Ronni
The motormouth ;)
- Location
- Nashville TN
Of course, this won't apply to you if you're not an anxious person in general. I am, and so I am always looking for ways to mitigate my sometimes, but not always, irrational moments or times. I don't suffer from anxiety to the point that I have been diagnosed with GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) but it can nonetheless affect the quality of my life if I don't keep it under control.
Example: I get very anxious when I'm running late for an appointment. I do everything I can so as not to be late, but unforeseen or uncontrollable situations can sometimes thwart that, like traffic issues. Even with GPS which I employ every time I have an appointment so I know exactly how long it will take to get there, if an accident happens while I'm on the road, that's out of my control. A ridiculously simple strategy to stop my anxiety from ramping up in that situation is that I just don't look at the clock! It sounds silly, but the more I see I'm late, the more anxious I get, and so my heart rate increases, I get more and more tense, lightheaded, and can begin to panic. It's a simple choice that I CAN control: Don't look at the clock! (NOTE: As soon as I think I may be late, I'll send a quick text to let the person know that I'm running behind, just to be considerate)
Example: When I'm faced with too many choices for something that will tend to ramp up my anxiety. It doesn't matter if I'm shopping for a dress, trying to decide where to go on a getaway, buying a new dishwasher etc., if there are too many choices I start panicking. Depending on the situation, I will tell Ron to find a few things HE likes and I'll choose from that list, or take Paige (my daughter) shopping with me and have her pick out a few things for me to try on and I'll choose from them (and I do the same for her because she's anxious too) I can get creative about ways to mitigate my choices, like ONLY looking at the first three pages of something on Amazon, or limiting myself to one store. Either/or choices are easy it's the ones that have dozens or hundreds of possibilities that create issues.
I have plenty more examples but you get the idea. So what about you? What do you do? Any tips and tricks to share?
Example: I get very anxious when I'm running late for an appointment. I do everything I can so as not to be late, but unforeseen or uncontrollable situations can sometimes thwart that, like traffic issues. Even with GPS which I employ every time I have an appointment so I know exactly how long it will take to get there, if an accident happens while I'm on the road, that's out of my control. A ridiculously simple strategy to stop my anxiety from ramping up in that situation is that I just don't look at the clock! It sounds silly, but the more I see I'm late, the more anxious I get, and so my heart rate increases, I get more and more tense, lightheaded, and can begin to panic. It's a simple choice that I CAN control: Don't look at the clock! (NOTE: As soon as I think I may be late, I'll send a quick text to let the person know that I'm running behind, just to be considerate)
Example: When I'm faced with too many choices for something that will tend to ramp up my anxiety. It doesn't matter if I'm shopping for a dress, trying to decide where to go on a getaway, buying a new dishwasher etc., if there are too many choices I start panicking. Depending on the situation, I will tell Ron to find a few things HE likes and I'll choose from that list, or take Paige (my daughter) shopping with me and have her pick out a few things for me to try on and I'll choose from them (and I do the same for her because she's anxious too) I can get creative about ways to mitigate my choices, like ONLY looking at the first three pages of something on Amazon, or limiting myself to one store. Either/or choices are easy it's the ones that have dozens or hundreds of possibilities that create issues.
I have plenty more examples but you get the idea. So what about you? What do you do? Any tips and tricks to share?