How to Deal with Anxiety

Note: This is a guest post from Walter Adena of LionSlinger.com
Anxiety
is a fact of life. Being part of our psychological makeup, this
response is automatic when we are faced with situations threatening our
sense of well-being. Since this propensity is genetically embedded on
our brains, we have no way of preventing its manifestation. However, we
can influence our response if we have sufficient awareness and
discipline to counter its unhealthy encroachment.
Allowing anxiety to dominate our thoughts can result in stress and
depression. Little do we know that most of the fears we cater are
unfounded; our minds have taken the habit of conjuring a scenario
wherein feared situations arise. Left uncontrolled, these illusory
fears will be incorporated unto our reality, thus stifling our view of
the truth. If we are to take control of our anxieties, we must stop feeding our thoughts with negative imaginings.
Instead, we should put our focus more on the clear facts surrounding us
and deduce therein our real worries and concern. This will then reduce
the gravity of our anxiety.
Still the question arises: How can we deal with anxiety?
To be honest, dealing with anxiety is not an easy task. Our genetic
makeup makes it hard to resist this automatic brain response. However,
through practice and willingness, we can change our approach in dealing
with anxiety.
First and foremost, we have to understand the nature of our fears.
We need to find where it’s coming from and why are we experiencing such
feeling. Without this understanding we cannot affect an appropriate
response should anxiety dominate our thoughts.
Gaining an understanding of the nature of our anxieties will bring
forth clarity on our part. This important factor is the key to alter
the influence of fear on our minds. Once we become aware of our
anxieties we are able to allow our reason to intervene; we are then able to make an analysis with regards to the factual substance of our anxiousness. Still, awareness and understanding are not enough, willingness to let go of our unfounded fear is also a necessity. If we don’t have the will to change our perception of anxiousness, little is our chance to reduce our tension.
Validating the source of our anxieties will take time, discipline
and persistence. Every time anxiety enters our thoughts it is
imperative to enforce our intervention through awareness, then make
some validations as to the reality of the objects of our anxieties.
Once we deduce the truth from fiction we have to eliminate the lies by reprogramming our thinking; though it may be hard at first practice makes perfect.
In my experience I have been continually bogged down by my worries.
What I’ve learned though is that the huge percentage of all my worries
is nothing more than the illusions of my mind. All the time I have
continually beleaguered myself of fears that really don’t exist. It
took me time to realize how much time and energy I have wasted thinking
of my senseless worries. Had I immediately weeded out the facts from
farce, I could have made better decision.
Before you drown yourself of anxieties, consider the following approaches:

• Ask yourself: What am I anxious about? Does my fear have any substance?
  
• Make an analysis of the situation and separate the real from the unreal.
  
• Focus on finding solution rather than brooding over worries.
  
• Use your common sense when dissecting the cause of your anxieties. (Most of us worry over preposterous things).
  
• If senseless anxieties forces its way, counter it by engaging yourself on productive activities.
  
• Seek the path of self mastery.
  

We don’t have to punish ourselves over our anxieties. The choice is
always ours whether we confine ourselves to our self-made fear or seek
understanding about the true nature of our worries. There’s a lot more
to life than being anxious.