Disclosure: collaborative post
It’s not uncommon to find many platitudes being shared and talked about online, especially when it comes to emotional regulation and thinking about our behaviours. If you find yourself to be quite an anxious person at the moment (not least influenced by Covid-19), it’s difficult to just shake it off and feel happy because you saw an inspirational quote about being ‘who you really are’ on Instagram.
Furthermore, it’s often quite tough to sit down and accept advice even from our own friends and family members who wish us nothing but the best, as feeling a certain way can often feel irrational, and we cannot simply will our emotions or thoughts.
Perhaps there are healthier ways to think about anxiety that help us overcome the sense of urgent recovery and instead accept anxiety for what it is, helping it slowly settle through careful action rather than from unnecessary aphorisms? Perhaps. This is a conversation that everyone will have a different answer for, and it’s a journey that they have to face with support. Let’s consider what perspectives can help us in that sense:
Anxiety Is Temporary
Anxiety is temporary. Of course, anxiety can often feel like an all-consuming force when you’re in the midst of it, and you may find yourself struggling to keep up with yourself despite yourself. It can be worthwhile to know what deep breathing exercises help you through this storm, to watch it pass, and to see yourself at the other end. It’s easy to say and harder to do in practice, but understanding this formal nature of anxiety can help you keep on top of it, or feel a little more optimistic about how long it’s here to stay.
Anxiety Doesn’t Define Who You Are
Anxious people often minimize themselves, not because they’re silly, but because their anxiety is telling them to. However, it’s also important to remember, even in a bad episode, that anxiety is not who you are. You are simply being affected by this natural and unfortunate condition. It doesn’t mean you can’t get through to the other side, it doesn’t mean this is how you’ll feel eternally, and it certainly doesn’t mean that asking for help defines you as a lesser person. In fact, coping and dealing with anxiety shows just how strong you are.
Anxiety Is Treatable & You CAN Get Better
Anxiety can be overcome, and lived with, and minimized, and accepted, and lessened, and discussed. You’re not the first person to try to overcome it, and you won’t be the last. You CAN get better, and that should warrant relief. Some people tend to look into CBD benefits, some adopt a practice of meditation to stay centered, while some people find that medication helps them overcome that hill to move on and become better people. The more you try to discipline yourself and to focus on techniques like breathing exercises, the more you realize you can survive anxiety, and even learn something from it. This helps you understand that improvement is possible, and hope is never, never, never lost.
With this advice, we hope you can think about anxiety in more promising and worthwhile terms.
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