What to do when you can’t take it anymore
There are times in your life when you feel there’s no one who can help you, nowhere you can turn to, and nothing you can do about anxiety. Overcoming these dark times can be challenging, but it’s certainly possible. You may not always succeed doing so, but if you can do it just once, it will plant the seeds of change. You will prove to yourself that there is still hope, after all.
We’ve already discussed some relaxation techniques that you can try using whenever anxiety seems to be getting out of control. You should also keep those techniques in mind, although it may seem impossible to use them (or even remember them), when you’re really going over the edge.
In those moments where your world seems to be crashing down, you have two available routes that may quickly provide the relief you crave. Following either of these routes does not require much thinking, and it will help you overcome the most aggravating experiences brought along by your anxiety disorder.
Route A: Coping (Acceptance and Planning)
This is always the best route when it comes to dealing with your anxiety issues. Acceptance and planning are positive qualities that will help you overcome your anxiety issues, in the long run; they will also add to your character and make you a better person.
How can you possibly accept that your world is falling apart?
You know what it’s like when anxiety gets really intense, right? Suddenly you will start feeling as though everyone is out to get you, including yourself. You will feel as though even your body is turning against you – you will feel cornered, trapped, confused, and hopeless. It will look as though your world is about to crumble, and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it. You will struggle and despair and convince yourself that you’re broken beyond remedy.
What can you possibly do when struck by such overwhelming dark feelings? Sometimes, the path of least resistance yields the best results. When it comes to confronting these unabashed feeling of anxiety, sometimes it’s best to not confront them at all. Improbable as it may sound but in the darkest of times, you can experience blissful respite by doing absolutely nothing except accepting your current situation and opening yourself to it rather than struggling.
That’s right! So what if you have anxiety disorder? So what if you feel like you may lose control? Fear of dying? What’s the point? You cannot keep falling forever. Your sorrow is not without boundaries. Try to be a witness to your misery – rather than an active participant – and you will soon realize it gets better. Acceptance is a powerful ally that you should try to nourish.
How can you use planning to avoid feeling so badly in the future?
Contradictory as it may seem, just because we’re telling you to accept your suffering does not mean that it’s the same things as telling you to do nothing about it. From the moment you fully accept your anxiety issues, it will be much easier to start preparing yourself fully to deal with anxiety episodes, panic attacks and all the negative experiences that come with it. It will provide you with the much needed resolve to start changing your life around.
Next time you feel as though you really can’t take it anymore, channel that energy towards planning a better life for yourself. Think of all the things you’ve been doing wrong, all those bad habits that actually strengthen your anxiety. Think of all the things you can start doing differently, and brace yourself for a change. Planning a new life where anxiety is not a major problem can be a great way to regain your sense of control. Because then, you’ll be really doing something about your problem, and once you start doing so, you will soon stop feeling like you’re a hopeless victim of anxiety. You will have a plan, and that is a recipe for success.
Route B: Evasion (Distraction and Exhaustion)
Distraction and exhaustion won’t necessarily help in the long run, but they can be powerful stress management techniques in the here and now. You should turn to them only when nothing else seems to work when you really need to turn off your anxiousness for the sake of preserving mental sanity.
How to use distraction to shut down your anxiety
Anxiety is a persistent negative loop. When you’re having “anxiety attacks”, as many people refer to them, what is actually happening is that your mind is locked into a self-recurring negative pattern. In simple terms, it keeps feeding itself with ideas that add to anxiety, which in turn keeps providing more substance for renewed anxiety inducing stops. Can you somehow put an end to this cycle? Yes you can, and sometimes it’s as simple as distracting yourself.
Anything you can do that will distract your mind during moments of anxiety will help stop the negative cycle of worrying and distress. To this effect, pretty much anything can do the trick (provided it fully absorbs your mental energy) – TV, videogames, reading books, crocheting, shopping, cooking, chatting, meditating. Anything that helps put your thinking on hold will work wonderfully to help put a stop to those rising states of anxiety.
How to quickly dismiss inner turmoil through exhaustion
When you’re feeling so intensely distressed that nothing seems to really work as a distraction and your mind just seems determined to keep biting your own tail, then you should contemplate another option: physical exhaustion. Your goal here is engaging in such furious physical activity that you won’t even be able to think, try as you might. And once your thinking is halted, your anxiety will quickly follow.
How exactly do you induce physical exhaustion? Simple enough! Just run around aimlessly until you’re out of breath, or keep hitting your punching bag (if you have one), scream your heart out and throw a tantrum (really) if no one’s around. Just release that dark energy and you’ll find that coping gets much easier once it dissipates.
Coping is always the best route, on the long run
There’s a good reason why we presented route A before route B. It’s because working on your coping skills should be your priority, rather than learning new tricks to evade your suffering. Tricks may work in the short run, but they won’t necessarily help you reach the root of your problems. Coping may seem difficult when you’re overwhelmed, but it will always provide the most benefits in the long run.
When you feel that you can’t take any more anxiety, your main priority should always be coping. If it doesn’t work, the evasion techniques we mentioned will surely do the trick. But after you’ve settled down your raging turmoil, you should go back to looking for ways to cope. Running away from your problems may provide you with much needed breathing room, but it will seldom be effective as a way to actually solve those problems.
