Controlling Anxiety: Identification, Effects and Treatment

People tend to experience anxiety when thinking about a potentially hazardous or embarrassing situation. That is what differentiates it from fear, which is a reaction to an actual event of some kind. Though it is not truly fear; anxiety can be thought of as being afraid of something that has not, and may not, happen.

Spending too much time thinking about the possible bad things that could happen is also known as 'catastrophizing'. Here is an example: Let's say someone sees a dog. First they notice that it is a dog, then think about how the dog could bite them, this could require a trip to the hospital for stitches or a painful series of rabies shots. All of this can happen in a split second, making it difficult to stop. It is easy to see where anxiety and phobias have something in common.

Anxiety can manifest itself in many ways. These reactions can range from a minor annoyance to a trip to the emergency room for a panic attack. If you find that anxiety keeps you from doing the things you want to do, or otherwise interferes with your personal, social or occupational life in a detrimental way then it is time to seek a professional for diagnosis and treatment.

Here are a few tips to help you tame anxiety when it appears in your life.

1. Take it easy. This advice is easy or people to suggest, but it can be difficult to put into practice. However, a few calming words from a friend before the anxiety escalates can do wonders.

2. Consciously re-assess the situation. Think of the best way the perceived trigger event will play out. Focus on this. When your mind wanders to the imagined catastrophes calmly remind yourself that you are choosing to focus on the positive outcomes instead. After all, experience has shown you over and over that it is likely the negative outcome you are picturing won't happen.

3. Re-frame. A technique that works especially well when you start to feel the symptoms of anxiety is to re-frame your anxiety as excitement or euphoria. When you feel elated or thrilled you will notice your reactions are similar to anxiety responses. Just switch your state of mind from feeling anxious to feeling thrilled.

4. Think about or write down everything positive about the situation causing your anxiety. For example, if there is a severe thunderstorm and you are thinking about how a tornado could destroy your home. Your list of things could include the rain helping plants grow, the possibility of a rainbow, fresh water, lightning adding nitrogen to the ground - anything goes! And for this exercise the items don't have to be true. It will help refocus your mind to positive things, thereby reducing anxiety.

Anxiety, at some level, is very common and most people experience it at some point in their lives. The next time you find yourself facing anxiety put some of the above tips to use, and you may soon find yourself being calmed down.