General disclaimer: All content on this site is meant for inspirational and entertainment purposes only and I am not responsible for any loss or damage related to use of any content on this site. You can read my full disclaimer here.

Affiliate disclaimer: This post contains no affiliate links. I will update this disclaimer accordingly if this changes. You can read more about my use of affiliate links here.

Managing anxiety can seem like an uphill battle. I know all about this because I’ve been there. However, armed with effective strategies, we can navigate the seas of our emotions with greater ease.

In this blog post, we delve into three proven techniques for this that’s also helped me personally to combat anxiety and create the life I want.

#1: Learning to REST: A powerful tool for dealing with anxiety

REST is an acronym I learned from ‘The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Workbook’. It’s a game-changer when it comes to managing anxiety. The acronym serves as a guide to navigate emotionally intense situations and prevent them from spiraling out of control.

Basically, when you find yourself in an emotionally intense situation you need to:

R: Relax – take breath and center yourself.
E: Evaluate – focus on objective facts; what’s really happening in this situation?
This is a way to distance yourself from overwhelming thoughts and emotions and see the situation more clearly.
S: Set a plan – ask yourself what you need to do right now to de-escalate the situation.  
T: Take action – implement your plan from above.

As both someone who’s both experienced anxiety and as a therapist, I highly recommend practicing REST when dealing with anxiety and emotional overwhelm. By practicing and internalizing this skill, it becomes a default response to intense emotions, leading to an overall calmer demeanor and a quicker recovery from distressing situations.

#2: Learning to do things with anxiety

During moments or longer periods of intense anxiety, doing anything other than lying down can feel impossible. However, succumbing to anxiety like this usually perpetuates the cycle of distress in the long run.

Therefore, I always recommend you try to instead allocate yourself a brief period around 15-20 minutes to acknowledge and feel your emotions. Then, commit to get up and engage in light activities such as household chores. By demonstrating to your brain that anxiety does not hinder you living your life, its power diminishes over time, allowing you to reclaim control over your life.

#3: Giving up the fight against anxiety

This is along the lines of learning to do things with anxiety.

Using strategies to try to make the anxiety go away can exacerbate its effects because we’re hereby convincing our brain that the anxiety poses a significant threat.

When anxiety arises, try to instead acknowledge its presence. Say to yourself, “I am feeling tense and uncomfortable. This is how I’m experiencing anxiety right now, and that’s okay.” Proceed with your tasks while acknowledging your emotions. This approach disrupts the cycle of internal struggle and leads to a gradual reduction in anxiety levels with consistent practice.


Implementing these strategies require dedication, but I can say from experience that the rewards of diminished anxiety are invaluable. Thes strategies I’ve shared here are some of the strategies that’s helped me the most in managing anxiety, and they’re all empirically proven to be effective as well.
I highly recommend integrating these techniques into your daily routine so you can start managing anxiety more effectively and begin to heal from its effects.

Feel free to leave a comment if these techniques are helpful and let me know you’d like more posts like this!

__________
General disclaimer: All content on this site is meant for inspirational and entertainment purposes only and I am not responsible for any loss or damage related to use of any content on this site. You can read my full disclaimer here.

Affiliate disclaimer: This post contains no affiliate links. I will update this disclaimer accordingly if this changes. You can read more about my use of affiliate links here.