Beating Anxiety the Triathlon Way

Beating anxiety is an active process that is not unlike participating in a triathlon. To truly beat anxiety and live the life you desire takes commitment and dedication to the greater goal of living an anxiety-free life (Stop Avoiding Anxiety! Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)). For athletes who participate in triathlons, these events really aren’t merely single events. Triathlon describes a lifestyle. Similarly, beating anxiety isn’t just an event but instead is a lifestyle. Just as completing a triathlon requires action, so does beating anxiety. The following approach will help you beat anxiety the triathlon way. 

Beating Anxiety: Set a Goal

What is your mental health fitness level right now? Rate your overall anxiety on a scale from one to ten, with ten being the most extreme anxiety you can possibly imagine. This is like a physical exam an athlete receives before training. What is his or her overall level of fitness? What is your overall level of anxiety?

If an athlete’s physical exam shows low blood pressure and some wheezing in the lungs, he or she will need to address those issues before fully embracing the triathlon lifestyle. He’ll determine a goal around these issues, and he’ll begin work to achieve his goal. In doing so, he’s already living the triathlon lifestyle because he has defined a goal and will develop steps to accomplish it.

You can begin to live an anxiety-free lifestyle by evaluating where you are and setting one goal at a time for beating anxiety. Regarding anxiety, where are you right now, and where do you want to be instead?

Beating Anxiety: Intentionally Work Toward Three Things

Triathlons have three components: swimming, bicycling, and running. To beat anxiety the triathlon way, think of your own anxiety challenge in three parts.

1. Identify the training steps you need to take. You have made a goal, and now it’s time to break it down in to manageable parts. An ironman triathlon participant doesn’t just jump in and swim over two miles, bike over 110 miles, and run a marathon. She trains in each area, gradually working up to her ultimate goal. Identify three areas of your life that you want to experience without anxiety getting in your way. It could be work, family, school, socializing, the ability to go outside and take a walk in the park, or a host of other life areas. Start with three, because three is a manageable number that also helps you feel as though you’re making progress.
2. Create a daily training plan. Determine what small steps you need to take every day to eventually beat anxiety. Commit to doing them by writing them down and keeping them someplace where you can refer to them throughout the day. Be intentional about following through with your plan.
3. Take care of your whole being. Remember, beating anxiety is a lifestyle rather than a single event. Along the way, you’re living, and you want to live well. Just like a triathlon participant, get proper nutrition, drink plenty of water to hydrate your brain. Also, enjoy yourself. Your goal of beating anxiety has a greater purpose: to enjoy yourself and your life. Build in stress-relieving breaks and opportunities for fun. (Self-Care 101)

Beating anxiety the triathlon way means you’re approaching it systematically, living right now, working toward the life you want. Like triathlons, beating anxiety is a lifestyle. Live it.

I invite you to watch the below video, where I continue the discussion about beating anxiety and training.

Let’s connect. I blog here. Find me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest. My mental health novels, including one about severe anxiety, are here.

from Anxiety-Schmanxiety Blog http://ift.tt/29sfR4Y