How to Cope with Anxiety, Remember A-W-A-R-E
The key to switching out of an anxiety state is to accept it fully. Remaining
in the present and accepting your anxiety cause it to disappear.
*A:* *Accept the anxiety. *Welcome it. Don’t fight it. Replace your rejection,
anger, and hatred of it with acceptance. By resisting, you’re prolonging the
unpleasantness of it. Instead, flow with it. Don’t make it responsible for how
you think, feel, and act.
*W:* *Watch your anxiety.* Look at it without judgment – not good, not bad. Rate
it on a 0-to-10 scale and watch it go up and down.* *Be detached. Remember,
you’re not your anxiety. The more you can separate yourself from the experience,
the* *more you can just watch it.
*A:* *Act with the anxiety.* Act as if you aren’t anxious. Function with it.
Slow down if you have to, but keep going. Breathe slowly and normally. If you
run from the situation your anxiety will go down, but your fear will go up. If
you stay, both your anxiety and your fear will go down.
*R:* * Repeat the steps.* Continue to accept your anxiety, watch it, and act
with it until it goes down to a comfortable level. And it will. Just keep
repeating these three steps: accept, watch, and act with it.
*E:* *Expect the best. *What you fear the most rarely happens. Recognize that a
certain amount of anxiety is normal. By expecting future anxiety you’re putting
yourself in a good position to accept it when it comes again.
*Adapted from: Anxiety Disorders and Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective, by Aaron
Beck and Gary Emery*