Do you suffer from anxiety? Have you ever given it a thought?

Sad 3D Man

Have you ever tried to avoid a situation and wished that you had another way of dealing with it? Is it a recurring theme in your life with respect to some particular set of situations? If yes, you are not alone! Many people suffer from anxiety, perhaps without knowing it. No, really, it's very common.

The most common form of anxiety is the fear of snakes followed closely by the fear of public speaking. Do your tremble while giving a public speech? Do you feel bad about being under a spot light? Does talking to unfamiliar people make you nervous? Does that affect the quality of life you are living?

If you have never given it a thought, perhaps, it's the right time to stop avoidance and start to look for a better solution.

Stress Meter

But first of all, it's important to differentiate between depression and anxiety (as well as various other psychological disorders).

Depression takes away your motivation, and you feel low in general. Anxiety on the other hand is usually related to some situation in particular where you try to avoid it needlessly (e.g., fear of heights or meeting new people, etc.) While depression degrades your quality of life in general, anxiety stops you from realising your true potential. If you have anxiety, won't you like to conquer it?

Some psychological disorders are better left to be treated clinically while others benefit tremendously from self-help.

Overcoming anxiety for dummies is a nice to read book which could help you in determining the exact nature of anxiety. A lot of ground is covered, yet the book is an easy read. Once the type of anxiety is unearthed, the book provides some strategies to deal with it. One of the most highly cited behavioural therapy to deal with anxiety is "gradual exposure". After making a list of things that induce anxiety, you start from the one which has the lowest fear factor associated. Make yourself exposed to that thing consciously. Gradually, the fear will pass away and it will give you an opportunity to move to the next level.

While the book provides good strategies to deal with anxiety, I believe that once you have identified the nature of anxiety, you would like instructions/ suggestions specific to you. Since this is a general book on anxiety, a lot of material will automatically become irrelevant to you---just skip what is not relevant or too basic.

---

Note: Sad 3D Man and Stress Meter images attributed to FreeDigitalPhotos.net