Counseling in Katy, TX: Challenge Your Anxiety
In school, after a subject was taught, the teacher generally asked a version of “Does anyone have any questions?” If questions were had, things were explained, and questions were answered until we felt more comfortable with the subject matter at hand. Over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion that while stress and anxiety are unavoidable, they can definitely be worked through. Counseling in Katy, TX can teach you to question your stressors, as well as encourage you to challenge your anxieties to break these overwhelming feelings into smaller bites.
Use these questions to challenge your anxiety, while quickly, quietly, and effectively lowering it to a more manageable level.
What evidence do I have to prove my anxious thought to be true?
What evidence do I have to disprove my anxious thought? (Evidence that it won’t happen and that I will do well)
What is a REALISTIC worst case scenario?
How bad is that?
How do I cope?
In order to begin the process of challenging your anxiety, your anxiety level needs to be on the bottom half of a 1-10 scale. If you are feeling above a five, please use coping skills to quickly lessen your anxiety levels to a place with more mental clarity. Once your anxiety is feeling under a five, the challenging of anxious thoughts can begin.
Let’s use a simple scenario of anxiety as an example on how to challenge your anxious thoughts: I have anxiety about meeting new, unknown people at a social gathering. People will perceive me as stupid, and I will not make any friends.
What evidence do I have to prove my anxious thought to be true?
I am awkward in social settings where I don’t know anyone present. One time, in an effort to break the ice, I told a joke, but not a single person laughed. Later, no one paid attention to the story I was telling.
What evidence do I have to disprove my anxious thought? (Evidence that it won’t happen or that I will do well in this situation).
I have been to social gatherings where nothing “bad” happened. I had conversations with individuals I didn’t know, and people even asked questions to learn more information about myself. Coworkers find me funny, and I have friends that always pay attention to my stories.
What is a REALISTIC worst case scenario?
I am quiet at this party, and I don’t make any new friends. I either stand around and look uncomfortable, or I say goodbye and I exit the situation earlier than planned.
How bad is that?
It is not the worst night ever. If I am quiet at this party, I don’t make any new friends, but I also do not get made fun of for telling a “boring” story, or having a joke fall flat. An early exit may not look great to the host, but neither does standing in the corner by myself, so one option is not more ideal than the other.
How do I cope?
Start with reminding myself that I am not the only person with anxieties in this room. Other people may also be nervous being around people they don’t know, they may not want their joke to fall flat either. Coming up with conversation starters in advance will help me to start a conversation with someone new. Keeping my coping techniques in my (figurative) back pocket can be a quick way to drop my anxiety down to a more manageable level when I feel it rising.
Challenging the thoughts that are contributing to your anxieties is a simple way to get those anxious thoughts to dissipate over time. By confronting your thoughts head on, you can break them down into bite size pieces, and find them to be more manageable. Counseling in Katy, TX can teach you to work your way through stressful situations and come out the other side of those same situations with a logical way to combat those anxieties. You can become a stronger version of yourself.
Please contact me for help challenging your anxieties. I specialize in treating anxiety, depression, and brainspotting therapy. Everyone deserves to live a happy, fulfilled life. You deserve to live a happy, healthy, fulfilled life. Let me help you! Visit www.CreatingChangesCounseling.com to begin your journey.
