Thought Patterns That Increase Anxiety

Life often throws curveballs. And just before you regain some order, life adds more challenges. You may stack your problems in a pile instead of addressing each one. Anxiety increase as you become overwhelmed by it all.

Instead, list your concerns from the most to the least anxiety-causing. Then go over each one at a time.

"I feel trapped." It can feel overwhelming to think that all decisions are final with no way of changing. If you are unhappy with your job, you can look for another one. If you don't like where you live, you can explore alternatives.

Carefully consider the necessary information to make a good decision. While changing course can cost you and others, you can still reverse course if it becomes necessary.

Thinking in extremes simplifies decision-making but neglecting to consider more possibilities can give you excessive anxiety.

There is a place for all or nothing thinking, such as surgery or flying an aeroplane. However, many daily actions do not carry that level of responsibility. You can make a mistake on an exam and still have a successful outcome. You are a work in progress. Give yourself the grace to make and learn from your mistakes.

The most common thought pattern that causes anxiety is when we ignore all the possible scenarios and settle on the worst possible outcome, even if it is improbable.

Many of our biggest worries never come to fruition. Take some time to think of the odds that your fear will become a reality. Also, focus on taking reasonable precautions to protect yourself against the worst possible outcome.

We wrongly connect our self-worth to our level of success. We chase success with the hope to build our self-worth, then anxiety increase when we think we may fail.

In truth, our self-worth is not determined by our success, degrees, education level, physical abilities, looks or earning power. Your self-worth is part of your humanity. You are worthy being you are human.