Being Optimistic
If you’ve been pounded by the ravages of anxiety then chances are that you’ve had to contend with fear, depression, and pessimism. You may have had days were you just felt like giving up.
You may have also told yourself that you just can’t take it anymore. Or am I just talking for myself?
Now, I also want to point out that there is a difference between happiness and optimism. It’s hard to be happy on queue because you can’t force happy. But you can be optimistic by choice.
To some extent, being optimistic means to think positively, but it also means more than that. It means being willing to “hug your problems.” Engage with whatever is stressing you out.
When your anxious the natural tendency is to be negative, closed, and worried. But this kind of thinking only reinforces all the terrible feelings you experience. It prolongs your misery.
“One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” ~ Lucille Ball
Plus, research has shown that optimistic people have less chronic disease, live longer, and cope with stress better. This doesn’t mean that you have – or can – throw realism out the window. But you have options when it comes to dealing with your emotions.
The key is to realize that all problems are fleeting. Everything has an end. So, if your feeling nervous, depressed, and angry, then you have to know that this is temporary. Don’t soak yourself in the temporary emotional ruts that come to you because of anxiety.
Be hopeful instead. Hopeful that things will get better.
Wise word I think. When you’ve got anxiety it’s so easy to sink into a pit of despair. Trying to inject even a little bit of positive thought into your life can set the ball rolling towards some sort of recovery if such a thing exists! Where do you stand on affirmations, Paul? I’ve used them on and off and find they help a little. Some people are not so keen though.
Hi Andy,
I think affirmations are indeed useful. Sometimes anxiety hypnotizes us; it puts a spell on us so strong that we forget ourselves and get lost in fear.
Affirmations are similar to a bucket of cold water in the face, a real wake up call.
I think that used in the proper way they can even help prevent panic.
And when I had anxiety bad using affirmations helped me to snap out of many episodes of negative thinking and so on.
Trick is to find a few short affirmations that you actually believe.
Great advice that is true, but no matter how well you think you manage your anxiety, it can still creep up on you at times. Affirmations are a great step to take to get better from anxiety. Another great step is, instead of keeping the anxiety inside, to talk about the difficulty to a supportive friend or family member, or a counselor if your friends and family are unsupportive. Great tips and thanks for the reminder, Paul. We need more positive people in the anxiety community.
Dan, Great tip. Thank you for your positive contributions.
I think Dan’s made a really good point there. I used to keep my anxiety bottled up and it became a real problem. I find just telling my wife that I feel a bit edgy really helps.
My sister suffers from anxiety and panic attacks, her life has been turned upside down since last year when the doctor she was seeing, nonchalantly told her, “You’re life is in danger, you can die”, when she was having a UTI! She went for couseling, and it got a little better, but she still has horrible days. It doesn’t help that her job is very stressful, where she gets frustrated and shouted at on a regular basis….She’s working to be more optimist. I think she needs a mental break b/c she does too much. And she needs a better job/environment. I signed up to receive the newsletter for anxiety, I hope with all my heart it will help her.