Five Signs That You Will Beat Anxiety

Even in times of great struggle with anxiety disorders, there are signs that tell you that you’ll beat anxiety. By definition, any anxiety disorder is something whose symptoms cause significant distress, interfere in one or more areas of life (such as work, family, or social functioning), is difficult to control, and endures over time, usually for at least six months but often longer.¹ Anxiety in any form, then, can be daunting. But take heart: when you’re feeling thoroughly stuck, look within yourself for these five signs that you will indeed beat anxiety.

Anxiety is rooted in the brain (Anxiety: It's in Your Head (Your Brain!)); thus, it affects our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It sometimes makes us feel hopeless and helpless. When anxiety berates you in an attempt to make you give up, turn your attention away from those anxious thoughts. To be sure, the anxiety will still be there, but you can choose to pay attention to something else. Tune into these five signs that tell you that you’ll beat anxiety.

Five Signs That You Will Beat Anxiety

• Positive goals -- You know that you don’t want anxiety, and beyond that, you know what you do want. You can envision what your life will be like without anxiety, which gives you something positive on which to focus while anxiety runs in the background.
• Perseverance -- You haven’t given up yet. You’re seeking out information about anxiety and you’re looking for ways to manage and overcome it. Living with anxiety disorders is exhausting and frustrating, and it is often tempting to just give up. That’s a normal feeling. Despite how you feel, though, you haven’t given up yet. You have the strength to persevere.
• Purpose -- Similarly to having positive goals, you have a sense of purpose for your life and reasons why you keep going despite sometimes debilitating anxiety. Perhaps you feel that your purpose doesn’t exist anymore because anxiety is blocking your path. However, just because anxiety has you trapped does not mean that your purpose is gone. The ability to envision your purpose is a sign that you will beat anxiety.
• Passions -- Identifying things that bring enjoyment will help you pursue them. Rather than berating yourself for not being able to do things you’re passionate about, embrace the fact that you do have, or once had, passions. You can gradually take steps to get back to them.
• Patience -- Patience is a character strength that allows people to endure even great difficulties. Knowing that anxiety disorders are stubbornly persistent but are temporary allows people to patiently persevere while engaging in the process of beating anxiety. You don’t have to love the fact that overcoming anxiety can be a slow process, but having the patience to persevere is a sign that tells you that you’ll beat anxiety.

Put the Five Signs to Work for You to Beat Anxiety

Each and every one of us possesses the strengths of perseverance, purpose, passions, and patience as well as the ability to create and pursue positive goals. When living with an anxiety disorder, it can seem as though the only thing about yourself is anxiety and that your entire existence is dominated by an anxiety disorder. This is far from the truth.

The truth is that you have within you the ability to beat anxiety. Look for the signs. Know that while we all have these strengths, we all have them in varying degrees. You may find that you have a great deal of perseverance, for example, but you haven’t been able to define positive goals. That’s okay. Embrace and use those strengths you already possess and develop the others.

By searching for and finding these five signs that tell you that you’ll beat anxiety, you will be moving closer to living a full life free from anxiety.

Resource: ¹ American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fifth Edition. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.

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