More often than people like to admit, anxiety can take complete control of our lives. What makes the whole situation funny is that most people were taught how to handle anxiety incorrectly. For example, try to imagine the last time you got very anxious. I’m sure the first thing you tried to do was force yourself to calm down. Maybe you told yourself that the situation wasn’t a big deal, or that you’ve dealt with worse. However, according to recent research it seems that anxiety reappraisal is generally a better way to deal with your anxiety. Let’s get into the details of how you can use it to alleviate more of the anxiety in your life.
What Is Anxiety Reappraisal?
The issue with trying to force yourself to calm down is twofold. For starters, it’s counterintuitive and really hard to go from a state of anxiety or panic to a relaxed, calm one. The other problem is that often times people will get anxious about the fact they can’t stop being anxious, which feeds into a loop making them even more anxious and the situation becomes worse than it needs to be.
Anxiety reappraisal aims to take you from a state of high, negative energy to a state of high, positive energy. In other words, instead of trying to calm down, the goal should be to get excited! You’ve likely been taught the opposite, so it may seem weird at first, but it’s actually really easy to do when you try it out. On top of reducing stress, anxiety reappraisal may also even help you perform better under these intense situations (like an exam or presentation).
The Similarities Between Anxiety And Excitement
The truth is, anxiety and excitement are actually very similar emotions. Also, they’re both heavily linked to your memory. So if a certain experience (like preparing for a speech) has made you anxious in the past, it’s easier for it to make you anxious now. Likewise, if a certain experience made you excited in the past, it’s easier for it to make you excited now. So, if you’re able to break the cycle of anxiety, it will become easier to get excited about that experience moving forward.
Good Vs Bad Anxiety
Anxiety can be part of your fight-or-flight response, in which case it can be very useful. However, not every anxiety-inducing situation SHOULD trigger that type of response. If you’re in a situation and there isn’t any real risk of danger, try anxiety reappraisal. For the situations where you’re actually in danger or threatened, anxiety can still be a natural response!
Reappraisal Examples
Below are some good examples, to give you an idea of how to use anxiety reappraisal:
- DON’T: I’m worried I’m going to fail this test and it will ruin my grade for the class.
- DO: I’m 100% prepared, I’ve done everything I can to study and practice for it, and I’m going to completely ace it!
- DON’T: I’m going to make a fool of myself during my speech. Everyone will laugh at me and remember it for ages.
- DO: I’ve done my prep work, I know what I’m talking about, and I’m going to wow people with what I have!
- DON’T: I can’t ask her for her phone number, she’ll completely reject me and I’ll be a laughingstock.
- DO: I have nothing to lose and everything to gain, it’s time to make the first move!
- DON’T: Work has been horrible lately. I’m just going to drop the ball again and let everyone down.
- DO: I don’t have to be perfect in order to contribute. I have a lot to bring to the table and I’m ready for a great day!
Be Prepared
Needless to say, for the situations where you find yourself with a lot of anxiety, do your best to prepare for them. If you minimize some of the “unknowns” of the situation, and prepare yourself mentally, you’ll do just fine. Remember, practice makes perfect. Also, the more accustomed to something you get, the easier and more naturally it will be for you to do (and well).
Ask Yourself Some Of The Following Questions When You Face Anxiety
- Is worrying about it helping me at all?
- Is there anything I can do, or any way I can prepare, for this situation?
- How much of this is up to me and how much is in someone else’s control?
- What can I do to make myself feel better about it?
Conclusion
Hopefully now that you’ve learned about anxiety reappraisal, you have another tool at your disposal to handle it. If you’re running into any other issues like burnout, or if you find yourself in a rut, be sure to check out our articles on those topics too. As always, if you have any other tips or suggestions be sure to leave a comment!
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