7 Questions To Manage Anxiety

1. Will This Matter In 1 Day, 1 Week, 1 Month, 1 Year, Or 10 Years?

   • Consider the differences in time length

   • Maybe it will matter in 1 day or 1 month, but what about 10 years?

   • If it will matter in 1 day or 1 month, what does this mean? What do I think will happen?

   • How have I handled previous experiences like this before? If this is a new experience, how can I make a plan to take care of myself and problem solve the issue at hand?

   • What is in my control? What is not in my control?

   • How can I learn to be more accepting of what is not in my control?

2. What If The Worst Doesn’t Happen? 

   • Re-framing (thinking about it from a different lens/perspective)

   • What if the best happens?

   • Instead of focusing on finding evidence to fit what we expect, find evidence to counter what may not happen (the opposite)

3. What If The Worst Does Happen? How Can I Adapt & Handle This?

   • How have I solved situations in the past?

   • How have I handled previous experiences like this before? If this is a new experience, how can I make a plan to take care of myself and problem solve the issue at hand?

   • What is in my control? What is not in my control?

   • How can I learn to be more accepting of what is not in my control?

4. Will continuing to ruminate and spiral in Anxiety help me feel better? Will it help me feel worse?

   • What are the pros and cons of Rumination and Anxiety?

5. Where do I feel this in my body? What do I feel underneath my anxiety?

   • Name the feelings underneath anxiety

   • If too difficult to name feelings, name sensations located in your body

     1. Temperature

     2. Tension

     3. Lightness

     4. Contraction

     5. Tinglyness

     6. Numb

     7. Heaviness

     8. Tightness

6. What Are The Pros & Cons of Anxiety? 

   • Make a list of the pros and cons to get these thoughts of your head (externalize vs. internalize)

   • Externalizing can be relieving and give us clarity (stepping back from our thoughts rather than being engulfed in them)

   • Pros

     1. It’s comforting

     2. It’s a habit 

     3. It’s a form of control

     4. It feels good

     5. It protects me from real danger and risks

     6. It helped and helps me survive

     7. It motivates me short-term

     8. It gives me the ability to think quickly

     9. I can generate tons of solutions in a short time frame

     10. I’m more aware of myself and my surroundings

     11. Helps me actually function at work and I get rewarded for it (e.g. anxiety help me because I work in a quick, fast paced, crisis type of environment)

     12. Etc.

   • Cons

     1. It prevents me from living my life fully (at work, school, in relationships)

     2. It’s exhausting

     3. It’s time consuming

     4. Psychosomatic symptoms (headaches, migraines, shaking, trembling, increased heart rate, hot body temperature)

     5. More risk averse and less open to new possibilities/choices

     6. More mistrustful of certain people and certain situations

     7. Sometimes, I spend so much time thinking about the Anxiety part of me that it becomes part of my identity and I forget to make space for other parts of me

     8. Etc.

7. What are some skills or tools I can use to soothe myself?

   • Breathing

     1. Deep breathing

     2. Belly breathing

     3. Paced breathing

   • Progressive muscle relaxation   

     • Tense a part of my body and then release

     • Do this for all parts of your body from top to bottom to relax it

   • Temperature

     1. If hot, drink cold water or wash your face with cold water

   • Guided imagery

     1. Use your imagination

     2. Create a safe space or calm space

     3. What does it smell like?

     4. What does it sound like?

     5. Who is around you? Are you alone?

     6. What time of day is it? Morning? Afternoon? Can you feel the sun? The wind?

     7. What can you touch? Are you outside on the grass? Are you inside sitting on a chair?

   • Sights

     1. Watching a funny video 

     2. Googling/searching for cute/playful/calming images like flowers, sunshine, clouds, mountains, puppies, babies, etc.

   • Sounds

     1. Listening to music with your headphones

     2. Listening to favorite sounds (e.g. ocean waves, wind, rain)

   • Scents

     1. Light a candle

     2. Use a diffuser

     3. Essential oils

     4. Put on scented lotion

   • Distraction

     1. Scroll through social media

     2. Go outside for a walk

     3. Find something funny to laugh at

     4. Stare at the ceiling

     5. Doodle or draw something

   • Movement

     1. Going for a walk

     2. Exercising

     3. Moving your body