Anxiety is part of life. But their consequences do not affect everyone in the same way. For some, they can take disproportionate proportions. In others, however, they are not that serious. Anyway, we all have some anxieties that we want to learn to manage properly. How to manage anxiety correctly? I suggest you find out what health experts and behavioural professionals have to say about this.

Anxiety: a global and serious problem
Anxiety refers to fears, frustrations and phobias that affect our mental, physical and psychological state. They are also known as anxiety disorders. These anxieties manifest themselves in several ways. They can consist of panic attacks, irrational fears, or generalized anxiety that paralyzes and prevents even relatively common tasks from being performed. Anxiety is therefore not a health problem to be neglected.

The French High Authority for Health lists 6 types of anxiety and anxiety disorders:

Generalized anxiety

Panic disorder

Social anxiety disorders (shyness, agoraphobia, stuttering, etc.)
Specific phobias (fear of spiders, elevators, snakes, etc.)
Obsessive behavioural disorders (biting your nails, banging your head against a wall, etc.)

Post-traumatic stress states

These categories of anxiety include many disorders and conditions. They differ from one individual to another, but almost always lead to more or less prolonged states of anxiety.

To know how to manage your anxieties, you must start by remembering that you do not heal from these anxieties. On the other hand, it is possible to manage them and reduce their frequency, scope and consequences. This is all the more important because by learning to manage your anxieties, your life will be happy and less stressful.

Mental health specialists recommend 4 major actions and measures to control anxiety.

How to manage anxiety: identify triggers

Many subjects have not learned to manage and recognize their anxieties. As a result, they are almost always caught off guard when they appear. Experts therefore recommend taming this anxiety. You must know perfectly when and how they are triggered.

How can you manage your anxiety at this time? In reality, the task is very complex, because we do not experience the same anxieties and they do not arise in the same way. Learn to decipher your own symptoms. In some cases, you know that you will have great difficulty expressing yourself in front of an audience, or taking the elevator. Nothing very complicated. However, it can be difficult to know when and why post-traumatic stress occurs.

Next time a panic attack occurs, try to identify what contributed to it. When you master these triggering factors, you have come halfway to learn how to tame your anxieties.

Anticipate the triggering factors

This is the second step, and naturally, it has a link with the first. If you know what triggers anxiety, you will have less trouble anticipating its devastating effects. A simple example to illustrate: let's suppose that elevators create a feeling of panic in your home close to claustrophobia. You know that unless you get in an elevator, you're not at risk for this phobia.

So what do we do? You can choose to go up the stairs. Or you can arrange to have your office on the ground floor. Strategies can be multiplied ad infinitum. But the idea is there: we bypass the symptom to manage our anxieties.

In some cases, the task is more complex. One food, one smell and one memory can help create this panic attack. Some children with Tourette's syndrome see the signs of panic appear without warning. But generally, the crisis is linked to a life habit. If a food seems to cause anxiety attacks, banish it.

Manage your anxieties: be prepared to react

In some cases, anxiety can be managed by preparing to react when it occurs. This is particularly the case when dealing with obsessive behavioural disorders and social anxiety disorders.

For example, some people risk heart attack when they have to speak in public. But very often, preparing your speech and repeating it several times in a small committee (with relatives for example) often helps to be more confident on D-Day.

Similarly, one may tend to bite one's nails to the point of blood because of exam-related stress. How do you manage your anxiety in this case? Some students wear gloves. Others feel less stress when they exercise just before the deadline.

So put in place a ritual that diverts you from the symptoms of your anxiety as soon as it appears. To do this, you may need to try several different things before you find the right formula.

Learn the art of relaxation

Nothing relieves compulsive anxiety as much as relaxation. Even clinically, a few minutes of relaxation is supposed to do you good. For example, if you use proper relaxation techniques, you will regulate your heart rate and breathe easier. These two actions help to immediately reduce stress!

The difficulty is finding the right relaxation technique and using it as soon as you are anxious. Reflexology is a procedure that helps a lot of anxious subjects. Others swear only by more or less elaborate forms of yoga. The most important thing is to proceed methodically and respect what a professional will recommend. Indeed, a badly used relaxation method will undoubtedly contribute to increase your stress even more, and thus to increase the anguish tenfold. Relaxation techniques to combat stress also work perfectly, and have helped to relieve more than one subject.

Speak up!

Talking also feels good. You've probably seen for yourself. But why should you tell someone you trust about your anxiety? For two reasons. First, talking will relieve you of the shame and guilt you may feel because of your anxiety. When others show understanding and compassion, you feel relieved.

Second, talking will allow them to help you if necessary. For example, if they know that you are developing anxiety attacks as the anniversary of a traumatic event approaches (terrorist act, death of a loved one, etc.), they will be more attentive to your needs and will be able to console you on that day.

Of course, opening up to others requires trust. Especially when you have to talk about such sensitive issues. Choose your contacts carefully. And if you do not trust others easily, take into account the advice on trust contained in this file.

In the end, you now know how to manage his anxieties. But it takes work, effort and a lot of anticipation. Even if you have to live with these problems for years, you can still overcome them with great intelligence. Are there other elements that help you overcome your fears? What are they and why do they work for you?

https://www.penser-et-agir.fr/comment-gerer-ses-angoisses/