Your Guide to Stop Worrying: Managing Everyday Anxiety

Hack Learning Life Volume 10

The Problem: We Don't See Anxiety

We feel anxiety everyday.

Situational Stress: Everyday anxiety often arises in response to specific situations, such as public speaking, important meetings, exams, or deadlines.
Social Interactions: Meeting new people, attending social events, or engaging in conversations with others can lead to feelings of anxiety.
Time Management: Everyday anxiety can arise from managing time constraints, multiple responsibilities, and trying to meet deadlines.
Technology and Communication: Everyday anxiety can be triggered by excessive use of technology, such as constant notifications, social media comparisons, and the pressure to stay connected.
Daily Hassles: Everyday stressors like traffic, work commutes, household chores, and managing finances can contribute to feelings of anxiety.

Sometimes we feel these stresses so frequently we start to become accustomed to them and ignore the fact that we are suffering from anxiety. Even though experiencing daily anxiety is not uncommon, people still brush it off as mindless worrying that they cannot change.

If you find yourself feeling anxious everyday, it is time to stop being okay with the worries and tackle your anxiety.

The Hack: Overcome Anxiety Myths

The first step in addressing your anxiety is understanding anxiety itself.

Myth: Anxiety is Just Worrying: In some cases, anxiety is just worrying, but it can have a range of other symptoms. Even if you are just worrying about something, the problem should still be addressed.
Myth: You Can Just "Snap Out Of It": Anxiety is not a choice or something that can be easily controlled by willpower alone. You will. need to implement thoughtful strategies to manage your anxiety.
Myth: Anxiety is Always Visible: While some people with anxiety may show visible signs of distress, many others experience "hidden" anxiety. People can be dealing with intense anxiety internally while appearing calm on the outside. For some, anxiety is so frequent that this practice has become normal.
Myth: Anxiety is Just Nervousness: Anxiety encompass more than just feeling nervous or stressed in certain situations. They can involve persistent and excessive worry that can interfere with daily functioning. This can be as small as being distracted during a meeting to being unable to get out of bed.
Myth: Avoiding Stressful Situations Eliminates Anxiety: Avoidance is a common coping mechanism for anxiety, but it doesn't address the underlying issues. In fact, avoiding anxiety-provoking situations can often reinforce the anxiety over time.

While eradicating anxiety entirely might be unrealistic, there are numerous strategies that can help us effectively manage and prevent everyday anxiety. By identifying the root causes of our anxiety and implementing practical solutions, we can build a more peaceful and calmer daily existence.

What You Can Do Tomorrow

Identify What Causes Your Anxiety. The first step in preventing everyday anxiety is recognizing the triggers. It could be work-related stress, personal relationships, financial concerns, or even digital overload. Tomorrow, go over what your day looks like and identify areas of stress.
Practice Mindfulness and Meditation: Mindfulness and meditation are powerful tools to manage anxiety. Next time you are sitting in traffic or sitting in a boring meeting, do a deep breathing exercise to calm yourself.
Digital Detox: Excessive social media and technology use is one of the biggest contributing factors to anxiety. Dedicate a specific time during the day to disconnect from digital devices and refresh your mind.
Physical Activity: Being focused on work or other stressors for extended periods of time can lead to anxiety. By taking time to exercise, your body will be rejuvenated and void of negative thoughts.
Reevaluate Sleep: Not sleeping well can ruin your entire day and cause you to be more anxious and irritable. Evaluate your nightly habits and identify what makes you sleep well. Good sleep hygiene can prevent you from being anxious the next day.

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Building Momentum

Step 1: Identify Triggers

Keep a journal or take notes on your phone to record your thoughts, feelings, and experiences throughout the day. In the evening, go through your journal and identify the times you felt the most anxious. Look for patterns in your journal entries. Are there certain situations, people, or activities that consistently lead to anxiety?

While journaling, take a deeper dive into what your daily routine looks like. Are you managing your time correctly? When do you get out of bed and go to sleep? How often are you engaging in mindful breathing or meditation to calm yourself? If you are over-scheduled and your day is lacking some time for exercise and relaxation, then it is time reevaluate what your day looks like.

Step 2: Implement Changes

Start with changing small things throughout your day. If you wake up feeling anxious it may be smart to establish a morning ritual or routine. Practice deep breathing or meditation before getting out of bed to ready yourself for the day. Creating a checklist to keep track of what you need to accomplish each morning is a good step in preventing extra worrying.

Managing your diet can help reduce anxiety as well. This is not a suggestion to completely overhaul your eating habits, but eliminate the negative ones. When going over your day in your journal did you find times when you are turning to an extra afternoon coffee to stay awake or a small sugar break to keep up your energy? Eliminating these practices and replacing them with mindfulness can help reduce your anxiety.

Throughout your day there are likely several times where you say, "I need a break." When you ignore this need you are only increasing your stress and making yourself more anxious. Take a relaxing break by going outside and taking a walk in nature. During your break do something that will calm you down and clear your mind for an extended period of time instead of engaging in anxious habits that will only relieve your anxiety temporally.

Removing Obstacles

I'm to busy too change my daily schedule. If you find yourself too busy to make significant changes to your routine, remind yourself that even small adjustments can make a difference. Set a timer for a short mindfulness break during a busy day or choose a specific time to take a short exercise break. Setting up screen time limits on all of your devices can help you manage your technology usage and give you more time to engage in other anxiety relieving activities.
I struggle with consistency. If you struggle with consistency, consider setting reminders or alarms to prompt you to engage in your chosen activities. Gradually increase the duration or frequency as you become more comfortable, making it easier to build lasting habits. For example, if a five-minute meditation session feels challenging, start with just one minute. Over time, you can gradually increase the duration as you become more accustomed to the practice.
How do I know this will work? It's natural to have doubts about whether these changes will work for you. Keep an open mind and remind yourself that many people have found success in managing anxiety through these strategies. The key is to give them a fair chance and adjust as needed based on your experiences. As you continue to work on your anxiety you will understand what habits do and don't work for you.

Final Words

Overcoming hesitations and addressing your anxiety will require patience and perseverance, but the rewards in terms of improved mental well-being are undoubtedly worth the effort. You are in control, not your anxiety. When you take the steps to making your days less anxiety inducing you will live an easier, happier, joy-filled life.

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