No-fuss anxiety tips #10
Audit your strengths to deal with stress.
You’ve joined us at blog number 10 in this series of short, no-fuss, articles focussing on simple tips and techniques for managing anxiety. Each tip draws upon therapeutic thinking from a range of psychological and psychotherapy theories.
What these tips won’t do is explore the origins and purpose of anxiety for you – this type of deeper exploration is what therapy offers. That said, having strategies for managing anxiety is a great place to start. Each article is designed to be quick read, no-fuss. So, let’s get dive into another technique: audit your strengths to deal with stress.
Stress and anxiety go hand in hand.
Audit your strengths to deal with stress.
For many people, stress is a trigger for anxiety. Stress leads to muscle tension and we can begin to feel less able to think straight. When you’re under stress, you may well notice that your ability to challenge any unhelpful thinking patterns decreases. As a result, you may feel panicky, overwhelmed and anxious. So, finding ways to manage stress can be helpful for tackling anxiety.
The transactional model of stress is a simple process that helps you to be more able to balance demands placed upon you with the ability to manage. It involves being clear about the challenge and what strengths and resources we have available to us in response. The first step in the transactional model of stress is called “the primary appraisal”: here, you identify the source of your stress. You name the challenge. The next step is known as “the secondary appraisal”. Here, you list the resources available to yourself in response. Your resources include your skills, attitudes and approaches that you’re already adept at using. This allows you to then identify what needs to change so that your resources meet the level of challenge. Do you need to find ways to reduce the challenge? Or can you rally additional resources and support to help you meet the challenge. By taking control of stress in this way, you are in a better place to manage anxiety.
Find greater ease.
Being clear on your strengths and your inner resources to manage challenges helps when tough times come.
It's often helpful to take an audit of your strengths, skills and attitudes at a time when you don’t feel under stress. To reflect upon what resources you’ll have available when you do feel stretched or bent out of shape in some way. Consider whether you want to set aside some time over the next few days for such an audit?
To help develop your repertoire of managing anxiety, look out for more blogs within this series. And, if you’d like to talk through how counselling can help you towards a deeper exploration of your anxiety, do get in touch. We can work together through online counselling or through face-to-face counselling at my therapy room in Preston.