Anxiety Tips & Tricks: Tip #3
Don’t Hold It In
If you're trapped with debilitating anxiety/panic right now, tell somebody. Don't hold it in. In fact, when you share this with others, you disarm anxiety's strength in your life. For instance, before I won my trophy at toastmasters (and yes I'm proud of it), I would intentionally mention that I was struggling with anxiety while giving a speech (at the beginning of it). Some may disagree with this, but, for me, sharing with others of my struggle did three things:
1. Reminded me I wasn't alone (others would tell me that they were/are experiencing the same thing)
2. It actually would lower my anxiety…probably because I didn't have to worry about people discovering that I suffered from anxiety problems (got it out of the way)
3. Made me realize that no one else was paying as much attention to my anxiety as I was (we're our worst critic)
Hope this helps,
Jeff M.