4 Healthy Ways To Be More In Control of Your Anxiety

Anxiety is part of being human. It’s like an internal alarm system designed to nudge us when something in our environment needs a closer look.

For some, anxiety is an occasional visitor, popping in during life's more stressful moments. For others, it can feel like an uninvited houseguest who just won’t leave, making even the simplest days feel heavy and overwhelming.

No matter where you land on the anxiety range, there are healthy, manageable ways to work with it rather than letting it take control of you. Here are four gentle strategies I often recommend:

1) Rational Thinking Helps Pull You Out Of Staying Stuck In Emotions

Have you ever caught yourself spiraling into a "what if" cycle without even realizing it? Our thoughts have a sneaky way of running the show when we're not paying attention. Especially with anxiety, those thoughts tend to skew negative and downright scary — even when they aren’t grounded in reality.

The next time you feel that wave of panic rise, take a pause. Ask yourself: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely is this worst-case scenario to actually happen?" Chances are, it's not nearly as probable as your mind is making it seem.

Most people also just “drop the mic” on negative anxious thoughts mid-sentence and never finish the sentence they’re telling themselves. So instead of telling yourself “What happens if and I have a panic attack?” You could leave it at that, But to be more in control of your feelings, you could change it to “What happens if _ and I have a panic attack? If that happens, I will start deep breathing to prevent a panic attack, I can call a friend and talk about what is upsetting me, or I can journal my inner thoughts to see what is bothering me. I can do this.”

This rational thinking will pull you out of emotion minded thinking, leading to positive change and help you feel more in control of your anxious thoughts.

With practice, you’ll train your brain to start looking at things through a clearer, kinder lens. Rational thoughts help get you out of feeling stuck with your anxiety.

2) Anxiety Really Is Just A False Story

When anxiety hits, it often brings along a slew of physical sensations: racing heart, tight chest, shortness of breath. It can feel overwhelming, even alarming.

But here’s the truth: you’re not in danger. You’re having a very real physical response to a perceived threat. It’s your body trying to protect you . even if there’s nothing truly threatening at the moment. Remembering this simple fact can help you ride the wave instead of being pulled under by it. Ask yourself, “What is the story I’m telling myself?” The story is usually much scarier then the truth.

3) Learn What Emotionally Activates You

patterns, the thoughts, the situations, the places that seem to cue your anxiety, you can start to gently question them.

Journaling will help you better understand what is emotionally activating you and will help you notice your patterns. Sometimes, this is very easy to identify. Other times, you recognize what is emotionally activating you, but you can’t seem to put your finger on what is behind the thing that seems to start anxiety.

If you’re unsure about this, keep a journal focusing before/during/after anxiety: Try noticing what was happening before the anxiety started, what set the anxiety off and what followed after anxiety started. This can show you a pattern to better understand your anxiety.

4) Just Breathe

It might sound simple, but breathing is your superpower. Slow, deep breaths send a message to your nervous system: You’re safe. You can relax now.

And if you would like to try a different breathing exercise, “Square Breathing,” is another great way to restore calm. To begin, breath in for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, breath out for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, repeat several times

The next time anxiety creeps in, try taking a few slow, steady breaths. Feel your shoulders drop, your muscles loosen, your heart rate slow. Sometimes the best way to reset is also the easiest.

Final Note:

If you want to understand what is behind your anxiety, counseling for stress and anxiety can help you learn what is fueling your anxiety. It will also help you learn ways to be more in control of your emotions and give you an effective plan you can use for times when you feel anxiety bubbling up.

If you’re finding that anxiety is taking up more space in your life than you’d like, know that you don’t have to navigate it alone. Contact me thru a phone call or go to my contact page and either email me or set up a time thru my Calendly for a free 15 minute phone consultation.