Small Victories Along The Way To Success
Overcoming anxiety disorder takes workand often a lot of work. On the way to successfully overcoming it, there are often a great many little steps and victories. Celebrate them. Make a big deal about them. This can be encouraging to the sufferer.
For example, attending the first therapy session is a victory in itself. Experiencing “eureka” and “ah ha” moments are also other reasons to celebrate. Staying the course with therapy is another. Having symptoms subside is another. Overcoming a long-held fear is another. And so on.
Overcoming anxiety disorder is a process that unfolds in many little steps. Since progress is often slow, it can be discouraging. Celebrating and making a big deal about each victory along the way can help the person remain encouraged, which can also keep the person working the process.
People who dont succeed do so not because they cant succeed, but because they give up before meaningful progress is made.
Effective Ways To Deal With An Anxiety Attack
When anxiety strikes, knowing how to calm down is vital for your health and functioning in social situations. One way to battle an anxiety attack is to hone in on your senses. Deliberately thinking about items around you that you can smell or hear will help distract you from the anxiety itself so you can calm yourself. Removing yourself from the public eye when you are having an anxiety attack can be beneficial. When people stare at you because you are having an attack, symptoms may worsen. Let a few trusted people know if you regularly suffer from anxiety and alert them about what would make you feel better if you do have an attack. They may be able to talk you through the situation or get you to a safe location so that you can calm down.
Understand Differences In How Anxiety Manifests
Because of evolution, were wired to respond to fear by either fight, flight, or freeze. For different people, one of these responses will typically dominate. For instance, my spouse tends to freeze and will bury her head in the sand rather than deal with things that make her feel stressed and panicky. I tend more toward fighting, and will become irritable, excessively perfectionistic, or dogmatic if I feel stressed.
When you understand that anxiety is designed to put us into a mode of threat sensitivity, its easier to understand someone who is feeling scared and acting out by being irritable or defensive, and to find compassion for them. By paying attention to how anxiety manifests in the person you care about, you can learn their patterns and be in a better position to help.
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How To Calm Down Yourself When Feeling Angry
Calm Anger Take a deep breath. Breathing deeply and quickly through the gut can help you relax both mentally and physically. To go for a walk. Talking about going for a walk will not only help you get rid of physically unpleasant situations, but it will also boost your well-being hormones. Write your way. Choose a relaxing scent. Turn on the music.
Ways You Can Help Someone With Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety disorder signs and symptoms can have a profound impact on a persons life. Anxiety disorder sufferers can be affected physically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. Many find their lives dramatically impacted.
Even though there may not be any outward signs of illness, anxiety disorder can be fraught with distressing and debilitating symptoms.
It can also cause severe lifestyle impairment and what seems like insurmountable physical and mental health challenges. These challenges often leave sufferers frightened, confused, frustrated, and at their wits end.
People who experience anxiety disorder are generally intelligent, creative, compassionate, and determined. But many become inward-focused, frightened, confused, discouraged, and seemingly hypochondriac once an anxiety disorder develops.
Anxiety disorder sufferers often look fine on the outside, but inside rages a battle that is often all-consuming. A battle that only someone who personally experiences anxiety disorder will truly understand.
Most anxiety disorder sufferers dont want to be sick and would give anything to feel normal and live a normal life like everyone else. But because of the nature of anxiety disorder, they often feel trapped in a battle with seemingly no way out.
Anxiety disorder is a real condition that can affect a person on many levels. Their struggle is real!
Here are 15 ways you can help as he or she works to overcome a struggle with anxiety disorder:
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Dont Put Pressure On Yourself To Have All The Answers
As much as youd love to solve an anxious loved ones problems, understand that youre only a human doing the best that they can. Be compassionate with yourself and acknowledge that you arent expected to fix or solve the situation, notes Dr. Patel-Dunn. While there are many different things you can do to help a loved one experiencing anxiety, its important to remember that the support of a licensed therapist may be beneficial for those who experience symptoms of anxiety that interfere with daily life.
