Overcoming anxiety is a very personal journey, and what may work for one person may not work for another. Therapy, medication, natural remedies, and practicing coping strategies can all help a person overcome their anxiety.
Anxiety is a natural response to feeling under threat. It causes people to feel worried, afraid, or stressed. It is natural for a person to feel anxious from time to time.
A person may have an anxiety disorder if they regularly feel severe levels of anxiety that impact their day-to-day life. A person’s feelings of anxiety may last for a long time or be out of proportion to their situation.
Anxiety comes in many different forms. Certain situations or tasks, such as public speaking or driving, can make a person feel anxious.
Additionally, a person may feel anxious about their health, certain body functions, or about relationships.
A person may also feel severe anxiety when faced with certain objects, places, or situations. Mental health professionals call this a phobia.
Anxiety can cause a person to feel restless, worried, tense, and unable to relax.
A person may also experience dizziness, a churning feeling in their stomach, nausea, and sweating.
This article discusses four ways a person can overcome their anxiety, and what the different types of anxiety are.
There are numerous ways a person may overcome anxiety besides those listed here. What works for one person may not work for another.
A person struggling with anxiety can talk to a specialist about the best approach for them.
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) recommends the following coping strategies for anxiety:
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The article explains people with anxiety and depression have decreased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophin in the brain,
After exercise, BDNF in the brain increases, which may improve symptoms of anxiety.
The ADAA suggests including 2.5 hours of moderate intensity exercise or 1.25 hours of vigorous intensity exercise each week, or trying a combination of both.
The ADAA suggests jogging, walking, cycling, or dancing three to five times a week for 30 minutes.
Setting smaller exercise goals will make an exercise program feel more achievable, and a person may be more likely to keep up with it for the long term.
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There are many types of therapy a person can try to help overcome anxiety.
Psychotherapy, also called talk therapy, involves a person seeing a mental health professional.
A person can have psychotherapy in a group or on their own.
Types of psychotherapy include:
ACT uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies to help alleviate anxiety.
ACT also encourages a person to commit to behavior changes that will help them overcome anxiety.
CBT focuses on identifying and understanding a person’s thinking and behavioral patterns.
By doing this, a person can change these patterns to reduce their anxiety.
According to the ADAA, people can see benefits in 12 to 16 weeks.
CBT helps a person learn skills they can use throughout their life to overcome anxiety.
Sessions may provide a person with activities or homework to complete to help them progress during their course of therapy.
Exposure therapy is a type of CBT. A person is gradually exposed to the things that make their anxiety worse in a safe environment.
This can help a person feel less anxious about the situations, places, or objects that cause them stress.
According to the ADAA, exposure therapy can be very effective for phobias and obsessive compulsive disorder.
There are many different types of anxiety disorder. They include:
Generalized anxiety disorder is a type of chronic anxiety.
A person with GAD will feel anxious or worried most days for at least 6 months.
A person may feel anxious about their health, work, social interactions, or their situation in life more generally.
A person with social anxiety will feel anxious about social interactions or social performances.
A person may worry that other people will judge them negatively because of what they say or do.
A person may avoid social situations, so social anxiety can affect a person’s work and school life.
Swallowing anxiety is also called phagophobia.
Swallowing anxiety can cause problems with a person’s eating patterns.
According to the National Foundation of Swallowing Disorders (NFOSD), a person with swallowing anxiety may:
A person may develop swallowing anxiety if they have experienced a traumatic event such as choking, regurgitation, or abuse.
Performance anxiety refers to anxiety a person experiences about performing specific tasks.
Studies into performance anxiety in musicians, summarized in a 2017 review, found that singers had higher amounts of the stress hormone cortisol when someone asked them to perform in front of an audience.
In some cases, even virtual audiences in a VR headset increased a person’s stress levels when performing.
According to the 2017 review, performance anxiety triggers include:
This review suggested that performance anxiety may be a type of social anxiety because it overlaps with the fear of negative evaluations and fear of extreme, negative social costs that characterize social anxiety.
However, the specific mechanisms behind performance anxiety in particular are unclear.
Health anxiety is also called hypochondria.
A person with health anxiety will feel excessive anxiety about developing a health condition, and their worry may be out of proportion with the chances of them developing a particular health condition.
According to the Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI), a person with health anxiety may still believe they are at risk of an illness despite having negative tests from health professionals. They may also check their body obsessively or take medical tests more than necessary.
Health anxiety can occur in people who are healthy and in people who have health conditions, regardless of whether they are experiencing symptoms.
Both men and women can experience sexual anxiety.
Sexual anxiety can have a negative affect on a person’s sex life, as they may worry about their looks or that they will disappoint sexual partners.
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Results from a 2014 study published in the journal Body Image suggest that body self-consciousness and body shame during sexual activity negatively correlated with sexual satisfaction, according to self-reported measures of these criteria in college women who participated in the study.
Relationship anxiety can occur in new relationships or long-term relationships.
According to a
According to the ADAA, a person’s driving anxiety may include the following fears:
Driving anxiety can affect a person’s social and professional life.
A person with a phobia will experience intense fear about specific objects or situations.
The fear they feel will often be out of proportion with the threat the object or situation presents.
A person with a phobia may take steps to avoid the object or situation, and experience excessive anxiety about encountering it.
Specific phobias can include:
A person living with anxiety can use their friends and family as a support network to help them cope with and overcome anxiety.
A person can contact a doctor or mental health professional if they have concerns about their anxiety or are seeking treatment.
There are also many online resources that can help a person find information on anxiety, from mental health support provider directories to national mental health organizations such as Mental Health America (MHA) and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
The way a person responds to anxiety treatments is very individualized, and one treatment may work for some people but not others.
Coping strategies, lifestyle changes, therapy, or medication can all be part of a person’s anxiety treatment plan.
There are many different types of anxiety, and treatment may be different for each.
As a result, it is important for a person to get the correct diagnosis before seeking treatment in order to increase their chances of overcoming anxiety.
Last medically reviewed on April 28, 2021
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