Lately, I've seen a lot of questions regarding ways to overcome anxiety. My answers however were almost similar in most cases and they all meant nearly one thing: stop paying attention to it. Little did I know that it is very hard for some to do so as it was in my case when I had initially developed it.
What do I mean when I say 'suffering from anxiety'
Well anxiety to an extent is normal. For example, worrying about whether or not you'll pass certain test/examination, whether you'll be rejected or accepted in an interview etc.
But anxiety becomes a disorder when it becomes very frequent and hinders your daily life. You tend to overthink and mess things up, on top of that, you don't even come to know when thinking about certain thing becomes 'overthinking'.
Some signs showing that you are suffering from anxiety:
1. You constantly live with the idea of 'what if'
Before doing a task, you tend to think about the negative outcomes more than the positive ones.
2. You think you're not up for it or that you're prepared well enough
No matter how much you're prepared for a certain task, there always exists an element of fear in you that creates a hurdle very difficult to overcome and it stresses you out.
3. 'It didn't go the way as I thought it would the last time I tried it'
It's understandable that you messed that thing up the last time you did it. So what? Never try that thing again? You just made yourself a handicap of yours.
4. You tend to become less socializing
There is no problem in being an introvert or a reserved person. But it becomes a matter of concern when it starts hindering your progress or stops you from getting your work done.
Ways to cure anxiety on your level:
1. Think over the things that stress you out.
Whether it be fear of messing things up, constant thoughts of failures in the past or something else. Think about them while not in a stressful situation. Prefrably, note them down.
2. Plan to sort them out.
Categorize your fears and worries. You've gotta work upon them so getting to solve them blindly won't help. Plan before you do it. Set priorities, work upon finding the solutions. Forget about being ideally perfect.
If it's about, fear of messing things up, think about what may cause the things to get messed up. Note them down. Think about the solutions, scroll through the net.
If it's about the failures of the past, then that's even better to cure. You know where you missed out, or where you committed your mistake and what was/were the reason(s) behind it: whether it be lack of preparation, overthinking, outflow of thoughts at the time of the task leading you to freeze like a statue or anything else. Note them down.
3. Work upon them.
Don't expect to go all at once and succeed. It'll mess things up even more. Work upon your imperfections one at a time and according to the plan which suited you best. Test yourself constantly in a safe zone created by you, for you. Take frequent breaks, entertain yourself. Do whatever it takes you to thoroughly prepare yourself along with keeping you cooled down.
If it's about getting outflow of thoughts, breathe deeply and focus on yourself. The thing is easy to say but it requires numerous attempts to get it right. So don't panic if you don't get immediate results.
The main problem will be of overthinking. It'll be the most difficult part to overcome your anxiety. Overthinking is directly related to your past experiences and the failures you had to face. It'll take time to settle down so don't be in a rush. Constantly trying things again and again, targeting the imperfections, working upon them and seeing better results will play a major role in curing your problem of overthinking.
You looked upon the possible failures before attempting anything, thought about failing repetitively, looked for alternatives to avoid getting the task done, why not think about the improvement which is becoming visible after trying again and again? This is the most important thing to overcome the habit of overthinking and hence anxiety. Don't miss to do so.
Once you've really got over at least one of the major things that were stopping you, wait a minute and glorify yourself. This will not only boost up your confidence but also make you want to do the thing again and accomplish more.
Now, get to overcoming the next hurdle. Once you will begin to see an improvement, you will gradually stop worrying about a lot of things and get a confidence boost.
Having an experience of accomplishing certain task in which you used to panic a lot will help you see better results in other tasks as you will reduce the habit of overthinking.
4. Stop giving damns.
Once you've seen satisfactory results, you know you're doing good. So don't bang your head unnecessarily on things that don't matter.
5. Get plenty of sleep.
Getting enough sleep will boost you up in overcoming your anxiety. Debarring yourself from required amount of sleep will hinder your thought process so be sure to get enough sleep.
That's all people.
Hope it helps.
Thank you for reading it.
-Eryxx
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