Tanya J. Peterson - 101 Ways to Stop Anxiety

Copyright 2020 Tanya J. Peterson

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ISBN: 978-1-63158-495-4

eISBN: 978-1-63158-496-1

Printed in the United States of America

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

The best way out is always through. Robert Frost

Anxiety is a snare, a suffocating and confining trap. Anxiety, worry, and fear usurp your thoughts and emotions and dictate your actions. When this happens, people often feel as though their lives are severely limited. What is your anxiety doing to you? (Check all that apply.)

I cant stop thinking about things that have happened in the past.

Im worried about what is going to happen in the future, whether its tomorrow or years down the road.

I feel tired, but wired.

I often just shut down.

I have lots of vague, nagging thoughts.

I have a small number of specific, intense worries.

I feel crushed.

I avoid people and situations.

I feel stuck.

Ive tried to get rid of it, but my anxiety wont go away.

My relationships are suffering.

My work is suffering.

I am suffering.

Whether youve checked one box or all of them, youre in a perfect place to begin to move right through your anxiety, past it, and onward to the life you desire. Forward movement is at the heart of this book.

The 101 tips, tools, and techniques youre about to learn come from researchers, practitioners, and people living with anxiety. Ive used them myself when moving past my own strong anxiety, and Ive helped others of all ages and backgrounds discover tools that help them move out of anxietys vise. Youll see that I use we throughout this bookIm one among millions of us who experience or have experienced anxiety.

While each of the tips inside is effective, youll have some that you like better than others. Everyone is unique and therefore the ways they experience anxiety are, too; what works wonderfully for one person might not work well for the next. With patience, practice, and persistence, youll discover your favorites.

The most powerful tool among all of these is actually number 102: You. You will be the one completing the actions and getting rid of anxiety.

Lets break out of anxietys snare and into a life of well-being!

S ECTION 1:

OVERTHINKING EVERYTHING TO DEATH

Anxiety is like a broken emergency broadcast system. It blasts screaming thoughts into your head: worries, assumptions, what-ifs, worst-case scenarios, and negative beliefs. Further, the emergency broadcasts never stop. Anxious thoughts keep comingrelentlessly.

In this section, youll acquire ways to muffle anxietys broadcast system so you can stop that anxious overthinking and free your mind for better thoughts.

Im Having the Thought That

A NXIETY LIKES TO RUN THROUGH the mind like it owns the place. Its possible to have multiple anxious thoughts running through your head at once, which means they dominate what you think about. Your anxious thoughts seem very real, and its easy to stay caught up in them. Putting some distance between you and your anxious thoughts helps stop anxiety in its tracks.

The human mind is incredible. You can think many things, even things that arent real. Close your eyes for a moment and think about a squirrel outside your window. Now, picture it to be six feet tall. And purple. Its carrying your favorite dessert, and it comes to the window to share with you.

Now, open your eyes. Chances are, your mind made that squirrel seem real. However, you didnt actually believe that the squirrel was real because you knew that this was just an exercise. You were aware that you were having thoughts about the giant purple squirrel with people treats. You can use this idea to your advantage to stop anxiety when youre overthinking.

When your thoughts are racing with worries and other negative beliefs and you feel like youre going crazy, take away their power by playing Im having the thought that If youre afraid of rodents and worried that a gigantic squirrel is going to show up in your yard bearing desserts, remind yourself, Im having the thought that a monstrous sugar-carrying squirrel will appear in my yard. Its just a thought. Then, turn your attention to what you are doing in the moment.

In the space between you and your anxious thoughts lies peace. Acknowledge the thought as merely a thought, then go about living in your present moment. Do this repeatedly, and your space will expand to help stop anxiety.

ACTION STEP TO TAKE NOW

List three anxious thoughts that frequently bother you. Rewrite each one using the Im having the thought that pattern. How will reframing your thoughts this way help reduce anxiety?

What if? Imagine the Possibilities!

S OMETIMES , ANXIETY CAN CONTROL YOU with two short words: What if? The words themselves arent a problem; indeed, those words can bring exciting possibilities (Hey, look at those birds. What if people could fly like that?).

What if? isnt a bad question. The problem isnt the question. Questions represent curiosity, learning, and growth. The problem is that anxiety creates anxious responses. Anxiety answers its own what-ifs in ways that make you worry even more. In response to the question, What if I mustered the courage to sign up for that art class? anxiety could immediately fill your thoughts with disastrous possibilities and reasons why you shouldnt pay good money to sit with other people trying to be creative. Anxiety can whitewash your dreams.