I enjoy facilitating therapy groups and helping people develop awareness and skills to manage anxiety. Over the next several weeks, I am going to blog about the major principles of managing anxiety that I teach in my groups.
First of all, anxiety is very common. I tend to believe that everyone is on the continuum of anxiety and can relate with anxiety in some parts of their life.
For this series on anxiety I will start with basics.
In the beginning, each week I will build on different ways to grow awareness and then slowly add in skills to help manage anxiety.
Let’s begin with defining anxiety:
Anxiety from the DSM-5* is defined as:
-restlessness
-fatigue
-problems with concentration
-irritability
-muscle Tension
-sleep disturbance
Other words used for anxiety are worry & apprehension
*Side note: The DSM-5 is a tool used by counselors to help define a client’s experience or concern. When it is defined through the DSM-5, it is then easier to develop a plan for healing for each client’s situation. It is also used to create common language between mental health and medical fields.
Definitions are important, you certainly cannot manage anxiety if you don’t know what it is.
So what does anxiety look like in real life?
In my own life, I know anxiety occurs if I am late! Ahhh! I can feel my anxiety grow even thinking about the rush of being late! Perhaps being late doesn’t bother anyone, it does bothers me. I become irritable, I am usually rushing, usually spill my coffee (hopefully not on my daughter) and usually become a bit snippy! Being late, in my opinion, is fertile ground for anxiety!
Other examples of anxiety:
Some experience high anxiety in large groups of people. They become very nervous and are not comfortable in this type of setting. This is a form of anxiety.
Others experience anxiety when they are in fear of something or someone.
Still others experience anxiety when they are concerned they will disappoint others and/or make decisions.
Anxiety comes in many forms, these are just a few examples. Understanding when you experience anxiety is preliminary to reducing it.
The process of reducing anxiety begins with awareness. Awareness should be developed in the areas we experience anxiety. In my example, I know I will most likely experience anxiety if I am running late. I had to build this awareness to understand when and where my anxiety occurred. I will continue to encourage you to as well to look for these places in your own life.
Look for the When and Where
If you are reading my blog to learn/grow, I would suggest starting a journal to document when and where anxiety occurs in your life. So everyone is on the same page, let’s utilize a common language for gauging your state of anxiety.
To create a common language to communicate your state of anxiety, let’s use a scale of 1-10.
“1” communicating you are on a beach with a strawberry margarita with no care in the world. “10” communicating you are angry, late for a meeting, pulled over on the side of the highway with a flat tire, zero dollars in your bank account and no margarita.
Now, everyone experiences anxiety. Anxiety is a normal human experience. Sometimes it comes out as anger and frustration and sometimes it comes out as panic and racing thoughts.
However, when you are experiencing anxiety over a “6” as a lifestyle rather than a phase of life (refer to first blog entry), you may want to consider managing your anxiety in a healthier way.
One way to create awareness of your anxiety is to externally process in some form, the following are a few options.
Journal, take time to reflect or work it through with a friend (or of course a great therapist!). Explore and define the when and the where anxiety is taking place. Journal and explore when you are at a state of anxiety of a 2-3 (If it is just on vacation, that’s an indicator your life has too much anxiety in it!). Then take time to journal when you are at a 7-8, when your anxiety, frustration and irritability is high (refer to more descriptors above).
*Journaling isn’t for everyone, it is one way to begin working on awareness.
A few questions to consider as you externally process:
How much time are you at those scaled points?
Anything surprise you?
I’ll warn you, the awareness process can actually be scary and may even create more anxiety! Rest easy, hope and tools are to come in following blog posts. Be gentle with yourself! A slow and steady process of awareness built into developing skills, will create better healing rather than quick fixes.
On a lighter note:
These are free tips on what not to do in a state of high anxiety (anything 7 or above).
-End a relationship
-Make a commitment
-Write an angry email
-Quit a job
-Be around other people who are greater than or equal to a “7”
I hope you enjoyed the first part of the anxiety series, more to come!
Along the way I will share some books I think are great! Here is one of my favorites on anxiety:
Overcoming Anxiety, Worry & Fear: Practical Ways to Find Peace
-Dr. Gregory Jantz
Photo credits: http://www.courtneyalyson.com
Mental Health & Journaling 