Managing Anxiety
Handout:
Dealing with Anxiety.pdf
This list may give you some new ideas on how to manage anxiety. Recognize that this list can make you more anxious if you try to implement all of the suggestions at once. Pick those items which are most relevant to you and only focus on one or two at a time.
1. Anxiety is a common emotional response. Give yourself permission to be anxious instead of expecting yourself to always be calm, cool, and collected.
2. Take some action on a worrisome situation rather than just “stew” about it.
3. Share your anxious feelings with someone.
4. Work on a task you have been putting off.
5. Give yourself extra time to do your tasks and projects.
6. Look for enjoyment in the doing of something rather than focusing so much on the end result.
7. View risk taking and making mistakes as valuable ways to learn.
8. Think in terms of hoping for rather than expecting certain things to happen.
9. Make decisions based on personal preferences rather than attempts to please others.
10. Speak, eat, drive, and move at a slower and more relaxed pace.
11. Breathe slowly and deeply, releasing tension with each exhalation.
12. Eat nutritious foods, exercise regularly, and get adequate sleep.
13. Remind yourself that when things don’t go smoothly is doesn’t mean something is wrong—life happens.
14. Look for possible benefits of stressful times.
15. Prepare for morning the night before.
16. Arrive at your destination 5-10 minutes early.
17. Associate with optimistic friends who have an uplifting sense of humor.
18. Remember that some things are not worth doing perfectly.
19. Cheer for rather than compete with others.
20. Get away from the stressful situation for a while.
21. Pray for calmness and patience.
22. Get involved with other people in a worthwhile endeavor.
23. Realize that most decisions are neither “right” nor “wrong” but open doors to different kinds of experiences.
24. Visualize yourself performing successfully before you actually perform.
25. Smile, even if you do not feel like it.
26. Change anxiety-provoking thoughts to more calming and realistic ones such as:
(a) Five years from now, who will care?
(b) I can do what I can do and that is all.
(c) I’ll compare myself with myself rather than others.
(d) I can learn from the experience regardless of how I perform.
(e) I’m not going to waste my energy on that issue.
(f) Getting upset will not help me deal with the situation.
(g) Things are usually not as bad as I anticipate them to be.
READ THESE scriptures AND ASK YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING questions:
Mosiah 4:27 — Does the Lord expect me to keep pushing myself when I feel overwhelmed?
D&C 10:4 — Which is most important to the Lord, amount or consistency?
D&C 101:16 — What perspectives can help me I achieve a calmer acceptance of life?
D&C 90:24 — Do things have to go smoothly to work out in the end?
Ether 12:27—Isn’t the Lord’s standard “sufficient” rather than “perfect?”
Matthew 5:48—see footnote b: What does Christ mean by “perfect?”
John 14:27 — What does the Savior say about fear and a troubled heart?