– Tips for Managing Anxiety (Part 9 of 10): Be Anxious…But for a Limited Time

Last Updated on February 12, 2013 by Chris Roberts

LEARN HOW TO CONTAIN ANXIETY TO SPECIFIC TIMES

References- “10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques” an article on Psychotherapy Networker by Margaret Wehrenberg

It may seem counterintuitive to recommend to a person dealing with the frustrating repercussions of anxiety to allow themselves to worry.  But at certain times anxiety or concern is an appropriate response to a daunting situation.  Anxiety in itself is not necessarily a bad thing.  Anxiety heightens our awareness, focuses our attention and, when used appropriately, can fuel our decision making process.  Anxiety becomes a problem when it feels out of our control.  For certain situations, simply allowing ourselves to feel the anxiety and then make an informed decision out of that dread can not only help address an issue, but can also mitigate any lingering anxiety that could accompany it.

This takes a little bit of effort, but with the right approach, setting aside specific times within a contained timeframe can lessen the tension associated with some anxiety. In a wonderful article written by Margaret Wehrenberg from Psychotherpy Networker, she outlines the steps needed to address anxiety when worry can be a legitimate response to a future event.  She states,

(1) worry through all the issues; (2) do anything that must be done at the present time; (3) set a time when it’ll be necessary to think about the worry again; (4) write that time on a calendar; and (5) whenever the thought pops up again, say, “Stop! I already worried!” and divert [your] thoughts as quickly as possible to another activity.

For example, a person may have anxiety about traveling long distances from home.  Normally, this person would dread the trip for days or even weeks before the actual event.  Then, once on the trip, the person would be assaulted by anxious thoughts and fears throughout the entire journey.  Needless to say the trip itself and the days leading up to the trip would be exhausting.  For this person, setting aside a specific time and date with a time limit could be extremely beneficial for quelling the current anxiety and preventing future worry.  It would be best to plan your “worry date” a few days in advance of the trip, somewhere between 3-5 days.  This will give yourself time to be free within the time frame to feel all the weight of worrying through the issues, without setting yourself up for failure with too much hyper anxiety from the tension of the trip coming so soon.

Allow yourself to prepare reasonable precautions for the trip: check the tires, have roadside assistance coverage, contact your friends or family with the itinerary, create a music playlist to enjoy the drive.  Set a time frame for your anxiety date before you begin.  No more than 30 minutes, but no less than 10 minutes. At the end of your worry date, close your planning book and walk away.

It is realistic to expect your anxiety about the trip to resurface throughout the days to come and while you are on the trip. It is during those times you can reassure yourself that you have planned accordingly and that you have given the anxiety its proper time.  You will probably have to employ some thought-stopping techniques, and you can read about how to do this in a previous post.

As you work through your own practice of setting worry dates, you will get a better feel of how soon you need to prepare before a trip and how long to set the dates.  Remember that anxiety always produces doubt and will always make you second-guess yourself.   You can never plan enough.  But you can plan most efficiently within the date time frames you set.

Working with an anxiety counselor can be beneficial in setting realistic goals and learning how to compassionately stay within them.  An anxiety counselor can also be helpful in discovering other emotions hiding within the brush of anxiety.  At Two Trees Counseling Nashville, we can be a resource to help you more effectively manage your anxiety, or to provide you with referrals in the Nashville, Tennessee counseling community.