Common Questions About Anxiety Answered

As reality sets in for individuals, anxiety can rise. Perceived and actual outcomes can cause distress twice if you find yourself identifying as someone who worries. Every event can be the next reason to become increasingly anxious.

At the root of anxiety can be fear of the unknown, feeling unsafe, a familial pattern of using survival techniques to solve problems or a response to stress. 

Sometimes, it is difficult to discern when anxiety is unmanageable because it can be a default to control a situation in your life. Anxiety can become out of control, which may be hard to admit to yourself.

There are a variety of techniques that can help you live a better life no matter how often you feel anxiety.

What gets rid of anxiety?

Anxiety you experience may or may not be an anxiety disorder that you feel throughout your entire life with varying degrees of severity. Regardless, there are ways to not only manage anxiety but also continue to enjoy your life.

There are proven techniques that can help you reduce anxiety within yourself, for yourself.

• Deep breathing (breathing out longer actually slows down your heart rate)
• Meditate
• Ground yourself (feet planted on the floor)
• Exercise (take a walk outside, do jumping jacks or push ups, run in place)
• Come back to the present moment (what is important right now?)
• Use Your 5 Senses (What to you see? How does your shirt feel? How does your drink smell? What flavors do you notice? What do you hear right now?)
• Positive affirmations (I can get through this. This is temporary. I’ve got this.)

Rather than getting stuck in survival techniques that may have served you at one point like drinking, avoiding, playing video games, over exercising, mindless eating, you can use coping skills that continue to help you grow and learn to face your sources of anxiety head-on.

The goal is not to get rid of anxiety all together but rather find ways to adapt the supports you put into place and find some anxiety relief. 

You can feel anxiety freely when you know that you have ways to help yourself. Part of getting rid of the problem is being able to feel feelings safely so they can pass through rather than get stuck.

Image of a Black woman listening to music, with the sun on her face, eyes closed. Read More: “5 Quick Tips To Calm Anxiety Fast”

What does anxiety do to your body?

Anxiety can feel different for everyone, but there are common ways that it shows up. Most anxious signals from your body can feel uncomfortable so that you are reminded to tap into your toolbox.

This isn’t so you become more overwhelmed; body-based triggers happen so that you can tune into your personalized warning signs.

When you notice physical symptoms of anxiety, it is your body’s way of telling you it’s time to take a look at what’s making you anxious.

When you become more attuned and in-tune with your body’s signals, you will be more adept at noticing and helping yourself through a tough episode.

Here are some common symptoms of anxiety:

• Increased perspiration (hands, armpits, upper lip)
• Burning sensation in the back of your throat
• Shaky hands; trembling feeling
• Increased heart rate
• Shortness of breath; feeling lightheaded
• Scattered thoughts
• Stomach aches, other burning or achey feelings in your body
• Restlessness; difficulty staying present; distracted by thoughts; difficulty concentrating
• Tension in your jaw
• Persistent worrying; over thinking
• Fear of uncertainty or something specific
• Difficulty falling or staying asleep
• Difficulty making decisions; feeling paralyzed by decision-making

You know your body better than anyone else, so recognizing when it is telling you something is off and that you might be feeling anxious can be really helpful to calm yourself down.

Image of a woman with long curly hair enjoying cappuccino in a street cafe mindfully. Read More: “How Mindfulness Helps With Anxiety”

If you notice that your hands start shaking, take a deep breath.

If you aren’t able to gather your thoughts, this could be your sign that you need to plant your feet firmly on the ground and stand up straight for a moment.

Use these tools to help yourself come back to present moment when your body warns you that anxiety is taking over.

Everything you need is within you already and sometimes, asking for help in identifying what can be most helpful for you can relieve a lot of added stress and anxiety.

If you haven’t identified tools that work for you, or struggle to regulate your anxiety on your own, it might be helpful to talk with a mental health professional, like a therapist, to further recognize how anxiety shows up in your life.

A therapist can also help you get to the root of and the why you experience anxiety the way you do and when you do so that you can make changes that will last.

Does anxiety go away if you ignore it?

This is a common question when it comes to anxiety. It’d feel so easy if you could just ignore every issue that arises within you.

Not working through your anxiety will inevitably make the long-term more difficult. By not helping yourself now, you are making things worse in the future. 

It may feel like you can busy yourself with something else if you continue to stuff your anxiety. By not acknowledging it, you can push yourself to move forward.

But, the more you try to deny what is happening, the worse it will become.

You are doing yourself a disservice by not honoring how you feel. You are doing yourself a disservice by not exploring why you feel the way you do.

With curiosity comes answers. With answers comes the ability to make changes that will benefit you and your relationships.

What can you do in Denver to help with your anxiety?

Even though it’s hard to ignore anxiety, there are easy ways to help you cope.

In fact, Denver offers a variety of activities to lessen anxiety. Here are some of our favorites:

Image of downtown Denver skyline at sunset from City Park. Read More: “Things To Do In Denver To Shift Your Mood.”

  – Going on a hike: All Trails

  – Go to a local park: Denver Parks and Rec

  – Workout/Do Yoga: Urban Sanctuary

  – Treat yourself to a massage: http://www.eleanorsmagichands.com/

  – Enjoy a vibrational sound bath: https://www.triresonance.com/

  – See a therapist: https://denvermetrocounseling.com/

Getting active can help reduce anxiety and is a way to get connected with yourself again. Anxiety doesn’t have to feel like a permanent fixture in your life when you have healthy ways to cope.

Lessening anxiety and its interruption in your daily life is possible and paying attention to how your body responds can guide your next steps.

Healing can begin with the courage to try a new technique and can continue to change your life when you consistently use your skills.

Having symptoms of anxiety does not necessarily mean you have a clinical diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder.

And you do not need to have a diagnosis to seek help and benefit from therapy.

Therapy is a great preventative tool for lessening current and future anxiety and stress regardless of whether it is chronic, or related to a certain event or experience.

If you are concerned about symptoms you may be experiencing and curious about additional help like medication and therapy, speak with your medical doctor about your concerns.

They can help rule out any possible medical conditions that might also look or feel like anxiety. 

If you are curious about therapy and working with one of our therapists in Denver and Colorado, reach out.

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Written by: Randi Thackeray, MA
Clinically Reviewed and Edited by: Julie Reichenberger, MA, LPC, ACS, ACC

Denver Metro Counseling is a group of Denver therapists who provide teen therapy in Denver, young adult therapy, adult therapy, family therapy and other counseling and therapy in Denver and throughout Colorado.

We specialize in relationships, codependency, communication and boundaries and provide supportive therapy for people struggling with life transitions,  trauma, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, ADHD, negative body image, and more.

Our clinicians are trained and comfortable working with people who struggle with thoughts of suicide and work collaboratively with our clients and their loved ones to maintain safety through a trauma-informed approach.

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