What Anxiety Feels Like? 4 Easy Steps to Overcome Your Anxiety

You know what your anxiety feels like. You just don’t know how to overcome it. This blog lists 4 simple steps to overcome your anxiety.

Feeling a little anxious is a common experience for most adults and students. During exams, tests, interviews or any critical event we feel this sense of unease that can make us confused, irritable, overwhelmed and worried.

I have often heard students say, “I have anxiety, I can’t study, I can’t focus or concentrate.”

I have also observed adults and children use gadgets and other drugs to find ways of escaping that unpleasant sense of doom. If done continuously, it can become an addiction. What are the ways to overcome anxiety?

Step 1: Accept your anxiety as a natural human response

As humans we are bound to feel anxious sometimes. It is natural and a perfectly normal reaction. In fact, a certain amount of stress or anxiety can be helpful in driving goal driven behaviour. So, don’t push it down or brush it away. It is needed, it is a survival mechanism and we need to see how it can be functional in everyday life.

If you have no negative consequences to be scared of, you may not engage in behaviours that are good for your progress. For instance, if you are not anxious about getting a lower grade, you may choose to sleep extra everyday instead of putting in a few hours of study. Similarly, if an employee feels her job is secure and does not depend on her work, she may not feel the necessary motivation to do her job.

So, some anxiety and stress are good. It is only when it peaks very high that it affects performance adversely. A little anxiety or stress can help boost adrenalin and focus. Accept the upside too.

Step 2: Stop identifying with anxiety as a part of your self-image or concept

Most people say, “I have anxiety”, this encourages you to feel like anxiety is a part of you. Anxiety is not “who you are”, it is something you are experiencing due to some specific triggers or a chronically difficult situation.

Instead, if you say, “I am feeling anxious because of the number of reviews my project is going through”, or “I am feeling anxious because I have not prepared this topic well for the exams”, you start seeing your anxiety as a temporary feeling based on a specific situation. You accept it, but no longer attach your identity to it. This is significant.

The next time you feel anxious, understand the source of your anxiety and phrase it as, “I am feeling anxious because….”

It’s a simple way of acknowledging your anxiety, recognizing the source, and this naturally leads to the next step.

Step 3: Take tangible action

Once you have identified the cause for your anxiety, you will also have a pretty good idea of how you can overcome it. For instance, if your anxiety is because you don’t know a topic well for your exam, you can create a study schedule that sets aside time for this topic. You can ask for some special classes, check with friends who are comfortable with the topic and find ways to master the same.

You can also engage in simple breathing exercises to calm your nerves and provide greater oxygen supply to your brain and body. Pranayam techniques like Anulom Vilom, Brahmari pranayam are an excellent way to calm and ground within.

Do remember to put your gadgets at safe distance when you sit down to work. Experiment with this and see if this increases your productivity and concentration. Every week, I work for a few hours with my phone by my side to experience the distraction faced by many. This helps me empathize with the plight of many of my clients. And then I put my phone on silent and set aside time for work that flows. The difference is immense.

Your body and mind love to fully immerse in an activity. It is called flow. Modern gadgets and ways of living always disturb this sense of flow.

Step 4: Keep a safe distance from negative or critical people

Yes, you know who I am referring to. Recently I met a girl who was facing deep self esteem issues because her tutor would make fun of her performance on tests in the coaching classes she had joined. In a few months, she developed a great fear of tests and exams after being a topper in school. Her levels of anxiety had peaked due to the criticism that she faced every day.

These negative voices could be in your home, so learn to shut them out mentally. If you don’t, then the negative voice creeps inside and you allow the devil into your mind and body. This leads to poor self-esteem.

So be very aware of the energy and vibes of people. It is essential to keep encouraging yourself and protecting your energy.

Seek out supportive friends, family, co-workers. If you don’t have any positive people in your life, learn to step back and distance yourself. Start practicing affirmations and keep a gratitude journal.

Once you have distanced yourself from negative people, gradually in some time you are bound to find more encouraging people around you. In a way you have created space for these new people in your life.

A little stress or anxiety is not a bad thing at all! The tips above will keep the stress and panic at bay while you clock in your hours to work towards your exams and work.

To get more insights you can also read our blog on balancing work and play to beat anxiety here All Work & No Play Makes Rita An Anxious Girl!

Our video on Embracing Uncertainty provides more tips and food for thought How To Deal With Uncertainty In Life