Sometimes it feels like there is just nothing positive about anxiety. That suffocating tightness in your chest or uncontrollable need to pull at your hair. It is not always pretty, but then again, life is not always pretty. 

What if you viewed your anxiety as something more multidimensional than uncontrollable fear? 

If you think about it positively, anxiety can enhance your life—it harnesses your attention, and fighting it off builds strength and character. The key to living a normal life with anxiety is learning how to use it for your own benefit.

Regaining Control Over Anxiety

Before you can put a positive spin on your anxiety, you need to be in control of it. Here are some ways you can quiet your mind before redefining what anxiety means to you. 

  • Name It: For many mental disorders, awareness is the first step toward healing. Acknowledge that your anxious thoughts do not reflect who you are. They are simply that: anxious thoughts. Call it out. Locate it in your body. Separate it from yourself, because it is not you, it is just one of your many reactions to the world outside. After you first identify it and acknowledge it, then you can learn to spin it positively.
  • Let Out Excess Energy: There is not enough to be said about the benefits of exercise. Anxiety is unacknowledged feelings trapped inside. Moving your body helps release these pent up feelings. Head out on an aerobic walk or run, or engage in some pleasurable, mindful activity – anything done with one pointed attention that brings you back to your center – like gardening, folding laundry, or even washing dishes.  Do something that feels productive and active or mindful until your mind quietens.
  • Sleep for 7-9 Hours Every Night: Say goodbye to late nights finishing up work that just needs to get done. You might find that you feel better by closing the books, turning off the light, and resting. Give your brain time to organize all the information it took in that day and make space for another day’s worth. The longer you put off sleep, the more overloaded and anxious your brain can get. Puff up that pillow and get to snoozing.

Spinning It Positively

You have successfully identified and regained control over your anxiety—great job! Now, how can we spin it positively? What else could we call it that feels better than looming fear?

  • A Guide Toward Our Most Cherished Values: In our still largely patriarchal society, emotional outbursts appear unprofessional and almost rude. Feeling too much—the most basic thing that makes you human—can be used against you when anxiety impedes our productivity. But what if we saw it from another angle? At its core, anxiety is really about caring too much, and there is nothing wrong with being a careful, considerate person. You are not crazy because you are anxious. You just care a lot about whatever the root cause of your anxiety is. Think of it as a reflection of your most tightly held values and use that train of thought to dig deep and re-acquaint yourself with your anxiety’s main goal.
  • A Natural Compass Telling Us What’s Important: Current science suggests that anxiety does not simply promote fear and nothing else; more than anything, it calls on our attention and focus to spring into action. With the rise of television, the internet, smart phones, and now social media, our attention is in short supply. Anxiety is potentially growing more common because people don’t give the important things in life as much attention as they used to—their attention is being stolen by profit-driven technologies specifically designed to harness it. When you first feel spurts of anxiety, pay attention to what you are doing in the moment and ask yourself, “What am I ignoring or neglecting by doing this? What could my anxiety be telling me I need to accomplish today? Can I notice my breath and find my way back to my center?”
  • A Winning, Competitive Edge: Because anxiety is basically an energy reserve, tapping into it can benefit you in competitive situations. Let it flow freely until you feel in the zone and on a roll. Athletes tap into anxious energy when playing a game, sales people harness it when fighting for a client, chefs use it during a dinner rush, the list goes on. How can you use your anxiety to sharpen your competitive side?

Avoid taking anxiety at face value. It has layers and reasons, just like people do. If you need more guidance in identifying what your anxiety is trying to tell you, reach out today. I’m happy to help.

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