1. Recognize your anxiety exists
When anxiety hits, people tend to deal with it in a variety of ways, some healthy, some not so much. Whether it’s binge-watching of favourite Netflix series, or comfort eating, or trying to numb your worries with alcohol consumption or drug use.
Dr Richa Bhatia. MD, board certified psychiatrist and American Psychiatric Association Fellow, points out that they all have something in common, avoiding the acknowledgement of your anxiety.
Recognizing your anxiety is a normal evolutionary response. It’s our body’s natural reaction to an external danger or threat. Dr. Bhatia suggests trying to reframe anxiety as “a set of feelings, thoughts and emotions” rather than something defining to you or your life. “Feelings come and go and they will pass, and that’s what we have to remind ourselves when we are feeling anxious.”
