Have you ever felt like a knot in your stomach when you hear about an upcoming event? That feeling is called anticipatory anxiety. The nervousness or fear you feel when you think about the situation. It gives you a sense of worry when you think of the “what if” scenarios in your mind, which makes you uncomfortable. It’s okay to feel a little anxious before any big event, but this continues for a longer period of time, it affects the quality of life.
Anticipatory Anxiety Disorder Meaning
Anticipatory anxiety is not a diagnosis but a symptom. It is a part of other anxiety disorders, such as social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Anticipatory anxiety meaning is that when you expect something to go wrong, it makes you feel scared and uneasy. People with this tend to overestimate the future events and underestimate their ability to cope, leading to increased worry and distress.
Symptoms Of Anticipatory Anxiety
1) Social Anxiety
People with social anxiety display anticipation anxiety a few days or even hours before the social event takes place. They have the fear of being judged or embarrassed, so the anticipatory anxiety symptoms manifest as sweating and quick heart rate.
2) Specific Phobias
For specific phobias, the anticipatory anxiety starts to set in when they start thinking about encounters, such as height or spiders. The anxiety can start building up in hours, days, or even weeks before exposure, which makes it hard for them to shift their focus on other things.
3) Panic Disorder
People suffering from panic disorder are usually scared of panic attacks. So, this fear can lead to anticipatory anxiety. For example, they’ll keep thinking about when, where and how will the panic attack come and what will they do to stay away from such situations. This leads to creating a vicious circle.
4) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
If you’ve gone through a traumatic event in the past, it can cause anticipatory anxiety whenever you think about the situation. This anxiety can be at such a level that those suffering from PTSD may avoid going to certain places, keeping close to certain people, or engaging in certain activities. They will always have the fear of what if the same event repeats and they experience those distress feelings, all over again. Knowing this difference between stress and anxiety can help you get the right kind of support whenever needed.
Ways To Cope With Anticipatory Anxiety
1) Take Care Of Physical Needs
One of the anticipatory anxiety cure is to make sure that you have balanced meals, get good quality sleep and regularly exercise. Physical wellbeing has a direct effect on your mental health, so it’s important to prioritize these basic needs.
2) Check Your Self-Talk
It is a fact that if you talk to yourself, it can make you feel much better by putting things into perspective. Self-talk is a great anticipatory anxiety treatment, helps change from having negative “what ifs” to positive and realistic thinking. Sometimes, it is important to remind yourself that you are good enough to tackle any situation and give yourself some credit for your resilience.
3) Talk About It
Talking to someone you trust about your fears can help lighten the load and give another perspective. Sometimes, just putting your fears into words can reduce their apparent weight. Talk to your friends, family, or even a support group, it is a great way of handling anticipatory anxiety.
4) Ground Yourself
Do grounding exercises with the help of the “5-4-3-2-1” technique, which will calm your mind and help you stay in the present. All you need to do is name five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste. This technique helps break the cycle of anxious thoughts.
5) Consider Professional Treatment
If anticipatory anxiety is really causing a disturbance in daily life, then maybe it’s time to visit a professional. Cognitive-behavioural therapies (CBTs) is the best thing you choose for yourself in 2024. Therapy helps you find your possible triggers and even helps develop tactics to overcome it in an effective way.
6) Medication
Some medications may help alleviate the anticipatory anxiety symptoms. Antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and beta-blockers help ease the fear, but consult a doctor before usage.
7) Face Your Fear
Instead of running from your fear as a way of escaping, tackle your fear or it strengthens anticipatory anxiety. Gradual exposure helps reduce the level of anxiety over time. Start with small steps and work towards challenging situations to slowly desensitize yourself towards the fear.
8) Distract Yourself
Fun and engaging activities such as hobbies, exercise, or reading help find relief from anxious thoughts. Distractions do not solve the problem, but can provide your brain with a much-needed break from stress. Instead, it can help you return to the problem, refreshed and with a new perspective.
9) Develop Your Relaxation Response
Practice deep breathing, meditation, and yoga to activate the body’s relaxation response. Engage in exercises daily to manage anxiety in an effective way, especially when anticipatory anxiety sets in.
Conclusion
Tired of running from the fear of what might happen at the future situation or event? Find ways to ground yourself and fight off the anticipatory anxiety. Because it just adds to the hardships and stress of everyday life. But well, the good thing about anxiety is that some can be controlled by correct techniques and professional help, if taken at the right time.
Sometimes feeling anxious makes you feel like you are locked in a closet and no one can hear you. That feeling cannot be put into words, but there are simple ways to overcome it. You can also incorporate Three60’s De-stress & Chill Gummies to calm your mind and anxious thoughts. It’s time to let loose and kick off your innermost fears!
FAQs
1) What triggers anticipatory anxiety?
Anticipatory anxiety disorder occurs due to stressful or uncertain future events.Individuals with anxiety disorders like social anxiety or PTSD are also most likely to develop anticipatory anxiety.
2) How to stop focusing on anxiety symptoms?
Use grounding technique because it helps you stay in the present.
3) What causes anxiety?
Anxiety is caused by brain chemistry, life experiences, and external stressors, but it’s usually a combination of lifestyle and psychological.
