Managing Anxiety

 Using  Anxiety to  Bring out Your Best

 We all know, anxiety is present in dealing with today’s world. Sometimes, individuals experience so much anxiety that it affects their behavior very negatively. Take for example the word “choke.” When an athlete chokes, in competition, that actually means that the person performed badly. Chances are that the individual experienced too much anxiety. On the other hand, it’s commonly observed that low anxiety is often associated with being lazy or nonproductive. In fact, the individual may procrastinate without the right level or amount of anxiety.

So, a key to productive behavior is being able to control or manage the proper amount of anxiety (the anterior cingulate cortex is believed to be the center of anxiety) at any given time. Unfortunately, a diagnosis called anxiety disorder affects about 40 million American adults or 18% of the population in a given year. And perhaps, about a third of these individuals seek treatment. This means that anxiety (too much) gets the best of a great number of individuals. For some, anxiety can generate a stream of self-criticism, as well as being unable to sleep, or relax without alcohol or medication. Drinking glass a wine is not the key to relax.

Finding the right amount of anxiety for peak performance is a major challenge. For example too much anxiety can be equated with test anxiety, and can result in poor exam test results. There are some that use stimulants like caffeine and cigarettes to increase performance as the stimulants constrict blood vessels and raise heartbeat.

One proven way to deal with anxiety is to turn it into action, like the Nike slogan-“Just Do It.” So anxiety can be channeled into productive anxiety behaviorally. Another key is to incorporate relaxation techniques such as meditation or deep breathing to reduce the anxiety prior to performance. Just watch Madison Bumgardner as he goes into the stretch (exhales) and then throw one of his infamous pitches. So you see that superstar deal with his anxiety by relaxing just before he throws a 93 mile per hour fastball. Prior to pitching, while he’s in the dugout, he may be visualizing or rehearsing how he’s going to pitch to the next three batters that he will face. In other words, he’s managing his anxiety through the use of relaxation techniques.

So if you’re having trouble starting to exercise, you might think of all the negative consequences (to your body) and hopefully that will raise your level of anxiety and then you will  go out and do what you’re avoiding. If worse comes to worse, you could always drink a cup of coffee and see if that works for you.

Since, I run because that’s who I am, it’s easy for me. I am one when I am running on the trail.

Remember that by keeping moving, laughing, smiling, loving, bonding and appreciating you are warding off potential misery.