4 Ways to Overcome Anxiety: Tips from a Denver Anxiety Therapist
As we’re transitioning into the new year, many of us are making resolutions: wanting to eat healthier, exercise more, catch up with friends on a regular basis or pursue professional goals. The holidays can also really distract us from things that we’ve been dealing with - all of the planning, excitement and social time can make it hard to pause and check in with ourselves about what’s really going on. During such a busy time of year, it can be hard to make time for starting new routines to address things like anxiety and mental health. Or maybe you told yourself that you were just stressed because of the holidays, and once the new year was here you’d be feeling more calm. But now that it’s January and you’re still feeling on edge, overwhelmed and not sleeping well, you’re confused about what to do. Should you just wait it out and hope that it will pass? But if you’re being real with yourself, you’ve noticed some hints of anxiety even before the holiday season started - sleepless nights that you’ve been dealing with for years, feeling like you have to be productive all the time and struggling to relax, or muscle tension and stomach problems that your doctor hasn’t found any cause for.
Anxiety disorders are the most commonly diagnosed mental health condition in the US, affecting at least 40 million or 19.1% of adult Americans each year. And those are just the people who are seeking treatment or meet criteria for a diagnosis - many people deal with day-to-day anxiety but don’t feel that they are struggling “enough” to get professional help. Women are also more likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety condition than men, which makes sense when you think about all the hats we wear and responsibilities we juggle. So, how do you stop feeling so overwhelmed all the time? First, let’s take a look at where anxiety comes from.
Where Does Anxiety Come From?
From an evolutionary perspective, anxiety serves a purpose: to alert us to dangers in our environment and keep us safe, maximizing our chances of survival. Even social anxiety served a purpose for early humans, in that behaving according to social norms both keeps you from being rejected by the group (also necessary for survival) and promotes the group’s safety. Anxiety can even be considered a positive trait for early humans to have, which makes it more likely to be passed down. The only problem is, most present-day humans aren’t running from predators or in danger of being attacked by their peers. We’re just left with traits like overthinking, second-guessing and an ultra-sensitive nervous system that don’t serve us as well in the 21st century as they did in the past.
Present-day anxiety can come from a lot of different places, and often is a result of a combination of different things. People can be more likely to experience anxiety if they have a parent or other family member that struggles with anxiety - this can be caused both from genetic predisposition, or learned behaviors growing up with an anxious parent. Anxiety can also be related to past traumas, stressful life events, or being exposed to circumstances where you do not feel safe. Life transitions can be a big trigger for anxiety, as well as hormonal changes that occur during puberty, after childbirth or pregnancy loss, and menopause. When you look at all these factors, it makes sense that most of us experience anxiety at some point in our lives - these are things that most people deal with. Societal factors can also have a big impact on anxiety - as technology evolves, it can feel like we are expected to be connected all the time, taking in stimuli from a lot of different sources and constantly flooded with negative news. It makes sense that our brains are going on overdrive, trying to scan all of this information for potential threats. According to the APA’s annual mental health poll, in 2024 adults said they felt more anxious compared to the previous year, and anxiety among adults has increased every year for at least the last 3 years . The biggest driver of this anxiety has been related to current events such as the economy, election and gun violence.
Why Anxiety Feels So Powerful
Anxiety feels so powerful because when your brain senses a threat (even if that’s the risk of embarrassing yourself in front of your coworkers or forgetting to pack something for your vacation, rather than getting eaten by a lion), it really wants you to notice. It also wants to prepare you to be able to defend yourself and survive. When your brain detects a threat, it will flood you with stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which increase your heart rate, raise your body temperature and tense your muscles, getting you ready to fight. When you feel anxious, it can also be really hard to focus on anything except for the thing you’re worried about. This too would have been advantageous to humans’ survival - it’s not helpful to think about going foraging for berries when there is a predator approaching. Anxiety can be helpful in many ways today as well - feeling anxious about an interview can help you to prepare in advance, and increase your chances of making a good impression. But sometimes, the anxiety we feel is out of proportion to the risk involved, which can make it hard to function. When you notice this happening on an ongoing basis, it’s time to get help for your anxiety.
How to Overcome Anxiety
Here are some tips for overcoming anxiety when it starts to feel a little too powerful in your life:
Lifestyle choices
Eating a balanced diet and maintaining a regular exercise routine can be immensely helpful in managing anxiety. Foods that contribute to inflammation like processed and fried foods can actually make anxiety worse. It’s also important to prioritize a diet where your blood sugar is balanced, because blood sugar swings can cause irritability and anxiety. Exercise helps manage anxiety by releasing endorphins (the body’s “feel good” chemicals) and improving brain chemistry so that more calming neurotransmitters are released. Regular caffeine and alcohol intake also contribute to anxiety, so it’s important to be mindful of this and use in moderation.
Prioritize good sleep
The relationship between anxiety and sleep is a two-way street - when we sleep poorly we feel more anxious, and when we feel anxious we sleep poorly. Creating positive sleep habits can be really helpful in managing anxiety - this can look like limiting screen time at least an hour before bed, having a calming wind-down routine, and planning ahead to start bedtime at least 7-8 hours before you need to be up in the morning.
Present moment awareness
When we feel anxious, we are often worried about things in the future that haven’t happened yet and are out of our control. Practicing awareness of the present moment can help you to feel less anxious and more grounded. Focusing on our senses can help to bring us out of our heads and into the present.
Try this 54321 grounding exercise by asking yourself:
What are 5 things I can see right now?
4 things I can touch?
3 things I can hear?
2 things I can smell?
And 1 thing I can taste?
Challenge unhelpful thinking patterns
Part of anxiety can be dealing with thoughts that feel intrusive, unhelpful or overly negative. When you notice this happening, asking yourself questions like “What’s the evidence for this?” “What would I tell a friend in this situation?” or sometimes even labeling thoughts as “anxious thoughts” and shifting your focus to something else can help you to feel less consumed by anxiety.
Therapy Can Help You Overcome Anxiety
If it feels like all of this is too overwhelming and you don’t even know where to start, seeing a therapist can help you to overcome anxiety and feel more in control of your life. In addition to looking at lifestyle habits and thinking patterns, working with a therapist can help you get a better sense of where your anxiety comes from in the first place, and what your triggers are. Through therapy for anxiety you can find healing and get to the root of your anxiety. Working together with an anxiety counselor can help hold you accountable to working towards your goals. Anxiety is part of the human experience, and there is no shame in seeking help.
Other Services at Root to Rise Therapy:
Other mental health services at Root to Rise Therapy include Therapy for Anxiety, Therapy for Perfectionism, Therapy for People-Pleasing, Cultural Identity Counseling, ADHD Therapy, Counseling for Moms and Postpartum Counseling. I see clients located in Colorado, New York and New Jersey. Contact me to learn more about how I can help you overcome anxiety and reclaim your life!