Famous People With High Functioning Anxiety
When trying to raise awareness of a social issue like mental illness, it can be helpful to identify well-known or famous people as examples.
Stars such as Barbra Streisand and Donny Osmond, and athletes like Zack Greinke and Ricky Williams, have all been forthcoming about their experiences with high functioning anxiety.
Scott Stossel, the national editor of The Atlantic,has written extensively about his experiences with anxiety in the context of his achievements.
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Recognizing Social Anxiety And Getting Treatment
If you have social anxiety or generalized anxiety that’s triggered by social interaction, even the best tactics may not feel like enough. If you’re not sure if you have social anxiety, look for the following signs:
- Avoidance behavior: You avoid social events and interactions as much as possible.
- Escape behaviors: You often leave events, such as parties, dinners or concerts, shortly after arriving due to anxious feelings.
- Safety behaviors: You feel like you always need a distraction during social events. For example, you may always have a drink or plate of food at a party, or you feel the need to always play on your phone during casual events.
- Physical symptoms: In social settings, you start to sweat, feel dizzy or light-headed, get a stomach ache, or experience other physical symptoms alongside feelings of anxiousness.
- Premeditated anxiety: You make yourself nervous before even arriving at an event by thinking things like “I’m going to mess up” or “I don’t have anything to talk about.”
According to the Social Anxiety Association, only cognitive behavioral therapy is proven to effectively and permanently treat social anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy involves changing the thought and behavior patterns behind your difficulties. If you already have a therapist, you can also discuss medication if you think it might help.
Be Your Friend’s Wingwoman
Some people come undone by the mere thought of being scrutinized by others in a social setting. Instead of letting loved ones go it alone, support them in ways that lower their anxiety to a manageable level, suggests Misti Nicholson, PsyD, director of clinical services at Austin Anxiety and OCD Specialists in Texas.
She describes one young woman who was pregnant with her first child and terribly conflicted about an upcoming baby shower her friends had planned. What if she blushed or her hands trembled while unwrapping gifts? People would know she was anxious. She considered backing out. But then her best friend offered to sit next to her and read cards aloud to divert eyes in the room.
It made her feel like they were sharing the spotlight, Nicholson says.
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Take A Mental Step Back
Anxiety tends to be focused on the future, so instead, try to focus on the present. Tamar Chansky, Ph.D., psychologist and author of Freeing Yourself from Anxiety, suggests that you ask yourself what is happening and what, if anything, needs to be done right now. If nothing needs to be done now, make a conscious decision to revisit the situation later in the day, when you are calmer.
Reassure Her That Shes Going To Be Okay
Anxiety can create one of the strongest physiological, psychological, and emotional responses the body can produce. This strong response can create intense emotions, feelings, sensations, and symptoms. This is why in the midst of high anxiety, a person can feel like she is going to lose her mind, have a complete breakdown, or die.
Even though anxiety can feel powerful, fortunately, it alone is not dangerous and doesnt lead to a mental collapse, breakdown, or death. Once the person calms down, all of these strong emotions, feelings, sensations, and symptoms diminish and eventually subside.
Consequently, when a person is having an episode of high anxiety, reassuring her shes going to be okay can help her calm down, which will lead to the cessation of the strong feelings of anxiety.
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Panic Attacks And Panic Disorder
Panic disorder is characterized by repeated, unexpected panic attacks, as well as fear of experiencing another episode. Agoraphobia, the fear of being somewhere where escape or help would be difficult in the event of a panic attack, may also accompany a panic disorder. If you have agoraphobia, you are likely to avoid public places such as shopping malls, or confined spaces such as an airplane.
Signs And Symptoms Of Anxiety Disorders
In addition to the primary symptom of excessive and irrational fear and worry, other common emotional symptoms include:
- Feelings of apprehension or dread.
- Watching for signs of danger.
- Anticipating the worst.
- Irritability.
- Feeling like your minds gone blank.
But anxiety is more than just a feeling. As a product of the bodys fight-or-flight response, it also involves a wide range of physical symptoms, including:
- Pounding heart.
