Coping with Anxiety Module

What is anxiety? Let's take a look at how anxiety is defined.

• A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

• In Psychiatry- Anxiety is a nervous disorder characterized by a state of excessive uneasiness and apprehension, typically with compulsive behavior or panic attacks

• Some examples of anxiety disorders include panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
  
  

What are some strategies we can use for coping with anxiety? We will look into two areas, preventative and in the moment.

In The Moment Strategies

We will now look at our "In The Moment Strategies ". We will break our "in the moment strategies into two groupings: Internal/Mental and External/Physical.

Iceberg Analogy

In The Moment Strategies:
Internal/Mental

Iceberg Bottom Section Defined:

"The section under water, that's hidden, are the internal strategies. These are the strategies that we do in our minds and in our thoughts. So, let's take a look at all these strategies together."

Counting - Forwards or Backwards. 

Visualize - Think of a place that is calming and or relaxing - Like your favorite season of the year. 

Visualize Someone You Care About and Remember How They Make You Feel.
 

Use Positive Self-Talk - Words of Encouragement
 

Meditate - etc. 

Think about the strategies you just read. Consider which of the strategies, listed above, have you used. Then spend some time to consider other strategies not listed, which you have used in the past. After you have spent some time thinking about "your strategies" write them down.

The more often you practice strategies, which work for you, the more effective and easier your experiences will become.

When we practice our coping strategies, we are managing our thinking. We do this by focusing on our coping strategy to rebalance our thoughts with “realistic thinking”. This means we look at ourselves, others around us, and the world around us without being overly negative or positive. As with any other skill, the more these strategies are practiced, the quicker they will work and the more effective these strategies will be. 

Your instructor will discuss with you options as you review various situations.

Planning and Practice

Decrease your stress and anxiety by planning for situations ahead.

Things to do with your instructor.

Selecting your strategies.

Have a dialog with your instructor and work through the process of what works for you, as you select Preventative Strategies, Internal Strategies, and External Strategies. Then discuss any other strategies, you may have written down in your personal worksheets, during this course.

Discuss Situations.

Discuss your strategies for various situations, such as:

• School

• Within your community

• Personal Situations

[ [VIDEO: To Be Added] ]

Fill in your Personal Situations Worksheet

Practice Selecting Your Preventative Strategies

In this exercise, you will grab any of the strategies you want to try out. There is no correct answer, except what works for you. Click here to open the interactive exercise. 

Discuss Additional Options.

There are multiple options and strategies to use as tools attached to your tool belt. It is important that you select the tools which work for you best. Don't pick a strategy because it sounds "cool". Pick what works for you.