Dealing with anxiety isn't easy, but it is possible to live a normal life with the right treatment and support. Normalizing your anxiety and finding strategies to reduce stress, change negative thought patterns, and invest in self-care are key to managing your condition successfully.
People with anxiety disorders feel worry and fear constantly, and these feelings of distress can severely impact their daily lives. Living with an anxiety disorder can feel crippling, but with time and proper treatment, many people can manage their anxiety and live a fulfilling life.
Feelings of anxiety are likely to pass with time as we get used to the "new normal" but it's important to do what we can to take care of our mental health. There are lots of things that can help you to manage these feelings and make it easier to adjust.
There is no cure for anxiety disorders, but they are treatable. Treatment for anxiety disorders can include medication, therapy, or a combination of both. It's important to work with a healthcare provider to find the treatment that best suits your concerns.
Creating new neural pathways may take time — several weeks to months — but it can help your brain address triggers with more confidence, so you feel less anxious overall. Consistency is the key.
Fortunately, anxiety is highly treatable. Self-help strategies to overcome anxiety can be helpful, but it is also important to talk to your doctor about your treatment options. By taking steps to get better, you can help ensure that your anxiety isn't keeping you from achieving the things you want to do.
Anxiety typically goes away on its own once you're no longer exposed to the threat. Anxiety disorders, however, tend to stick around. Ignoring an anxiety disorder can cause all sorts of damage and impinge on your quality of life.
People with generalized anxiety disorder may have a history of significant life changes, traumatic or negative experiences during childhood, or a recent traumatic or negative event. Chronic medical illnesses or other mental health disorders may increase risk.
An anxiety disorder can be caused by multiple factors, such as genetics, environmental stressors and medical conditions. New research also indicates that chronic anxiety symptoms that will not go away can be due to an autoimmune response, triggered by common infections.
Statistics on Generalized Anxiety Treatment and Recovery
Typically, a combination of treatment approaches may be used for GAD. Recovery from generalized anxiety disorder is possible. The recovery rate is around 57 percent with a psychotherapy approach according to Psychology Today.
Adults 60 years of age and older are more likely to experience physical symptoms of anxiety than their younger counterparts. This age group also has a higher risk of other medical issues, which can increase the risk of developing an anxiety disorder.
Normal levels of anxiety lie on one end of a spectrum and may present as low levels of fear or apprehension, mild sensations of muscle tightness and sweating, or doubts about your ability to complete a task. Importantly, symptoms of normal anxiety do not negatively interfere with daily functioning.
Some ways to manage anxiety disorders include learning about anxiety, mindfulness, relaxation techniques, correct breathing techniques, dietary adjustments, exercise, learning to be assertive, building self-esteem, cognitive therapy, exposure therapy, structured problem solving, medication and support groups.
Pick up some activities that can help you relax like sports, yoga, or meditation. One of the symptoms of anxiety is that you stop doing things that like to do. Try going back to doing what you like to do so that you can be happy. Whatever you do, avoid drugs and alcohol because it won't make your anxiety go away.
While it's normal to have a certain amount of anxiety about your life, excessive anxiety can actually morph into an anxiety disorder. Left untreated, anxiety holds you back, impacts your health, puts your career in jeopardy and can have a negative effect on your relationships both at work and at home.
Living with anxiety can be very difficult, but there are steps you can take that might help. This page has some suggestions for you to consider. For tips on coping with panic attacks, see our section on what helps to manage panic attacks. Talking to someone you trust about what's making you anxious could be a relief.
Find relaxation or meditation apps that appeal to you and give them try. Just breathe: Inhale and exhale slowly, evenly, and deeply for several breaths. Change your position: “Whatever you're doing, do the opposite,” Kissen says. “If you're hunched over with worry, stand up and take a Wonder Woman pose.
Resisting anxiety fuels more of it: The more we resist anxiety, and fear our feelings, the more of it we feel, and the worse it gets. As we resist solutions, we fuel the problem. And fighting the messenger – our anxiety – increases our distress. Resisting anxiety escalates our negative feelings.
You Have a Positive Outlook on Yourself
You also know you have recovered by attending therapy sessions, taking medication, and no longer feeling ashamed of your mental health. As a result, you now feel comfortable talking about your anxiety or depression since you are proud of doing something about it.