How to Handle Anxiety
Posted February 20th, 2017
Just about everybody has to deal with anxiety at some time or another. It could be provoked by something on the job, a problem, challenge or criticism that we have to deal with, or it may simply happen when we are alone with our thoughts, perhaps as we lie in bed before falling asleep.
But anxiety is not something we need to confront unarmed. There are things we can do, habits of thinking we can cultivate, to help us deal with anxiety. Here are a few.
1. Confront your negative thinking.
Many of our negative thoughts, the ones that produce anxiety, are often not rational. They are flights of fancy. Our minds tend to race toward worst-case scenarios without an iota of evidence to support this train of thought. In other words, what your mind conceives has no basis in reality.
When this happens, we need to slow things down. As we start catastrophizing again, we need to get tough with our way of thinking – is it based in reality at all, what really are the odds of something like this happening? Usually, incredibly small.
2. Watch for negative patterns of thinking.
For example, taking an all or nothing point of view, or one that is binary – either this or that, black or white – which again, really doesn’t encompass the complexity of reality, which most of time is not black or white, but varying shades of gray.
Think logically. Are you jumping to conclusions, reasoning from faulty evidence, or not enough evidence, or the wrong kind of evidence?
Don’t sell yourself short. Don’t underestimate the power of direct action and your own willpower and competency to get you through tough situations.
3. Be optimistic
Some psychologists believe that thinking optimistically can be learned. You can do this, first of all, by putting your anxiety into perspective. The problem or situation creating the anxiety often seems to loom so large before us that it takes over our entire life. But we need to realize that the problem is merely a small part of our life, only a small piece of it.
Another way to think optimistically is to try and take yourself out of the equation. Look at the problem, the cause of your anxiety, as if you were a disinterested observer trying to solve a problem. This may help to take away the feelings and emotions generated by the problem.
Also, you should look at the cause of the anxiety for what it is – something that probably will change, not something that is permanent.
4. Take a break
Get away from the problem for a while, which may help you to gain a little perspective. There are many ways to do this – take a walk, workout, meditate, hike, listen to music, call a friend, write in a journal.
If you are experiencing the anxiety of searching for a job, and you work in a technology related field, Bayside Solutions can help you find a position that fits your skills and experience. Bayside specializes in technology-related jobs. Give us a call today.
