People with anxiety disorders are usually plagued with constant worry and fear. Their lives are greatly impacted by the symptoms of the disorder. People can get treatment for anxiety disorders through therapy and medication. They can also learn basic coping skills that they can implement on a regular basis to decrease symptoms of anxiety.
Control
It's important to understand the relationship between anxiety and control and how you can use control to decrease symptoms of anxiety. Many people worry about things that are out of their control. For instance, someone with a fear of flying may worry about getting into a plane crash, which is ultimately out of that person's control if he's flying. Learning how to control what you can and letting go of things that you can't control can help in coping with anxiety.
For instance, someone who suffers from social anxiety may constantly worry about her peers liking and accepting her. This may make it next to impossible to make and keep friends. However, if that person understands that part of whether a person likes you is up to you and focuses on the parts that she can control, she can become less anxious. We know that first impressions are important, so the person can focus on looking her best, being herself and portraying confidence when meeting others. If others don't accept her, she can't control it and should move on.
Irrational Thoughts
Many times a person's thoughts are what affect her emotions and behavior, so if you can combat irrational and negative thoughts, you can reduce anxiety. For example, someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder may always have to do things in sets of 10 and believes that if he doesn't do things such as wash his hands, open a door and eat cookies in sets of 10 something bad will happen. A therapist would work with this person to combat the irrational thoughts and help him do things without doing them in sets of 10. The person will quickly realize that bad things don't happen due to how many times he does something.
Relax
People who suffer from anxiety disorders usually don't have healthy coping skills to deal with the symptoms. To reduce symptoms, someone can learn healthy ways to relax and implement those ways on a regular basis. Progressive muscle relaxation, meditation and visualization are all techniques that someone can use to decrease anxiety in the moment. Someone who struggles with anxiety should also work on preventing stress and anxiety. She should do at least one thing each day that helps her to prevent anxiety such as exercising, reading a romance novel, taking a bubble bath or getting a manicure.
