How to Build Adaptive Stress Responses to Help Anxiety

When you’re suffering from anxiety, you might attempt to avoid potentially stressful situations at all costs. You may be skipping social events, feeling overwhelmed if you make a minor mistake at work, or talking yourself out of trying new things because you’re afraid of embarrassing yourself. But you can’t eliminate challenges from your life entirely. Trying to do so will only cut you off from fulfilling new experiences and close relationships and possibly impact your self-esteem.

Instead, developing adaptive stress responses will strengthen your emotional resilience and help you navigate difficult situations without feeling anxious. Here’s how to gradually change your response to stress so that you can let go of your anxiety.

Identify Your Specific Triggers

First, it’s important to determine what specifically triggers your anxiety. Maybe you’re dealing with social anxiety, or perhaps your anxiety worsens when you’re at work. You might also experience anxiety around a specific activity, like driving. When you understand which situations exacerbate your anxiety, you’ll know when to turn to your coping mechanisms. You’ll be able to prepare yourself for these situations, and when you navigate them successfully, you’ll build confidence over time.

Engage in Mindfulness Practices

Committing to regular mindfulness practices can drastically reduce your anxiety. Furthermore, you can engage in these practices at any time, not just when you’re feeling anxious or when you’re about to enter a stressful situation. For instance, you may want to commit to a daily meditation habit.

Meditating for just five minutes in the morning and evening can help you stay calm and grounded throughout the day. You can also try journaling or taking walks while listening to guided meditations. Deep, slow breathing is another easy mindfulness habit that you can turn to at any time.

Physical Self-Care

If you’re exhausted, hungry, and dehydrated, you’ll be far more vulnerable to anxiety, no matter what’s going on in your life. To alleviate your anxiety, it’s important to prioritize physical self-care. This includes aiming for eight hours of sleep every night, eating nutritious meals throughout the day, exercising regularly, and getting some fresh air, and drinking plenty of water.

When you’re physically run down, your body will naturally feel tense, and you’ll have more difficulty staying calm in tough situations. But when you take care of your physical needs, you’ll likely find that your mental health improves, too.

Focus on Self-Compassion

Perhaps you frequently criticize yourself, and you assume that doing so ensures you reach high standards. But self-criticism can backfire as a source of motivation. Being so tough on yourself can worsen your anxiety, because you end up berating yourself for small mishaps. As a result, you become even more anxious about doing something wrong, and you find ways to criticize yourself for mistakes that other people are unlikely to notice.

Rather than focusing on self-criticism, emphasize self-compassion. Speak to yourself the way you would speak to a friend and do not “punish” yourself when you make a mistake. Instead, remind yourself that you’re only human, and you can always try again.

Turn to Social Support

You do not have to deal with anxiety alone. Maybe you’ve been trying to hide your anxiety out of embarrassment, but opening up to your loved ones about how you’re feeling can help relieve your stress. Anxiety is a normal part of the human condition, and chances are, some of your friends deal with anxiety, too. Sharing your feelings with a therapist can also be a great way to find support.

If you’re struggling to get your anxiety under control and manage stress without feeling overwhelmed, I encourage you to  Schedule a FREE Consultation Today to learn more about therapy options.