These are two words that have been at the forefront during the last 3 years. They have plagued everyone I know. The worst thing is that resources to treat anxiety disorders are scarce.

Recently, I’ve had three clients and a close friend who have experienced crippling anxiety and fear. The effects? One is on very strong sedative meds and may be abusing them. The others, who are already thin, are losing even more weight.

Most of us already know what stress can do to the body. It can make us lose weight, gain weight, experience back and neck pain, migraines (me last night), anxiety attacks, high blood pressure, nightmares, loss of sleep…the list goes on.

Many people turn to medicine and behavioral therapy. However, the problem since the pandemic started, is that behavioral therapists have such a backlog of patients waiting to be treated, that it can take months to be seen and treated. The longer the wait, the worse the symptoms can get.

Many times, these emotions can be situational and temporary. But for others, it can be a chronic condition. Both the nature of our neurological health and outside factors can and have taken a toll on our bodies and ability to cope with everyday life. And what do most of us witness presently? Increased gun violence, physical violence, aggressive driving, domestic assault, and substance abuse. The world is mad.

According to some experts, humans as a collective, have not had the opportunity to process all the emotional trauma brought up from the pandemic. This, according to the medical community, is why we are angry and fearful.

I, myself, suffer from a generalized anxiety disorder and depression. I manage it through medication that I have been on for a very long time. Most of the time, I am a fully functioning adult. Sometimes, however, I will fall into the grip of my own fears and anxiety.

So, what do we do to mitigate these negative emotions and thought distortions? After half my life in therapy, I have developed some great coping tools to help me overcome my anxiety, and I would like to share them with you today.

Thought Distortions

What are thought distortions? They are negative patterns of thinking that can induce anxiety and fear. One such distortion is called magnification. This is when our thoughts snowball into something much bigger than it is.

For example, when I got laid off in February 2010, I went into panic mode. I immediately thought I would not be able to pay my bills, which meant that my credit would go down, I would lose my apartment, my car, and I would be homeless and starving. This is exactly where my mind went.

I woke up and went to bed every day for a year with a racing heart, mind, and trembling hands. My worst fears, of course, did not come true. I asked for help from my family and quickly got a new job. It may not have been in my chosen field at first, but it paid the bills until I found something better. I got through it, and I turned out to be fine.

The key in stopping this behavior is recognizing when it happens and literally stopping those thoughts, even if that means saying “Stop it!” out loud. Look at all the times in your life where you felt that the rug got pulled from underneath you, and you still came out standing. Would you really not do anything to improve your situation and allow yourself to become homeless and starving? No, of course not.

When I got laid off due to the pandemic, I applied for unemployment insurance and received it. I was able to budget and pay my bills. The federal government helped the majority of the population with stimulus checks. I had plenty of toilet paper, thankfully. I did not give into the hoarding behavior of others and kept thinking that there would always be more of what I needed. In other words, I practiced abundant thinking, had faith that the universe would not let me fail, and it worked. If there was no Lysol to disinfect the surfaces in my home, I turned to other methods like tea tree oil, vinegar, and lemon.

Ultimately, I found what I needed. I also turned to some activities that helped calm me down. I learned to play guitar, I colored, I took my dog for a lot of walks, and I even gardened. Before long, I was teaching classes remotely. I even produced and edited my own workout video.

Fast forward to 2022, and I am working full-time. I still have a roof over my head, paying my bills, have food on the table, and am leading a normal life.