Overcoming anxiety is a very personal journey, and what may work for one person may not work for another. Therapy, medication, natural remedies, and practicing coping strategies can all help a person overcome their anxiety.
It is natural for a person to feel anxious from time to time.
However, a person may have an anxiety disorder if they regularly feel severe levels of anxiety that impact their day-to-day life. A person’s feelings of anxiety may last for a long time or be out of proportion to their situation.
Read on to learn four ways a person can overcome their anxiety, and what the different types of anxiety are.
This article also contains personal stories from Hannah Gerber, Vanessa Walilko, and Paige Bond, three individuals who have experienced anxiety.
There are numerous ways a person may overcome anxiety besides those listed here. What works for one person may not work for another.
A person experiencing anxiety can talk with a specialist about the best approach for them.
1. Coping strategies
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) recommends the following coping strategies for anxiety:
- Staying relaxed: Practicing yoga, or trying meditation, breathing, massage, and relaxation techniques can help a person cope with anxiety.
- Consuming a health-promoting diet: Eating a well-balanced diet with regular meals and healthy snacks will help keep the body healthy. Avoiding alcohol and caffeine can also help reduce anxiety.
- Getting proper sleep: Getting enough quality sleep each night can help a person feel more able to overcome anxiety.
- Setting achievable goals: Instead of aiming for perfection, a person can try to do their best instead. This can help them feel more positive about their achievements and decrease the pressure they put on themselves.
- Keeping a supportive perspective: Stepping back from anxious feelings can help put a situation in perspective and make it seem less scary.
- Getting support: Talking to friends and family or a health professional to get support with anxiety can help a person overcome anxiety.
2. Exercise and fitness
A 2023 review of research suggests that more active people are less likely to develop depression and anxiety, with other studies suggesting high intensity exercise is more likely associated with reducing symptoms of mental health conditions. Researchers recommend more high quality research to further understand the link between physical activity and mental health disorders.
The ADAA suggests including 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity exercise or 1.25 hours of vigorous-intensity exercise each week, or a combination of the activities.
This could include jogging, walking, cycling, or dancing for 30 minutes three to five times a week.
Setting smaller exercise goals can help make an exercise program feel more achievable. Also, a person may be more likely to keep up with it long-term.
3. Medications
The
- Benzodiazepines: These drugs are usually prescribed for short periods because they can be addictive. They affect the central nervous system and slow down the body’s functions by increasing the effect of the brain chemical gamma amino butyric acid.
- Beta-blockers: Healthcare professionals prescribe beta-blockers on an as-needed basis for some people
to help reduceTrusted Source physical symptoms of anxiety, such as trembling, a fast heartbeat, and sweating. There are also some natural sources of beta-blockers, such as omega-3 fatty acids, that may help anxiety symptoms. - Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs): SSRIs increase the level of serotonin, known as a “happy” chemical, in the brain that
can improveTrusted Source symptoms associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorders, and social anxiety. - Tricyclic antidepressants: These antidepressants are similar to SSRIs. They
affectTrusted Source five different neurotransmitter pathways, including blocking the reuptake of serotonin. However, they can cause more side effects than SSRIs. - Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs): MAOIs are an older type of antidepressant that increase brain levels of serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, and tyramine. In doing so, they relieve symptoms of depression, panic disorders, and social phobia. People taking MAOIs
should avoidTrusted Source eating certain cheeses and wines, and women may need to avoid birth control and other types of medications.
4. Therapy
There are many types of therapy a person can try to help overcome anxiety.
Psychotherapy, also called talk therapy, involves a person scheduling therapy sessions with a mental health professional. A person can receive psychotherapy in a group or one-on-one session.
Types of psychotherapy
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT):
ACT uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies to help alleviate anxiety. ACT also encourages a person to commit to behavior changes to help them overcome anxiety.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
CBT focuses on identifying and understanding a person’s thinking and behavioral patterns. By doing this, a person can change these patterns to reduce their anxiety.
CBT helps a person learn skills they can use throughout their life to overcome anxiety, and they may see benefits in 12 to 16 weeks.
Sessions may provide a person with activities or homework to complete to help them progress during their course of therapy.
Exposure therapy
Exposure therapy is a type of CBT. A person is gradually exposed to the things that make their anxiety worse in a safe environment.
This can help a person feel less anxious about the situations, places, or objects that cause them stress. In particular, it is thought to be very effective for phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
There are many different types of anxiety disorders. They include:
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
GAD is a type of chronic anxiety.
The National Health Service (NHS) reports that a person with GAD will feel anxious or worried most days for at least 6 months. They may feel anxious about their health, work, social interactions, or their situation in life more generally.
Hannah’s story: How I cope with GAD
“By the time I was diagnosed with GAD in 2015, I’d been experiencing symptoms of anxiety for years. I didn’t have the language for what I was experiencing — I mostly just knew I felt “bad” or “stressed” whether stressful things were happening in my life or not.
One of my go-to’s for managing my GAD is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also known as tapping, because it’s accessible, provides near-instant relief, and I can do it anywhere. I typically start my day with a guided tapping video to ease the anxiety I usually wake up with. After tapping for 5 minutes, I tend to notice my anxiety drops from a 6–7/10 to a 3/10. I’ve also done this on the go, while driving, or in a private place in public, especially if I feel a panic attack coming on.”
