7 Steps to Coping with Anxiety
Step 1: Identifying the factors causing my anxiety
A simple exercise to help users with reflecting on factors contributing to anxiety in everyday life.
For this activity, list any 3 or more factors contributing to anxiety in your life, and rank them in order of severity.
For example;
- Work. I would rate this as a __ because..
Step 2: Understanding Anxiety
Step 3: Breathe
Remember to breathe. When things get especially hard, pause, acknowledge how you’re feeling, and take a few deep breaths.
Step 4: Learn How to Stop a Panic Attack
Step 5: Learn Positive Self-Talk
When a negative thought enters your mind, it easily starts spiraling. For instance, saying “I can’t do it/I am not good enough” are self-defeating beliefs and thoughts. This is when positive self-talk comes in handy to transform the internal dialogue.
Let's Practice:
List one or more self-defeating thoughts and convert them to positive self-talk statements.
Example:
👎🏼"I give up. I am never going to be able to do this."
👍🏼"It is very hard, but I will keep trying."
Step 6: Relaxation Break
You've worked hard. Take a moment to relax.
Step 7: Choose Gratitude
What are you thankful for today?
Looking back
Take a deep breath, and think back to our previous 7 steps. What have you discovered? How useful do you find these things? How often will you be implementing them into your daily life?
Walk the Seven Steps again here