Feeling anxious about feeling anxious – this is a common cycle people face with anxiety disorder. It’s not just the fear of having a panic attack. It’s the fear of feeling anxiety altogether. You can learn how to control your symptoms through anxiety treatment, which we offer here at our therapist office. For some quick tips to get you started though, here are some lifestyle changes to prevent anxiety symptoms.
Arrange Tasks from Least-Intimidating to Most Intimidating
If you have a project to complete, start with the least-intimidating task first. This will help you build confidence so you can tackle the next task. As you progress through the difficulty levels, you will have more accomplishments to look back on, and you will know that each task was not as complicated as you once assumed. You may still feel anxiety throughout the project, but the severity will be drastically reduced.
Declutter Your Environment
Having a clutter-free environment will put your mind at ease before you start the day. This applies to your workspace and your personal space. If you feel anxious about cleaning the clutter, focus on one small area at a time. You could start with a single room or even a single shelf, depending on what you can handle. It only takes about 20 minutes to declutter most spaces, and you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.
Use To-Do Lists, If They Work for You
To-do lists are great way to stay organized. You can create lists for each project, each day, each week, or whatever else you need. You won’t stress as much about the task at hand if you can predict what’s happening every step of the way.
Note that to-do lists do not work for everyone. Some anxiety sufferers get stressed about “all the things left to do,” to the point that they feel overwhelmed early on in a project. That is not productive. If this is something you experience, focus on small lists for small sets of tasks. Perhaps you could create a list for the first half of the day, and then plan the second half when the time comes. Organize as much as possible, but do not let that organization become a source of anxiety.
Don’t Fear Potential Problems – Prevent Them
People with anxiety often worry about problems long before they occur (if they ever occur). This is a form of negative thinking known as fortune telling. Ideally, you should avoid envisioning the future and instead focus on the task at hand. If you do think of a potential problem though, come up with a way to prevent it. Don’t fixate on the issue itself. Use that energy to create a preventative strategy. This will make you feel more secure about the future, and it will provide a solution well before an obstacle arises.
For more information about anxiety treatment contact Sherman Counseling today.
