What Should I Do When Anxiety Shows Up?
- Andy Dean
- Sep 23
- 2 min read
This is an excerpt from a curriculum I recently wrote for Anxiety Disorder treatment for Princeton House Behavioral Health's Mood and Anxiety Disorder Program in Eatontown, NJ.
Of course you want to know how to reduce your anxiety symptoms – BECAUSE THEY FEEL TERRIBLE! Just remember, the more you try to intervene directly and change your thoughts, feelings and physical sensations, the more likely the symptoms of your anxiety disorder are to increase. That being said, here are three basic principles to start you on your anxiety disorder recovery journey…
1) Notice Anxious Content and Label It – DO NOT TRY TO MAKE IT GO AWAY. That is not the goal here. Just notice that it’s there and call it out when it appears. You can even give it a name.
“Oh, Pete is here again.”
2) Do It Scared – Don’t let anxiety change your behavior. Every time you take an action even though anxiety is screaming at you to avoid it, you are becoming stronger because your brain learns that the anxiety associated with the behavior is a false alarm.
Think of this as growing a muscle at the gym. The more uncomfortable you make yourself, the more your muscle grows and the stronger you become.
3) Stay Out of Anxiety’s Business – Anxiety is going to try to bait you into a back and forth. Instead of arguing with anxiety or trying to think your way out of anxious content, just let it exist in the background of your mind until it passes like a cloud in the sky.