It’s so frustrating to feel anxious, especially when we are aware that what we are anxious about is probably irrational. We can know this in our brain, but our bodies betray us by staying on edge, restless.

cartoon brain with confused expression and red question marks — We get stuck in a cycle of telling our brain, “That’s never going to happen. Stop it.”

And then the Brain replies with, “Yes, but what if…?”

It would be nice to be able to just bottle up our anxiety and send it away in the ocean, never to be seen again.

But we need it.

Anxiety is part of life, and actually, it helps us deal with the unpredictable challenges life throws at us. It’s normal. It’s necessary. Sometimes, it gives us that extra energy to keep us on our toes, doing the best job we can do. But sometimes it becomes a pattern, an automatic habit. It tends to overreact at times.

It becomes unmanageable and gets in the way of living the way we want to live.

Officially, anxiety disorders include (1):

Separation Anxiety Disorder
Selective Mutism
Specific Phobias
Social Anxiety Disorder
Panic Disorder
Agoraphobia
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Many people consider Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to be under anxiety’s umbrella, but this is formally its own separate category.

When people think of “anxiety,” it has been my experience that most often they are thinking of Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is officially defined as persistent and excessive anxiety that lasts at least 6 months. This anxiety shows up in worrying about common events (and then worrying some more). Other internal symptoms include irritability and difficulty with concentrating. It also shows up physically, in muscle tension, sleep issues, restlessness, and fatigue. It causes significant distress that gets in the way of being able to function at home, at work, or in other contexts (1).

Anxiety disorders can be very stubborn; it can take a lot of effort to shake them. But doing so can yield long-lasting peace. In fact, there are studies that indicate that addressing anxiety can reduce risks of disability and depression, slow cognitive decline, and general reduced quality of life (2).

Lenze and Wetherell (2) suggest that the way we experience anxiety changes over time. As children, we are more likely to worry and have specific phobias. As adults we still can experience worrying and phobias, but it becomes less common, while the experience of PTSD and panic seems to increase. In aging adults, worry tends to increase and the specific fear of falling shows up.

So how can we protect ourselves from increased anxiety?

Mindfulness

According to research, worry can reinforce itself as a habit (4). It may help us feel like we are more in control of our problems (although worrying rarely helps us gain control of anything). Worrying can also help us feel distracted from emotions that feel more unpleasant than worrying, like deep sadness, fear, and resentment. We don’t notice those deeper emotions when we worry (and we don’t realize that we are distracting ourselves from those emotions by worrying). Mindfulness helps bring us into the moment and be curious about our own reactions. This involves slowing down to notice how we are feeling, what we are thinking. It also involves teaching our inner critic that it’s ok to think and feel that way (4). The last thing we need is to beat ourselves up for feeling our emotions. When we get curious, we find that it makes sense to think and feel how we are feeling. When we externalize ourselves from the feeling, it is easier to recognize that we can also think and feel a different way. Our automatic thoughts are not always reality. My FACETS approach helps slow down the jumbled internal mess that triggers worry, but just taking time to slow yourself down and notice things with your five senses can do that, too.

Make the most of Technology

There are several apps out there that use strategies supported by research to help with anxiety. I came across some research by Wasil et al. (5) that looked into which apps are backed up by evidence. Pacifica, SAM, Simple Habit, Headspace, Moodpath, and Calm all contained at least 4 elements that are consistent with research for treatment of anxiety.

Apps I can recommend from personal use include:

Abide: This is one that offers meditations that include truths from the Christian Faith. Often Christians will hear the term “meditation” and assume it is something outside the Christian faith. We can meditate by focusing our mind on thoughts and beliefs that align with our faith.

Insight Timer: I just started using this one; it also has several options to include spiritual beliefs of all kinds. It also has meditations focused on relaxing the body, not just the mind. I am very impressed with this one so far!

(Note: I am not necessarily recommending these apps, as I have not used all of them myself, nor do I receive any benefits from the creators or retailers apps because I am mentioning them.)

Exercise

Honestly, this was one I listed just off the top of my head, thinking, “I am sure I will see tons of research that supports this,” but weirdly, I did not find much, and what I did find was not as solid as what I expected in endorsing exercise for anxiety.

Whaaaaat? My mind is blown a little bit!

It has been my personal experience that I feel better when I move my body, especially if I get outside in nature to do so. Strenuous exercise seems to help me clear my head and give all of that restless, excess energy a way to get out of my body. A nice walk seems to give me mental clarity. But that could just be me. It might be the act of getting outside or the feeling that I am doing something to take control of whatever is bugging me is what does the trick, and not the actual act of exercising.

The research I found is not silent about exercise and reducing anxiety, just not as definite and as extremely connected as I expected.

Saeed et al. (4) compared studies on research and anxiety and depression and found some evidence that aerobic and nonaerobic exercise has been proven to have a moderate positive effect on anxiety. However, they noted that the research on this is not super-conclusive, and exercise should be an added therapy, not a stand-alone therapy.

At best, it can’t hurt, and it might help!

Go to therapy

(You knew I was going to say that, right?)

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)

Many studies mention Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) as very effective to address anxiety. In CBT, we look at the thoughts that keep the anxiety going and work on disproving and interrupting those thoughts. We work on things we can do, not just things we can think, such as relaxation and habits that support healthy coping (3). CBT has a huge research base, in fact therapists sometimes get into discussions about whether CBT really is the most effective treatment for everything or whether it is just the one with the most research out there. It’s definitely effective, but also important to consider that there are other very, very effective approaches to work with anxiety.

EMDR Therapy

Many people think of EMDR as just for trauma, but many have explored applications of EMDR to other conditions. Anxiety is a major symptom of PTSD. It is what motivates the avoidance behaviors of someone who experiences PTSD. Similar to CBT, with EMDR therapy we look for those underlying beliefs that keep anxiety going and keep us responding in automatic, undesirable ways. EMDR is more of a body/brain-based way to challenge our limiting beliefs by addressing the memories that started and maintain the anxious belief. The limiting belief shifts on its own through the reprocessing that happens in EMDR.

Many therapists (myself included) look at trauma as one of the underlying causes of anxiety. I have written before about Big T trauma and little t trauma. Both can spark a limiting belief. Both are traumatic. When we look at anxiety through a trauma lens, using EMDR makes perfect sense. I have seen it effectively bring relief to my clients.

This is not an exhaustive list of ways we can protect ourselves from increased anxiety as we age. Research also listed social relationships, religion, developing coping skills, and cognitive stimulation in that list (3). Visiting your doctor to explore medications can be an option as well, but giving information about medication is outside my area of expertise.

Perhaps the most hopeful tidbit I have to offer today is the encouragement that we can do something for our anxiety.

Doing something now offers relief in the present, but can set you up to protect against risks in the future.

If you are already experiencing symptoms that are getting in the way of your life, we can work with that.

If you wonder if your anxiety is “normal” or if you are letting it bog you down too much, we can work with that, too.

Many people come to counseling as a preventative measure. It is a very healthy thing to challenge our “normal” because we may be stuck in some patterns we do not recognize.

I remember years ago I had to have surgery, and afterwards I was shocked by how much better I felt. I had been suffering for so long that I normalized it. I didn’t realize how bad it really was until I got out from under that burden. Getting out from under anxiety can be like that, too.

Please reach out if you are ready for help in addressing your anxiety.

References:

(1) American Psychiatric Association. (2013) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association Publishing

(2) Lenze, E. J., & Wetherell, J. L. (2011). A lifespan view of anxiety disorders. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. 13(4):381-99. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2011.13.4/elenze

(3) Saeed, S. A., Cunningham, K., & Bloch, R. M. (2019). Depression and Anxiety Disorders: Benefits of Exercise, Yoga, and Meditation. American Family Physician. 99(10):620-627.

(4) Brewer, J. A., & Roy, A. (2021). Can approaching anxiety like a habit lead to novel treatments? American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine 15(5):489-494. doi: 10.1177/15598276211008144.

(5) Wasil, A. R., Venturo-Conerly, K. E., Shingleton, R. M., & Weisz, J. R.(2019). A review of popular smartphone apps for depression and anxiety: Assessing the inclusion of evidence-based content. Behavior Research and Therapy, 123:103498. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2019.103498.

(6) Scelles,C., Bulnes, L. C. (2021) EMDR as Treatment Option for Conditions Other Than PTSD: A Systematic Review. Frontiers in Psychology, 12:644369. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.644369.

Jennie Sheffe is a National Certified Counselor ™ who helps women find freedom from anxiety and peace in their chaos. She sees clients virtually in the state of Pennsylvania, or in her Carlisle, PA office. She offers Christian counseling and EMDR Therapy.

Tips for Relieving Anxiety Now and Reducing Risks Later

We get stuck in a cycle of telling our brain, “That’s never going to happen. Stop it.”

And then the Brain replies with, “Yes, but what if…?”