Keeping My Anxiety Alive

http://www.thetruthaboutalleviatingstressandanxiety.org/ Did you know there’s something called “maintaining causes” for anxiety. In other words, you have an anxiety disorder and you keep the flames burning because of the way you think and feel. Anxiety is a normal reaction to something that causes fear or worry. When normal anxiety occurs, it’s temporary. After a short while the anxiety dissipates and you stop worrying. But some people actually prolong their anxiety by talking themselves into worrying more and longer than necessary.

One of the most common ways people increase their anxiety is by convincing themselves they need to worry about all the “what-ifs”. If you’ve ever known anyone who always thinks about the worst that can happen, you’ll recognize what I’m talking about. When you maintain your anxiety this way, the anxiety usually gets worse. It can even lead to outright panic attacks. It’s a vicious cycle too. The more you talk about all the bad things that could happen (but probably won’t), the worse your anxiety can get.