Taming the Anxiety Beast: Tips for Taking Charge

Living with an anxiety disorder can feel like an endless loop, trapping you in a relentless struggle that seems to intensify with each passing day. This cycle is often fueled by behaviors aimed at reducing distress, known as safety behaviors. These actions provide temporary relief from anxiety symptoms but ultimately perpetuate the cycle.

Safety behaviors can take many forms. For instance, if you feel anxious in crowded public places, you might distract yourself by scrolling through social media while on public transportation or waiting in line. Avoidance is another common safety behavior; for example, using delivery services to avoid going to the store and facing crowds.

While these behaviors may ease anxiety temporarily, they reinforce the perception of threat associated with certain situations. Avoiding what we fear sends a signal to the brain that confirms the existence of danger, leading to increased anxiety when confronting similar situations in the future.

Breaking free from this cycle involves gradually facing feared situations without relying on safety behaviors. This process, known as exposure therapy, allows you to retrain your brain to perceive these situations as safe, ultimately reducing anxiety over time. Additionally, seeking support from a therapist or support group can provide guidance and encouragement as you work towards managing your anxiety effectively.

Now, if we need to steer clear of safety behaviour, including avoidance of our anxiety triggers, how do we manage and cope with it? 

When feeling symptoms of anxiety:

1. Take a look at the chart below and rate your level of distress based on the descriptions of each category on the right side.

2. Based on the level you identify with, determine what category it aligns with on the left (1-3).

3. See the description of coping strategies for each category below the chart

Category 1: Use breathing techniques such as inhaling for 5 second and exhaling for 6 seconds for 6 minutes total, asking yourself “what is the catastrophe and how likely is it to occur?”, take negative thoughts/assumptions to “court” and debate it using the evidence for and against or listen to calming music. 

Category 2: Use guided paired muscle relaxation recordings from Youtube, Spotify, Headspace, etc. Use coping statements that provide messages of safety and reassurance. Challenge unhelpful negative thoughts and beliefs, and label and accept the emotions coming up for you, as denying them will be counterproductive. Finally, check the facts on your stressors, in order to prevent catastrophizing and assuming possible threats that are not likely or detrimental. Remember to ride the emotion wave, as it will eventually pass! 

Category 3: At this point, cognitive based coping strategies are much less likely to work. The goal is to use the following skills to help lower distress to a more manageable level, namely, 60 and below. Then you can use the coping strategies in category 2 to decrease anxiety levels further. 

Skills to lower distress at this level include distraction, (ex.speaking about unrelated matters, looking at pictures or videos, and listening to music) and intense exercise, which can look like dropping everything and doing some jumping jacks, going on a jog, etc. Additionally, try out some guided paired muscle relaxation or paced breathing videos online. Finally, keep an icepack handy in the freezer to place on the back of your neck while slowing your breathing down, in order to stay present and emotion surf through the panic and anxiety. 

Warning: the temperature of the icepack may cause a bit of shock initially. 

Tips: Try not to avoid or immediately leave a situation unless the distress continues to rise. Instead try to move to another part of the room, store, or area while using distraction, in an attempt to lower distress without complete avoidance.

Of course, the intention of this strategy is to offer assistance during difficult moments. However, it's crucial to understand that it's not meant to replace the role of a therapist. In fact, it's highly recommended to employ this skill alongside the guidance of a mental health professional to achieve the most effective and efficient results.