Why Am I Anxious?
Many people who suffer from severe anxiety, ask themselves the question 'Why am I anxious all the time?' or something similar.
In my experience of coaching people with anxiety, a more helpful question to ask is:
'How am I making myself more anxious?'
Asking yourself this question can lead you to realise that some of the things that you do when you get anxious are not helping you. Commonly this might include:
- Spending a large part of your life searching for solutions for your 'anxiety problem' in books or on the internet or elsewhere.
- Whilst this will probably help you find some helpful strategies or ideas, it is important to keep it in proportion. If you spend several hours a day looking for a solution for anxiety, you are giving yourself a perpetual reminder that you are anxious, instead of getting on with the rest of your life! You may be better off by limiting the time you spending looking for answers to your anxiety to a set short period per week for example. Make sure you use the time you free up constructively, either by doing tasks that you need to get done or else in relaxing and enjoying yourself!
- Ignoring basic healthy routines of:
- eating sensibly and regularly
- sleeping at regular times
- completing daily tasks but also respecting your life balance
- allowing yourself some time for yourself or the activities you like doing.
- If this applies to you then try if you can to readjust and restore some healthy life balance instead of letting everything go out of rhythm because of your anxiety.
The next time you find yourself continually stressing or getting anxious about something, ask yourself what you may be doing to make yourself more anxious.
Experiment with trying to do the opposite. See if things start to improve!
Further Information
For information about a program for Dealing with Anxiety using CBT methods and an eBook explaining CBT techniques, click below: