The 7 ways to deal with anxiety

What feels like the end is often the beginning. The key is to not give up the fight.

Have you ever been in conversation with someone who thinks they are calm and that they don’t suffer from anxiety, but the more you engage with them, the more you discern that they’re anxious without even realizing it? I’ve always wondered why that is. It dawned on me that the issue is that most people may not think they have anxiety (me included) because, typically, when you think of a person who is dealing with anxiety, you might picture someone who is paralyzed with fear or someone who talks a lot about endless worries and can barely get out of bed in the morning.

You see, for the longest time, I’ve always considered myself someone who’s really calm and doesn’t suffer much from anxiety. Even during my teen years, I’ve had some of my friends ask me, “How come you don’t seem to be bothered or worried?” about the outcome of certain situations that seemingly looked stressful and should have produced a level of anxiety in me then. I consider myself a logically realistic and rational person, and therefore, I didn’t understand all along that my anxious care was, in fact, anxiety.

First of all, what is anxiety? Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, uneasiness, nervousness, or worry that can be mild or severe. Because we live in an uncertain world, bouts of anxiety can overtake any of us - logically rational or not. For instance, do the following statements describe how you feel at times?