Three Ways to Reduce Your Anxiety
  1. Stop Trying to be Perfect
    2. You'll never make it! We human beings are a work-in-progress. If you're a human being (and I suspect you are if you're reading this!), then you have an "automatic ticket" to making mistakes in life. We just simply can't get around the fact that we're usually going to fall short of being perfect.

    Why does "trying to be perfect" create anxiety? We'll make ourselves anxious by trying to be perfect, because we can't achieve it. That's because rarely can we be perfect in what we do. It's not that something is wrong with us. We're simply not built to be perfect.

    Many times we'll give up before we even start something, sure that we won't be perfect at it.

    I tell my clients that it's normal to "fail our way to success." What does that mean? A lot of times it's our mistakes that teach us something valuable. Our mistakes help us "correct" ourselves. We can learn from mistakes, and then we can use what we've learned to do better the next time.

    Instead of trying to be perfect, strive to do the best that you can. Doing the best that you can still lets you aim for excellence, and it can reduce your anxiety.

    You can relax more when you take the pressure off of yourself to be perfect. You can still plan to do your best. But now you've given yourself permission to be less-than-perfect as you seek to do your best.

  2. Make Friends with "Change"
    3. We human beings usually don't like change. Instead, we like life to be consistent and routine. We relax more when we know what to expect every day.

    However, "change" is inevitable! Just about the time you're getting comfortable with your life, change happens, and life is disrupted.

    Change makes us feel anxious. Change makes us feel tense and uncomfortable. We don't know what to expect anymore, and we don't feel safe. But if we try to resist the change, we'll create even MORE anxiety for ourselves.

    Instead, if you face the change squarely, head-on, you'll manage your anxiety much better. If you can recognize you're in the middle of change, you can ask yourself, "What do I need to do to handle this as best as I can?"

    When you're faced with change, maybe you need to reach out for support from trusted friends or family. Maybe you need to pace yourself through the change. Make sure you're getting rest and eating right, and getting some exercise. Perhaps you need to be especially gentle with yourself, and take the pressure off of yourself.

    Change needs to be managed as well as you can do so. You will get through it, and then – a new, comfortable routine is usually established again. So, don't run from it; instead, deal with it. And that will help you reduce the anxiety brought about by change.

  3. Stop Trying to Control EVERYTHING
    4. Are you a "control freak?" Has anyone ever told you that you're a "controlling person?" Or, maybe you've thought that about yourself.

    We tend to want to control every aspect of a situation. We think that if we can control every part of a situation, we'll feel safer, and reduce our anxiety. But this strategy causes greater anxiety for us: we're trying to over-control, and we get anxious because it doesn't work!

    Instead, focus on the parts of the situation that you can control. Determine which parts of the situation you CAN control and solve. Then, focus on those parts, and handle them to the best of your ability in that given moment.

    If you're ready to reduce your anxiety and feel relaxed and good about your life, please contact me for a free phone consultation. We can then decide how I may be able to help you reduce your anxiety, panic attacks, fears or phobias with counseling or hypnotherapy .



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