When anxious thoughts start to take hold of your mind, it can feel nearly impossible to get them to stop. Unfortunately, that often creates a vicious cycle. The more those thoughts take control, the more anxious you’ll start to feel. That’s one of the biggest reasons why anxiety is so difficult to manage on your own. However, there are things you can do to stop anxious thoughts in their tracks. While these techniques should be combined with professional help, they are incredibly useful when you’re by yourself and need to fight back against those thoughts trying to take over.
Let’s cover six tips you can use to stop anxious thoughts almost immediately.
1. Give Yourself Time to Feel Anxious
While it might seem counterproductive, you can actually have more control over your anxious thoughts by allowing yourself a specific time to worry. Choose a time and a place to get your worries out, and then let them go. During this time, give yourself full permission to worry about whatever you want for 10-20 minutes. When that time is up, prioritize the rest of your day being worry-free.
2. Keep a Journal
Anxious thoughts can worsen when you don’t have an outlet for them. Again, therapy is a great way to discuss those thoughts and get to the bottom of them. However, when you’re going through your day and those anxious thoughts strike, you can get them out by writing them down. Consider keeping a journal with you at all times that allows you to write down your thoughts and feelings. Sometimes, simply getting something down on paper can make it seem less overwhelming.
3. Challenge Your Thoughts
If you’re really ready to fight back against anxious thoughts, choose to challenge them. Ask yourself for evidence about those thoughts being true. Is the thought helpful? Is it realistic or not? Most importantly, how would you help a friend dealing with those thoughts? How would you react? Most bullies don’t respond well to strength. They tend to pick on weaker individuals and back down when someone fights back. Anxiety is the ultimate bully, but it’s more likely to back down when you challenge it, too.
4. Practice Mindfulness
Anxious thoughts are often rooted in uncertainty. You might find yourself asking “what if?” more often than not, which only fuels your worry. One way to combat that uncertainty is with mindfulness. The practice of mindfulness allows you to stay focused on the present. While it can take some getting used to, it’s as simple as closing your eyes and focusing on your breath. Thoughts will continue to come, but you’ll let go of them like clouds you can’t hold onto. Even a few minutes of mindfulness can bring your thoughts back to the present state and help to alleviate your fear.
5. Disrupt Your Worries
It’s easy for anxious thoughts to snowball out of control when nothing stands in their way. You can stop that by putting up mental roadblocks. You might not even remember what you were anxious about in the first place. Plenty of things can disrupt the cycle of worry. If you start to feel your anxious thoughts gaining strength, get up and walk around. Exercise is a natural mood booster and stress reducer. Step outside for even greater benefits. Not only will you distract yourself from your thoughts, but staying active will improve your state of mind and your energy levels.
6. Talk to Someone
Having a support system is essential when you’re dealing with anxiety. Lean on your family members and friends whenever you feel like your thoughts are out of control. More importantly, don’t hesitate to reach out to me for anxiety treatment. Anxiety can be overwhelming and cause extreme loneliness, but you don’t have to deal with it alone.