Health anxiety
Health anxiety is also called hypochondria.
A person with health anxiety will feel excessive anxiety about developing a health condition, and their worry may be out of proportion with their chances of developing a particular health condition.
They may still believe they are at risk of an illness despite reassurance from health professionals, check their bodies obsessively, or take medical tests more than necessary.
Health anxiety can occur in people who are healthy and in people who have health conditions, regardless of whether they are experiencing symptoms.
Social anxiety
A person with social anxiety will feel anxious about social interactions or social performances.
They may worry that others will judge them negatively because of what they say or do and avoid social situations, so social anxiety
Vanessa’s story: How I overcame social anxiety
“I started taking improv comedy classes in my 20s in order to manage my social anxiety. I was having trouble feeling comfortable in my own skin and making small talk. A few months of being very silly in classes in front of strangers helped me tremendously. Now, I feel like I can talk to anyone in any situation.
I also started teaching jewelry-making classes. Having to explain complicated projects to people from all walks of life helped my confidence in speaking or explaining things in public, especially since I got used to taking the time to repeat myself in different ways to communicate instructions.
One of the best things I’ve found to help manage my anxiety, however, is working on repetitive crafts like knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch, and chainmail. My brain rejects all traditional attempts at mindfulness. I can’t meditate. If I’m working on a repetitive task, however, I can completely focus on the work in front of me, and my anxiety melts away.
Over the years, I’ve realized that one of the ways to mitigate anxiety is to do the thing I’m anxious about immediately so the anxiety doesn’t have a chance to build until I’m unable to function. If I have to make a phone call for work, I try to do that first thing in the morning so I’m not thinking about it all day.”
Performance anxiety
Performance anxiety refers to anxiety a person experiences in anticipation of performing specific tasks.
A 2023 review of research involving athletes and performers highlighted that this type of anxiety can manifest as increased heart rate, trembling, breathing difficulty, excessive sweating, outcome-related worry, and overthinking.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that performance anxiety triggers may include:
- taking exams
- public speaking
- writing
- sexual performance
- sports
- the performing arts
The specific mechanisms behind performance anxiety are unclear.
Swallowing anxiety
Swallowing anxiety, also called phagophobia, can cause problems with a person’s eating patterns.
A person with swallowing anxiety may exhibit the following symptoms:
- experiencing fear or worry that food is stuck in their throat
- avoiding eating certain types of food or textures
- avoiding situations where they would need to eat or drink in public
- finding it difficult to start swallowing
A person may develop swallowing anxiety if they have experienced a traumatic event such as choking, regurgitation, or abuse.
Sexual anxiety
Both men and women can experience sexual anxiety.
Sexual anxiety can have a negative effect on a person’s sex life. They may worry about their looks or that they will disappoint sexual partners.
Research indicates that roughly 9 to 25 percent of men experience sexual performance anxiety, which can contribute to premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction (ED).
Similarly, a
Relationship anxiety
Relationship anxiety can occur in new relationships or long-term relationships.
According to a small 2022 study, a person with an anxious attachment style may seek reassurance excessively from their partner to manage their relationship insecurities.
Paige’s story: How I cope with relationship anxiety
“I think many people believe that relationship anxiety is just worrying about your relationship. While that’s definitely part of it, as both a licensed marriage and family therapist and person with relationship anxiety, I know there’s so much more beneath the surface. Relationship anxiety can eat away at the core of who you are for the desire to keep a relationship at peace, or just keep them around. The anxiety often stems from past experiences or traumas that get easily triggered when conflict shows up.
My personal coping strategy is to show myself copious amounts of self-compassion to counteract negative core beliefs I’ve formed about myself throughout my lifetime. By talking to myself how a loving friend or partner would, it allows me to let go of those heavy expectations I’ve held onto for so long, and I can just be myself, feeling a lot lighter in the process.
Another coping strategy I use is from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, using a technique called Defusion. This helps me get “un-hooked” from my negative thoughts that I start to think are facts, even with very little evidence. It helps ground me and realize what is important in my life, what I want to pay attention to, and how spiraling into oblivion puts me further away from my dream life.”
Driving anxiety
According to the ADAA, a person’s driving anxiety may include the following fears:
- driving outside their comfort zone on their own
- getting lost
- running out of gas
- being unable to find a parking spot
- going too fast and losing control
- getting into a car accident
Driving anxiety can affect a person’s social and professional life.
Phobias
A person with a phobia will experience intense fear about specific objects or situations.
The fear they feel will often be out of proportion with the threat the object or situation presents.
A person with a phobia may take steps to avoid the object or situation, and experience excessive anxiety about encountering it.
Specific phobias can
A person living with anxiety can connect with their friends and family to create a support network to help them cope with and manage their anxiety.
A person can contact a doctor or mental health professional if they have concerns about their anxiety or are seeking treatment.
There are also many online resources that can help a person find information on anxiety, such as:
The way a person responds to anxiety treatments is very individualized. One treatment may work for some people but not others.
Coping strategies, lifestyle changes, therapy, or medication can all be part of a person’s anxiety treatment plan.
There are many different types of anxiety, and treatment may be different for each.
As a result, a person needs to get the correct diagnosis before seeking treatment to increase their chances of creating the right treatment plan to help them manage their anxiety.
