Living With Anticipatory Anxiety: What To Do?
Living with anticipatory anxiety is not being able to breathe. Indeed, uncertainty and worry suffocate us. It is to be the victim of a mind which hastens and persists in bringing us the worst results. Few experiences are as crippling as being stuck in this constant angst, where our bodies and our thoughts are under the yoke of fear.
If we could describe anticipatory anxiety in a simplified way, we would say it is that mechanism by which the mind tries to predict the future and create a negative projection in the face of a fact that has not happened. not produced. But why do we do it? Why are we becoming a society increasingly affected by this concrete type of anxiety?
To answer this question, we need to understand two very simple aspects that define most of us. The first aspect is that if there is something that a human being needs almost instinctively, it is to have everything under control. The second is our absolute fear of uncertainty. We do not tolerate it, we do not know how to manage it. It worries us and frustrates us more than we realize.
Thus, realities as frequent as those of facing a job interview, an exam, a medical appointment or the simple fact of asking ourselves if the next month, we will be able to pay all the bills sometimes leads us down this mental path. where only fatalities grow. We anticipate the worst. This idea blocks us and destroys our resources to face any challenge or objective.
Living with anticipatory anxiety: when fear brings everything in its path
We spend a lot of our time worrying. This in and of itself does not cause any problems if and only if we deal with such concerns properly. How? ‘Or’ What ? By seeking a balanced level of anxiety. We thus take advantage of this level of alert combined, in addition, with a flexible and positive mental approach thanks to which it will be possible to face the difficulties of everyday life.
Of course, achieving this is not an easy task, because our brain relies more on instincts than on reason. As a result, when faced with a situation of uncertainty, our imagination tends to imagine the worst. This feeling of anguish immediately stimulates the amygdala. The latter is the region of the brain linked to the fear circuit, responsible for “pouring out” a torrent of physiological responses by releasing hormones such as cortisol.
The reason why some people and not others end up developing anticipatory anxiety could be directly related to this structure. Thus a study conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and published in the journal Nature , tells us that there are brains more “responsive” to uncertainty and threat. In other words, some people, from a neurological point of view, tolerate this type of situation much less well. They thus react with significant anxiety.
Living with anticipatory anxiety: symptoms and characteristics
To live with anticipatory anxiety is not to live. It is to remain paralyzed in an anteroom where the spirit persists in predicting the future and at the same time whispering to you the terrible consequences that may arise. No matter what you plan, no matter what you have to do today, tomorrow or in 5 years, everything will go wrong.
- Thus, this feeling of alert is accompanied by a feeling of insecurity, sadness because of our feeling of helplessness and also anger because of not knowing what to do.
- Thinking is obsessive: cognitive distortions are innumerable. We therefore see a clearly biased reality, a world without a future because we focus our gaze on a highly negative future.
- To live with anticipatory anxiety is to live with fear: this implies suffering from a wide range of symptoms. Chills, sweating, stomach pain, tachycardia, etc. This psychological condition very often ends in a panic attack
How can we reduce our anticipatory anxiety in order to live better?
Horace, the great Latin poet, said that adversity has the gift of awakening talents which, in prosperity, would have remained dormant. Our reality and our world is deeply marked by unforeseen changes, by pressures, by things that are beyond our control and by adversities large and small that we are forced to face.
However, no one taught us how to do all of this. Our brains are not even ready to take on such great uncertainty. Being afraid is therefore normal. But letting fear dominate us completely is not. The recipe for not living with anticipatory anxiety and gaining in well-being involves thinking about these aspects:
- The emotion you feel doesn’t have to define your behavior: feeling fear and anguish about something is completely normal. Accept these emotions, normalize them. But don’t let them define your behavior by dominating your thoughts.
- You are in control of your thoughts: don’t let your mind wander too long near these crippling fear-ridden black holes. Air your mind, make it flexible by directing it outwards to relax, to find balance in the present moment. The important thing is the present moment. The future moment has not yet arrived
- Practice spontaneity, break patterns: fear and negative thinking feed on us when we are quiet, routine oxidizes us and the brain loses its motivation to drift into ruminant and obsessive thinking. Move, don’t think, just feel. Practice a sport, relax your mind with Mindfulness . Brighten up your heart by making new plans and knowing new faces
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can all suffer from anticipatory anxiety at some point. Our current life can be a perfect breeding ground for the demon of fear to take root and imprison us. Falling into these states does not make us weaker. It actually gives us an opportunity to become stronger people. To develop minds that learn to apply new resources and better skills to survive effectively and happily.
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