Anxiety: The Hunter and How to Not Be Prey

Change is stressful simply because it’s something you’re not used to, even if it’s positive. It then becomes a breeding ground for anxiety as well, causing certain issues to resurface even if you thought you’ve dealt with them well enough in the past. As things breed they get hungry, it’s how they grow. One of the ways of looking at anxiety is that it’s trying to control something beyond your control. So, when you’re in situations when there is so much happening outside of your control, such as a period of change, your anxiety will grasp at straws in an attempt to control whatever it can. This is when your anxiety starts to hunt and that’s truly when things can get out of hand.
Maybe it’s that you’ve just graduated from college, which is a very positive change. However, now you need to find a job. You can engage in an extensive job search, but the act of looking doesn’t in itself obtain employment. Unfortunately, there are other factors, such as the person who checks your resume, with whom you might interview, or if the employer doesn’t feel you’re qualified enough. Naturally, this is anxiety-provoking since you can’t control the whole situation even while giving it your best effort.
Anxiety then becomes more significant and starts to hunt in order to stay strong. Sometimes, its prey might be your relationships with family, friends, or your significant other. All of a sudden you start to doubt these things that had always seemed so strong before. You question if your friends are still there for you, how crazy your family really is, or whether or not you see a future with your partner. The truth might be that nothing has really changed with any of that, but the uncontrollable change in your own life is making you see things differently. So, what do you do? You feed your anxiety instead so that it doesn’t look for something to hunt and end up ruining something good.
You recognize that it’s your anxiety and not self-doubt and then intervene with whatever works for you to deescalate it. Sometimes starting simple is the best way. Considering the relationship between anxiety and control, it becomes a matter of determining what you still can have an effect on and then doing something about it. It can be as insignificant as washing a full sink of dishes or getting back to some projects you’ve let fall by the wayside. Anything you can do to build confidence in knowing that you’re capable of accomplishing something. As irrelevant as it might seem, it beats anxiety going in for the kill and the victims being the things you hold dear.
If you’re having a hard time keeping the anxiety from its predatory nature, call Specialized Therapy Associates (STA), at (201) 488-6678, so that we might be able to satiate its hunger in a healthier way.