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Anxiety. That ugly monster that creeps up behind you when you least expect it. One day you’re fine and the next day you’re locked in the bathroom freaking out and having a hard time catching your breath.

Everyone experiences anxiety at some point, though some experience it worse than others. Regardless of how severe your anxiety is or what situation you find yourself in, many people’s minds are flooded with roughly the same thoughts: “I am completely overwhelmed!”, “How the hell did this happen to me?”, “What am I going to do now?”,  ”I don’t have any control over this!” For a few minutes there whatever hardship or stress that you are facing feels like it’s the end of the world.

So how does one deal with anxiety when it hits? You may think that stress and anxiety are an inevitable part of life, and for the most part they are. However, how you handle the situation at hand is what will determine just how much you freak out. Below you will find a list of tips to help you with your next fit of anxiety.

1. Acceptance

I am one of those people who sometimes confuses acceptance with being complacent, so I feel like I should clarify what I mean by the term “acceptance.” Acceptance does not mean throwing our hands in the air and giving up. In fact, the term is not meant to have any negative connotation. What I mean by acceptance is simply this: as humans we must come to terms with the fact that we cannot control everything. This may sound funny coming from a self proclaimed control freak, but the simple truth of the matter is that we cannot completely control people, events, circumstances, or time. The only thing we truly have control over is ourselves.

2. Feel and then move on.

We don’t live in a perfect world, so you can bet that there will be many things or people that hurt us. We will also be met with many hardships and challenges along the way. You will no doubt have difficult feelings to sort through at some point in your life. Unfortunately, I know from experience that people tend to do one of two things: not allow themselves to feel anything or hold on to hurt. The first thing we have to remember is that we are human and not stone, we have feelings and we have every right to feel them when we’ve been wronged. The next thing we have to remember is that we are not slaves to our pain, after we have let ourselves feel we can move on whenever we like.

3. Give yourself time to relax.

Many times when we are feeling overwhelmed it is because we have bitten off more than we can chew at that very moment. Please remember that as humans we need breaks. We need to catch our breath every once in a while or we’ll run ourselves into the ground. The next time you find yourself overwhelmed with anxiety, take a few minutes to yourself. Take a walk, sit in silence, breathe, paint, do whatever it is that calms you down. And don’t worry about everything you should be thinking about, you can get back to that when you’re done.

And perhaps the most important thing to remember when dealing with anxiety is the following:  you are the one who chooses how you feel – no one else.

Amanda Abella

Amanda Abella is a freelance writer and language instructor based out of Miami, Florida. She has been writing professionally since 2009 and holds a degree in English Literature from Ave Maria University. Amanda Abella is available for freelance work, why not hire her?

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