How to Build Better Stress Responses To Ease Anxiety

In ancient times, our ancestors developed anxiety to keep them alive. Known as the fight or flight response, it was used to help keep them alive. They could choose to stay and fight through a dangerous situation or flee to protect themselves. Useful, when you have split seconds to decide what to do when you are being ambushed a pack of wild animals. Today, though? Well, needless to say, we don’t often face life-or-death situations like this.

The problem is that our bodies have evolved to still remember the fight-or-flight response. The anxiety response can be activated by virtually anything our mind and body determines is a threat, whether it is a real danger or just an assumed threat.”

All this to say — anxiety is a natural response, and you can find ways to deal with stress so it impacts you less.

How to Build Better Stress Responses To Ease Anxiety

Challenge Your Thoughts

When we become anxious, our thoughts tend to gravitate toward the negative. Anxiety takes place due to some type of fear of the unknown. Let’s help paint a clearer picture.

Say you are worried about a big job interview coming up. You know how much this new job can help your lifestyle and home life. Maybe it’s a higher pay raise or a better promotion, but either way, you can’t help but think of all the good that can come from this new job. Then, anxiety sinks it’s teeth into your mind. “What if I’m late for the interview? Will I make a fool of myself? What if I don’t impress them and I don’t get the position?”

And then it doesn’t just end there. While these are common fears, your brain wants to take it one step further. “If I don’t get this job, I won’t be able to provide for my family.  I won’t have a better work-life balance to spend more time doing the things I love. What will happen if I can’t find a better job?”

Now, here’s where you can start challenging these thoughts.

What evidence do you have that you will make a fool of yourself? What is your evidence that any of your “what-if” scenarios will come true? Challenging your thoughts can help ease your mind and calm some of this anxiety.

Focus On What You Can Control

There are many things in life that you can’t control, like your first thought or first emotion—that’s just the reality. However, there are just as many things that you are in control of. You’re in control of your proceeding thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Unless you give them the power to, nobody else can dictate your happiness.

You can’t control the actions or words of other people. No matter how hard we want to, that is out of our realm of power. Can you help them do better and see things from a different perspective? Absolutely, but they have their own agency, and sometimes, people are just going to do what they want to do.

Being realistic about what is in your control can help you focus on the bigger picture and worry less about things you can’t do anything about.

Stay Grounded In the Present

Anxiety causes us to worry incessantly about some aspect of the future. When this is happening, our anxiety levels often skyrocket as our minds play out every possible situation.

Breathe.

When your mind worries so much about the future, it never stays rooted in the present moment. This alone can cause you to stay stuck in a cycle of anxiety and negative thought patterns that you can’t get out of.

If you are struggling to deal with anxiety and stress, know you aren’t alone. If you are interested in learning more about how anxiety treatment can help, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.