Overcome Anxiety with These Specific Skills
How to Work Through It When It’s Not Working for You
You may not believe it, but anxiety isn’t always bad. It acts as a warning system and sends alerts when there is danger. It helps us identify risks and react to emergencies. Anxiety helps us prepare, navigate uncertainty, anticipate obstacles, and identify possible solutions.
This all sounds great – but then why does it also make us feel so bad?
Anxiety is part of a fight-or-flight response, preparing our bodies to react to danger. If you were being chased by a tiger, your anxious fight-or-flight response would kick in to keep you safe. The problem lies when our brain perceives danger that is not life threatening, such as a job interview, the first day of school, or being in a new environment.
The good news is you can learn to respond to anxiety in a way that is more supportive and productive, while decreasing your anxious thoughts and feelings, and developing strategies to cope.
Here are 3 specific tools to help you work through anxiety when it’s not working for you:
Anxiety challenging skills
When you’re not being chased by a tiger
Engaging in balanced thinking, considering multiple outcomes, and staying connected to your body using progressive muscle relaxation are just some of the tools you can use to work through anxiety when it’s not working for you.
Engage in balanced thinking
Anxiety often propels us into all-or-nothing thinking. This extreme position leaves us feeling hopeless and stuck, unable to create change. We’ve all been there.
“There is no solution to this problem.”
“If I don’t get this right, I’m a failure.”
“They didn’t agree with me. They are against me.”
Next time these thoughts pop up, take back control by reframing them in a more balanced way:
“There are multiple answers to this situation. If I choose to try something new it does not mean it is wrong.”
“I can make mistakes and still succeed.”
“Just because I disagree with someone and we have differences, doesn’t mean they do not like me as a person.”
Consider multiple outcomes
Another way to get unstuck is to think:
“What’s the best case, worst case, and most realistic case scenario?”
With school approaching, lets talk about the possibilities for the first day.
BEST case: Today is going to be the best day ever. I’ll see all my friends, we will have all the same classes, and my teachers will be super cool, creative, and funny.
WORST case: Today is going to be the worst day of my life. No one will talk to me, my teachers will assign tons of homework the first day, and I’ll get lost in this new building.
REALISTIC case: I have teachers who care about my learning, although they may have different teaching styles. I might know someone in my class or I’ll meet new people and make new friends. I might not know where to go, but I can ask for help from a teacher or student and make it to class without getting lost.
Considering all 3 options slows down our thinking, gets all parts of our brain working together, and helps us gain control over anxiety and not stay stuck.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Using our bodies is an effective way to reduce anxious feelings and get unstuck.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is a structured exercise where you tense then release certain areas of the body, one at a time, starting from the top of your head and moving down. Being mindful of the release and noticing the changes in your body increases your closeness to calmness and relaxation.
PMR increases your mind-body connection, slows down the strong emotional and reactive parts of the brain, and slows down breathing. All of these outcomes are effective and proven in gaining control over anxiety.
In addition to these three skills, Veronica works with clients to utilize logic to identify unhelpful thoughts and work to disprove them and practice in-the-moment strategies to cope with anxiety that you can use outside of sessions.
Veronica is available now to support you and help you take control over your anxiety when it’s not working for you.
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We love and care for our clients deeply. This only reinforces that we are providing quality care every single time and it’s making a difference!
Learn MoreBucks County Parent Woman of Influence in 2023 Chat!
After being honored as a Main Line Parent and Bucks County Parent Woman of Influence in 2023, Ivory Tree Portraits’ Founder and Owner, Lara Mattey, has invited several fellow Women of Influence into the photo studio for a chat and a Headshot Session. It’s been a wonderful way to get to know a diverse and driven group of local women doing amazing things in our local community!
Meet Brynn Cicippio, Founder and Owner of BCA Therapy, a private therapy practice comprised of a group of compassionate, ethical, and experienced therapists offering individual, couples, and family therapy. With two practices, one in Yardley and the other in Wayne, Brynn’s supportive work has helped many and has earned her a Main Line Parent and a Bucks County Parent Women of Influence Award in 2023.
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New Therapy Group for Men!
Are these true for you?
- Want to be a better leader, father, partner or friend.
- Have lost track of your goals or purpose.
- Are curious about what it means to be a man in today’s world.
- Struggle to express your joy, passion, and pain with those you love.
- Eager to connect with like-minded men.
Our wonderful therapist Steven has created a safe and supportive place for men to really connect and take a deep exploration at what they want for themselves and how to make it happen. For $25 you can register for the new 5-week therapy group for men!
Group details–
- Date and Time:
- April 2nd – April 30th
- Tuesdays, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
- Location:
- Wayne, PA
- Men, 21 years+
- Sign up at hello@bcatherapy.com
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We Cannot Control Others Who Show Up in Our Relationship
We have no control over others behavior, even those we love and care for. We can’t make people be nicer to us, kinder to us, care for us, or love us in the way we envision. What we can do is take care of ourselves, be clear with our needs, and then choose what relationships are healthy for us to maintain and what ones we need to let go.
When we learn how to take care of ourselves first, it will make it easier for us to judge whether we are happy with ourselves. This will also help you see whether those around us are treating us the way we deserve. If you feel you are being treated unfairly when we put ourselves first, you can refrain from speaking or remove yourself from the situation entirely.
Going to counseling can help us build confidence and stay focused on what we can control. Go to therapy can help you take control and help us deal with situations like these we cannot control.
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