The Keys to Overcoming Stress and Anxiety

You must work hard to overcome stress and anxiety and commit to understanding your emotions, listening to yourself, and boosting your self-esteem in order to heal.

Reviewed and approved by the psychologist Valeria Sabater.

Written by Valeria Sabater

Last update: 21 February, 2022

You need to understand two things to overcome your stress and anxiety. The first one is that you can’t escape these often devastating internal realities. The second is that you can control them. Thus, proper emotional craftsmanship is within your reach so you can breathe, attain freedom, and initiate a proper personal revolution.

Horace Warpole, a renowned 18th-century British writer and architect, once said the world is always a tragedy for those who feel, but a comedy for those who finally understand what they feel. You can achieve happiness, or rather the inner harmony that comes with contentment, by understanding each of these states that often push you to your limit.

You may also be one of those people who suddenly wake up at four o’clock in the morning almost breathless and with your heart racing. This happens when your brain wakes you up almost violently to remind you of everything that awaits you the next day. Thus, worries plague you and take away your hours of rest. Then, your health quota decreases little by little and you experience more and more pain.

The keys to overcoming stress and anxiety

Modern society is increasingly experiencing the impact of these psychological conditions. Moreover, studies such as the one conducted at the University Medical Center, Göttingen, in Germany, point out that about 34% of the population has or will experience a type of anxiety disorder.

Also, as explained by the WHO (World Health Organization), the investment and consumption of psychotropic drugs to treat these conditions are exponentially increasing. As you can imagine, it’s time to apply new strategies.

How to overcome your anxiety and stress: keys to emotional well-being

Many people reach adulthood immersed in emotional bewilderment, a sort of limbo. Thus, and almost without knowing it, you’ve been applying coping strategies that are as inadequate as they are harmful, for many years.

Most people resist change and deny so-called negative emotions. They don’t know what to do with their fears, sadness, and that accelerated life that doesn’t allow them to listen to their feelings.

Thus, to overcome stress and anxiety, you must make a journey towards acceptance and that mental clarity. This is because it’s a place from which to understand what’s behind each state, how to manage it, and promote adequate self-knowledge. Continue reading to discover some of the keys to emotional healing.

Let anxiety and stress work for you and not against you

Sigmund Freud said that the first time people come into contact with anxiety is during birth. Few acts are as traumatic, beautiful, and essential to life. Understanding that every feeling and emotion is necessary and even useful to move forward is key. Also, to create the reality you desire as soon as possible.

Therefore, you must get both stress and anxiety to work with you in order to overcome them. Placing them in a fair and adequate point of intensity provides sufficient energy and motivation to achieve goals and improve yourself. In contrast, allowing them to take control will block and immerse you in absolute helplessness.

Feel your emotions, even if you don’t like them, as this strengthens your self-esteem

Paula Diaz, emotional coach and author of the book Supera Tu Ansiedad, Aprende a Gestionar con Éxito el Estrés (In English: Overcome Your Anxiety, Learn How to Successfully Manage Stress) explains that anxiety has no other purpose than to allow you to know yourself as a person. It’s a detector that invites you to stop and understand what’s going on inside of you. It allows you to discover what you need. Also, what changes you need to make in order to reach your full potential.

Anxiety is also an indicator that you’re not loving yourself as you deserve. Thus, one strategy to emotionally heal is to boost your self-esteem. Training and attending to this psychological tendon will allow you to explore these complex emotions in order to treat yourself as you deserve, with love, respect, and attention.

Paula Diaz’s book also teaches how to successfully manage stress. It can open the door of self-discovery to get in touch with the relevance of understanding every emotion, every feeling. Even if you don’t like them, even if they’re uncomfortable.

It isn’t a question of when but of how to go about overcoming stress and anxiety

To overcome stress and anxiety, you must become aware of another fact. Many people experience great distress just by leaving the house. In fact, they know that these states will pop-out at any given moment. For instance, in an elevator with many people, while they make a public presentation, when they have something important to do at work or in class, etc.

As you can see, people begin to fear the when and forget the how. Because this is precisely where the real secret to managing these realities lies. In how to have stress and anxiety work to their favor and not against them, that is.

Overcoming stress and anxiety on a daily basis

• Feel your body and listen to how it reacts to every situation. This is because the first indicator will be in your body.
• Take a deep breath, as it’s time to take care of your internal dialogue. Thus, pay attention to your thoughts and stay in control. Calm down, rationalize, and empower your mind with confidence and love for yourself. Don’t fall into catastrophic ideas.

Apply this simple approach if you wish: I’m feeling anxious as I try to take control of my body and mind. However, I choose to bring my thoughts to a safe space to tell them that there are no risks, that we’re in a safe place. I now visualize myself as a competent person, as someone who accepts their anxiety because I understand it and because I’ve learned to use it to my advantage to enhance my virtues, resources, and capabilities.

To conclude, keep in mind that you need time, perseverance, and a signed contract with yourself for overcoming stress and anxiety, a simple one. I promise to take better care of myself and I will take care of and prioritize myself as I deserve from now on.