Best strategies for managing anxiety

[dominick]

Lately I have been going through a lot of anxiety related to a business I started. I've been doing some things to help manage the anxiety but I'm also looking for more powerful ways to do so. Here is a list I have assembled.

-EFT
-Yoga
-Other exercise
-Meditation
-Massage
-Sex

What other items would fit on this list? What other things have all of you found most powerful for managing particularly stressful periods in your life?

[Captain Drywall]

Most people try to avoid anxiety, run from it, ignore it, work around it. Try this, next time you get the feeling the world is closing in, your feeling tight, like a straight jacket around your very existence, dive in. Don't run, jump into the well. go deep,, feel it close in around, feel it swallow you up. Let it encase you with a dark feeling. (think I've been there?). Don't resist, let go, go limp. feel it , really feel it. This is why we are here, for the ride. Do it.

This way it will last a much shorter time, and come much less frequently. I think it is the avoiding anxiety that makes it happen.

[thepharoah]

Devious, but excellent, advice, Captain Drywall.

You have to find what works for you. I really do agree with Captain Drywall. It is very progressive to face your issue wholly. It will greatly weaken it, and you will also realize how your problems can be paper thin.

However, I do have some coping techniques if I choose not to. Put on the headphones, sit down with my laptop. Do whatever I please, in wise judgment. I want a thick, slice of moist chocolate cake? Sure. I want to watch a TV show I've seen 358 times? Sure. Be fair with yourself, don't go too hard. Life isn't that serious, and that is exactly opposite what your anxiety wants to convince you.

[Martin S]

From my own personal experience, one of the best ways to manage anxiety is through a concept called "detachment". It's a concept present in eastern religions and the general idea is that you detach your personal sense of emotional well-being from external circumstances. Your personal emotional state of mind is then something that you have complete control over and you are free to choose how you want to feel. Do you want to feel determined? Happy? In love?

I don't know who said this, but I can definitely relate to this quote: "You can be just about as happy as you make up your mind to be."

In my opinion, this concept is best illustrated in a book called Thick Face Black Heart. In Thick Face Black Heart, Chin-Ning Chu writes about strategies for developing a thick face towards life's challenges and a black heart for personal survival. It's far from being an egotistical philosophy - in fact it's a philosophy that is centered towards the good of all - by ensuring your own well being you are also increasing the well being of everyone around you. It is one of my favorite books that helped me overcome my own emotional anxiety challenges, and I strongly recommend everyone interested in personal growth to read it.