How to Deal With Anxiety?
A friend of mine recently experienced sudden anxiety attacks and asked my advice to deal with this worrying feeling when he knew I had this experience before.
Note: This article is based on the work of Darius Foroux, who tells us about his experience in dealing with anxiety.
In the past, I have been looking for ways to overcome anxiety or for a cure to get rid of it once and for all, but after reading dozens of books and hundreds of articles on the subject, I have discovered that anxiety cannot be cured; it must be dealt with.
Dealing with anxiety is a constant battle for most of us, it's not a game or a competition, and it's not like you can overcome anxiety once and for all; people often say they "overcome" anxiety, I don't believe that, and the only way you can overcome anxiety is to avoid life's difficulties.
Dealing with criticism, hatred, and negativity
Last month, more than a million people read my articles; my content also grabbed the attention of people who don't like it, and some of those people criticize it, and I have no problem with that; the Internet is a free place, and everyone can say whatever they want, and most people are civilized in their opinions and criticisms, but sometimes it is not without some hateful messages.
Most writers and content creators don't like it, and at first, I didn't like people's criticism of what I write and share either, and I said to myself, "If you don't like it, why are you reading?".
But whenever I receive these hateful messages, I often find an opportunity to follow up; when someone criticizes you, you feel upset and perhaps anxious, which is unpleasant. I prefer to read an email from a reader who has made a big difference in his life after reading an article of my own, and fortunately, this also happens, but I have also learned to accept hatred because it is training for me.
You have to deal with anxiety; avoiding it was not an option for me, and I read a while ago an article from an author who proudly said that his assistant checks his email for some messages that contain criticism or hatred so that he can not see or read them, I understand that; it is not fun to read those things, but how can you protect yourself from being annoyed or offended without exposing yourself to criticism?
Face it: life isn't easy
My first response to almost everything disturbing in life is to avoid it; I avoid reading criticism and hate messages, I don't want to deal with annoying landlords when I search for properties, I don't want to market my book, I don't want to run when I feel tired, I want everyone to like the content I present, I want people to give me the best deals, everyone to buy my book themselves, and I want to be and feel good without seeking it.
You and I know that the reality is not like this; the truth is that life is complicated and not easy; we face tiring things all the time, which causes a lot of anxiety, for example:
- What if I fail in my business?
- What if no one likes me?
- What if I experience rejection from my partner?
- What if I end up alone?
- What if I get sick?
- What if my family dies?
You have to realize that anxiety is normal, it's part of normal life.
When you try to avoid feeling anxious, you don't live, I always remind myself of that. When I feel anxious it means I am doing something right, yet constant anxiety is a problem, and there is no magical solution to that either; dealing with anxiety is difficult and will always be difficult.
Never say, “Why me?” Rather, say, "This is me".
Some things that help get rid of anxiety
Changing your mindset will significantly help you deal with anxiety. Still, you also need to take action to prevent anxiety from taking over your life, not just evolving in the way you deal with it and containing this thing that is trying to absorb your energy.
Here are a few things that will help you:
1. Daily exercise performance
This helps you strengthen your physical and mental structure, the stronger you are, the more confident you will feel.
2. Start your day with something uncomfortable for you
Just because I publish so many articles, people assume that I always like to write them, but that's not the case; writing is a hard and boring practice, and I often want to avoid it, so I force myself to start the day by writing, and when I worked previously in sales, I started my day looking for potential clients.
3. Note your anxiety in your diaries
Express your inner anxiety and fears in writing, and this way, you will get rid of them.
In conclusion
There is no other solution, you have to deal with anxiety and face this deep feeling within you without fearing it, at some point you realize that it is just a feeling and that it will weaken once you stop feeding it by constantly thinking about it; fear will never benefit you; on the contrary, this silly feeling will prevent you from living life in full details.