Anxiety can be so debilitating that it interferes with daily tasks, moods, presence with loved ones, and ultimately, quality of life. It slowly erodes who a person is with physical and mental nagging.
Most sufferers have lived with it their entire lives. They have grown accustomed to living with such intrusive forces. Yet, just because they are use to it does not mean they have found a way to manage it. Some sufferers take medication with a little relief, others avoid triggers, and others just white-knuckle through it.
No matter how you currently manage such intrusive experiences, know that there is a way through this madness.
This won’t be easy but it is possible. There are plenty of approaches in the world of therapy, including but not limited to:
Dialectical Behavior Therapy basically includes lots of skills that address anxiety through Mindfulness, Emotional Regulation, Distress Tolerance, and Interpersonal Skills.
A daily practice that can be done in a few seconds to several minute meditations to manage symptoms through relaxation, refocussing on the present moment instead of on the anxiety, and building a tolerance for anxious emotions through the practice of presence awareness.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is used to treat trauma that may be the cause of your anxiety, and to treat current triggers of your anxiety.
Exposure Response Prevention is used to treat OCD but can be used to desensitize to anxiety triggers and address the unhealthy coping patterns attached to it. Through the inhibatory learning model, individuals can learn how to tolerate their anxious minds in better ways and create a different reaction.
I use a few short meditations such as Happy Place, Safe People, Container for disturbing feelings and memories, healing light meditations, and mindfulness meditations. These help clients center and increase positive emotional experiences, which increases your tolerance for postive affect, which increases your tolerance for negative affect. In the trauma world this practice helps when people feel unsafe feeling good. They will say if I feel good something bad will happen.
Keep your mind open to the answers that come to you. We will find what approaches work best for you!
Firstly, as always, find a knowledgeable therapist.