Living with anxiety is like talking a walk in a minefield. You have absolutely no idea whether your next move will let you live, or completely destroy you.
The truth is, anxiety is always there lurking behind the corner, ready to attack you when you least expect it. It leads to overthinking and obsessing which once more leads to even more intense anxiety, which then again leads to overthinking and so on and so on.
This vicious cycle seems to never stop. The more you try to repress anxiety, the more it piles up. And the more it piles up, the more unbearable it is when it finally resurfaces.
That is why we’ve gathered some information that might be helpful to all of you who are suffering from this condition.
Here are 9 simple and powerful methods to soothe your loud mind:
1. TRY TO THINK LOGICALLY
Try to perceive your anxious thoughts as possibilities, rather than facts. Having an unstoppable anxious mind is hard, but you have to try and think more objectively.
Why are you so sure that the negative outcome will happen? What is most likely to happen based on your previous experience?
2. STOP BEING SO TERRIFIED BY YOUR OWN THOUGHTS
Stop taking them so seriously. Your thoughts are just a part of the data that is flowing through your brain. Some of them are a part of our defense mechanisms that help us protect ourselves and sense when danger is near.
But others are simply there because as humans, we are meant to question everything. Learn when you should believe your thoughts, and when you should just accept them.
3. OBSERVE YOUR THOUGHTS, RATHER THAN REACTING TO THEM
Don’t be so quick to react to every idea that crosses your mind. Learn to practice mindfulness. Think of your thoughts as birds flying in an open sky. Observe them. Watch them. Analyze them. Why are they here? What message are they trying to send you?
4. FOCUS ON YOUR PRESENT EXPERIENCES
Our minds like to make up stories that sometimes aren’t even true. The reason for this is usually our past, negative experiences. Things that have troubled us for a very long time and things that we’ve never sort out. And naturally, our deepest fears.
So, the next time your mind starts bugging you with these stories, try to understand whether your thoughts are signalizing that something is happening, or they’re just making you anxious because of a familiar scenario that might happen.
5. LABEL YOUR THOUGHTS
Try this. Whenever a thought crosses your mind, instead of paying attention to it, just label it. If it is a judgmental thought that forces you overthink about how bad or good something is, go ahead and put it in the box that says Judging. If you notice that you’re blaming yourself, put that thought in the box that is highlighted as Criticizing.
This way, you will help yourself by distancing from all the trash in your mind and focusing on what’s really important.
6. LIVE IN THE MOMENT
I’ve said this a million times, and I will keep repeating it until hopefully, every living being on this planet understands how important it is to leave the past behind.
Don’t you think that your mind is making you relive your past experiences?
Just because you’ve experienced painful and negative situations in the past, that doesn’t mean that it will happen again. Give yourself a break and try to focus on the present moment.
7. OPEN YOUR EYES AND TRY TO SEE THE REAL PICTURE
Be honest. Are you focused on your fears and your insecurities, instead of actually looking at the big picture?
Go on. Take your time and think about this. That is exactly what anxiety does to us. It forces us to stick to those threatening and terrifying aspects of our existence without giving us space to actually grasp reality.
8. GET UP AND LIVE YOUR LIFE
At the end of the day, worrying about something without focusing on finding the solution, will never help you solve anything. It will only make you go crazy. So, instead of spending your day isolated with your own confusing mind, get up and do something different. This will help you put your brain on sleep until you finish your tasks. Afterward, you’ll feel more relieved and more concentrated to focus and work on those same thoughts.
9. DECIDE WHETHER A THOUGHT IS HELPFUL OR DESTRUCTIVE
A thought may be true, and it may scare you, but that doesn’t mean that it is beneficial for you to focus on it. You have to make a difference between a thought that can be helpful for you and a destructive thought that can only worsen your condition.
