Coping with anxiety by being proactive

by Brian White (Subscribe to Brian White's posts)
Dec 16th 2007 1:15PM

Does anxiety cause you to shut down some days? For some it does, but a normal amount of anxiety is certainly normal. Drawing the line between that level and abnormal anxiousness is the hard part for some, though.

If you find yourself feeling anxious about some things more regularly than not, the American Academy of Family Physicians has a few suggestions for you on lowering your anxiety level and dealing with the normal levels you already have:

It's OK to worry about some things -- but try not to let anxiety consume your day. Set aside a certain amount of time each day to consider all of the things that are concerning you, and come up with ways to deal with them. Once your time is up, try to move on.
Try relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, deep breathing and stretching.
Get regular exercise and plenty of sleep. Avoid caffeine and alcohol.
Take care of issues that caused you to worry in the past.
Talk to your doctor about your anxiety and concerns.

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Doris Jeanette, Psy.D. 12-16-2007 @ 6:46PM

Proactive is the way to go for emotional health for sure! Anxiety is not the same thing as fear so it is easy to learn to tell the difference. Anxiety is always maladaptive, fear is always healthy.

The best way to deal with anxiety is to learn to relax your body and live in it. Staying plugged into the field of gravity grounds racing thoughts and stops worry. Visit http://www.drjeanette.com/anxiety for more ideas and ways to stop worry and racing thoughts from making you anxious. Give your nervous system a break. There is also information on sexual health and anxiety at the Enjoy Life blog: http://www.drjeanette.com/blogger.html