The Question That Can Help Tame Anxiety

Anxiety is something every person will encounter. Some experience it in certain triggering situations, and some experience it on a daily basis. When anxiety gets out of control, it can lead to some negative experiences. So how can we diminish our anxiety, or at least take the edge off? One way is by asking ourselves a very important question:

“Is this in my control?”

While this question may not apply to or solve every scenario, it can still be a useful tool. This simple question just may bring some relief from many of the constant worries that plague people with anxiety. Sometime the things we worry about are in our control, and other times they are not in our control (and yet we continue to worry about them). One important step to beating anxiety is to know the difference between these two types of situations, and then to choose what to do from there.

Practicing this technique will allow you to change the way you deal with anxiety and begin to instill better mental health habits for the future. The key word here is practice. So let’s talk about how we can begin to practice using this question to our benefit.

If you decide that no, this is not in my control, then it is simple to conclude that continuing to worry about it will do you no good. The best way to proceed is to accept that the circumstances are what they are. Now, this doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything you can do about the situation, and it certainly does not mean that you should simply lie down and accept your fait. The point is that it is useless to stay frozen in worry if there is ultimately nothing that can be done to change the situation itself. So instead, try distracting yourself from the problem, see if there is a way to change your feelings about the problem, or simply guide your mind to another topic or issue that you can control.

So what if the answer to the question is that yes, it is in your control? Well, that means you have options! That means that it is up to you to decide what is next. You have determined that you can influence or change the issue, so now the next step is to decide the best path of action to deal with said problem rather than dwelling on the fact that there is a problem.

The ultimate goal of asking yourself this question is not to have a magic fix for everything. Rather, it is an easy formula to help you both put things into perspective AND proceed onto the action step. Whether it is gently directing your thoughts away from the uncontrollable circumstance, or directing your thoughts to a possible solution to the controllable circumstance. Either way, the goal is to get away from the constant worry loop in your head and move towards action. Because in action, there is much less room for anxiety.