What Is Anticipatory Anxiety and How Can You Overcome It?
Anxiety tends to be fueled by the “what ifs” in life, and that includes questions that arise from things that haven’t happened yet.
This is often referred to as anticipatory anxiety. If you feel a sense of worry or dread about a future event, it can cause you to become anxious before that situation arrives. There’s a difference between feeling nervous about something and letting your negative thoughts cause mental turmoil.
Let’s take a closer look at what anticipatory anxiety looks like and strategies you can use to overcome it.
Fixating on the Future
The most important thing to note about anticipatory anxiety is that it focuses solely on the future. There might be a specific upcoming event you start to worry about, or you might start to let negative thoughts creep in about what your future might look like without specific moments involved.
This kind of anxiety causes you to focus on negative aspects of the future. It can lead you to create possible worst-case scenarios that seem very real.
Once those anxious thoughts start to take over, it’s often difficult to let go of them or assume anything positive about the future situation you’re worried about. It can even cause you to form a negative bias against most future events.
Dealing With Symptoms
Anticipatory anxiety can keep you from living in the present. When you’re so focused on the future and the negative things that might happen, you’re less likely to enjoy what’s in front of you.
That can cause a great deal of stress and even lead to other mental health issues like depression.
From a physical standpoint, that state of constant worry about the future can lead to sleep issues, digestive problems, and more immediate symptoms like shaking, a racing heart, and sweating.
Be More Mindful
One of the best ways to combat anticipatory anxiety is to put less focus on the future. That might seem easier said than done, but by practicing mindfulness, you’ll be able to stay more grounded in the present.
You can make mindfulness a part of your daily routine, or use it when you start to feel overwhelmed by anxious thoughts about the future. Close your eyes, focus on deep breathing, and surround yourself with the present. What do you hear? What do you smell? Anxious thoughts might still try to creep in, but let them pass by without holding onto them.
Just a few minutes of mindfulness can help you stay focused and give you time to recognize that those anxious thoughts aren’t realistic. You can also use mindfulness as a relaxation technique along with things like deep breathing, meditation, or even journaling.
Restructuring Your Thoughts
Another way to overcome this kind of anxiety is to practice cognitive restructuring. Anxiety wants you to believe that the negative things you’re worrying about are real, and they’re absolutely going to happen.
More often than not, that’s not true.
As worrying thoughts about the future come in, don’t be afraid to challenge them. Ask yourself about the likelihood of them really happening, and what you would do. What’s the worst-case scenario and how would you handle it? Being able to work out these situations ahead of time can help them feel less overwhelming.
Getting the Help You Deserve
Anxiety is often very manageable, but if you’re struggling with fears of the future, it’s not something you have to deal with on your own. Identifying triggers and understanding the underlying cause of your anxiety can be a big help in overcoming it. Working with a mental health professional is often the best way to accomplish those things.
If you’re struggling with anticipatory anxiety and having a hard time overcoming it, feel free to contact me to set up a consultation and take control of your future rather than fearing it.
To find out more about my services, click here: Anxiety Therapy