- Shaking or trembling.
- Insomnia.
Because of these physical symptoms, anxiety sufferers often mistake their disorder for a medical illness. They may visit many doctors and make numerous trips to the hospital before their anxiety disorder is finally recognized.
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I Did A Great Meditation This Morning Thought You Might Like It As Well
This text is comforting in two ways. It shows that youâre thinking about them, but not necessarily expecting a response. âIt also communicates that theyâre not the only one who might benefit from something like meditation,â Potter says, âbecause you are practicing it as well.â
It might help alleviate embarrassment or worse â the notion that youâre trying to âcureâ them. Simply send along a link to the meditation and share how relaxing it was.
Phobias And Irrational Fears
A phobia is an unrealistic or exaggerated fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that in reality presents little to no danger. Common phobias include fear of animals , fear of flying, and fear of needles. In the case of a severe phobia, you might go to extreme lengths to avoid the object of your fear. Unfortunately, avoidance only strengthens the phobia.
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Dont Say: I Know What You Mean I Had A Panic Attack When I Saw Seattle Rent Prices
Panicking about the absurd cost of that tiny studio apartment makes sense because you need a roof over your head and cant magically increase your salary. Panicking about taking a bus because youre afraid of having a panic attack on said bus doesnt.
Theres a difference between the uncomfortable but rational anxiety we all get in stressful situations and the sometimes debilitating but illogical anxiety super anxious people like me get in situations that arent actually stressful or threatening.
People with anxiety disorders experience anxiety over things others wouldnt and with such intensity that it interferes with our ability to function and do things we enjoy. So unless you have a diagnosable anxiety disorder, comparing your anxiety to someone elses isnt helpful, and it can make us feel like youre minimizing our experiences.
Take Any Prescribed Medications
Depending on the severity of panic attacks, a doctor may prescribe a use-as-needed medication. These medications typically work fast.
Some contain a benzodiazepine or a beta-blocker. Propranolol is a beta-blocker that slows a racing heartbeat and decreases blood pressure.
Benzodiazepines that doctors commonly prescribe for panic attacks include Valium and Xanax.
However, these drugs can be highly addictive, so people should use them exactly as their doctor prescribes. Taken with opioids or alcohol, they can have life threatening adverse effects.
A doctor may also describe selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which can help prevent panic attacks from occurring in the first place.
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Focus On Taking Action
A soothing voice might help some people, but try to avoid saying things like Dont worry over and over. You might mean well, but your words may not help in the moment. Try these suggestions:
- Remind your friend to take slow, deep breaths and breathe with them. This can often help as they start to mirror your actions.
- Ask them to count backwards slowly from 100.
- Help them to get comfortable .
- Ask them to name five things they can see, hear, smell or feel.
- Reassure them that theyre experiencing panic and that it will go away.
- If the symptoms continue, become worse, or they dont improve after 2030 minutes, call 000.
Hold Your Own Boundaries
Remember that it is important to take care of yourself too! Your friend is likely to feel guilty if they think their anxiety is keeping you from doing what you want. So, dont let it. Do the thing you want to do and let your friend know they can trust you to take care of your social and emotional needs. When they are asking for more than you have to give, let them know. I love you. I cant talk now, but lets have a virtual coffee date at 2 tomorrow.
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Do Keep Lines Of Communication Open
When it comes to helping someone with anxiety, it is important to keep an open line of communication with them.
If you are able to, see the person regularly as this will help with managing anxiety. Spend one-on-one time with them so that they have opportunities to talk about anything they feel anxious about. You can also keep in touch over the phone, video or phone calling them once a week, or sending a text every few days just to see how their week is going.
Always Thinking About You Hope Youre Doing Well
Havenât heard from your anxious friend in a while? It might be that theyâre waiting for you to reach out. âFolks with anxiety tend to color their world with more hostility and isolation,â Dr. Sabrina Romanoff, a clinical psychologist, tells Bustle. âIt is helpful for sources of support to remind individuals with anxiety that they are cared about.â
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