Many people suffer anxiety. Since COVID more people than ever find it stressful to complete day to day tasks. A close girlfriend of mine hums when she is in a situation that makes her feel overwhelmed. It is a subconscious coping mechanism to calm her nerves while she deals with the problem. Another 19-year old gal breaks out in hives and cold sweats when she enters a store and fears she will have to interact with a stranger. A young girl hyperventilates and feels faint when she is put in an environment that makes her feel inadequate. These are just three of countless situations that demonstrate how pervasive anxiety is in our daily lives.
When I was younger I don’t remember my friends suffering from anxiety disorders. Perhaps they did but we didn’t call it that. Nowadays, every teen group has a number of kids that have trouble with nervousness and worry, and it is common knowledge amongst their friends. Recognizing the problem is one thing; fixing it is quite another.
One way of trying to combat the issue is to employ visualization. Visualization is designed to help you imagine situations in which you become nervous and then develop and implement coping strategies for dealing with the stress generated by the situation. If you practice how you are going to cope, it makes it easier to actually do what you practiced in real life.
I have found a handful of videos helpful in this regard. A woman named Paige Pradko speaks frequently about dealing with anxiety and staying calm. Developing the ability to stay calm in life is a critical skill and Paige’s methods seem to work for some people. There is also a woman named Kristen Ulmer who talks about visualization as it relates to sports anxiety. Many athletes, even at the top levels of sport, become debilitated by anxiety and need help to overcome the feelings of inadequacy and fear.
If you can learn to harness your emotions and calm yourself when your body becomes stressed, your life will dramatically improve. It may enable my girlfriend to stop humming; the 19-year-old to enter a store without feeling nauseous; and the young girl to stay upright and breathe when she enters that intimidating environment.
Perhaps spend some time watching Paige and Kristen and give visualization a try. I would be interested to know if it helps.
