Get angry at your anxiety to feel more in control. -A Mental Health Motivational Quote on Anxiety and Anger
The following life lesson is more of a quick tip and less of a broad strategy for lowering anxiety. Consider it to be one option in a mental backpack of tools for anxiety management.
Anger and anxiety are two sides to the same coin. The flight-fight-freeze mechanism forces the mind/body to choose one. Your brain won’t allow you to be nervous and angry in the exact same moment.
If you’re struggling with anxiety, ask yourself, “Am I angry enough?”
And more specifically, “Am I angry enough at my anxiety?”
Anger in its extreme form is destructive and unhelpful in most circumstances, but anger expressed in a strategic way can reduce anxiety.
How to REduce Anxiety in an unexpected way
First, yell at your anxiety. Relate to it as though it’s a part of you, not all of you.
Tell it that it doesn’t control you. Get in touch with how frustrating your anxiety is.
(Interestingly, another seemingly contradictory approach to managing an anxious mood with compassion and acceptance. Acting as your own gentle parent who holds and nurses yourself when you’re really nervous can really help in the moment. However, the truth is that there are some moments where compassion and acceptance can’t be accessed, especially when anxiety is extreme, such as in the midst of a panic attack. That’s where your anger can be accessed.)
Don’t act on your anger toward yourself or others. Just feel it. Sit with it. Notice how it feels in your body.
Anxiety slips away when anger takes over.
