Trigger warning: this article discusses anxiety
No one knows what the future holds and wondering how work or relationship situations will turn out is pretty normal. Sometimes, you may even be more concerned about less ordinary events, including natural disasters, losing loved ones, or global pandemics. These worries are normal, but they can become signs of anticipatory anxiety if they start to impact your day-to-day life.
What is Anticipatory Anxiety?
Anticipatory anxiety constitutes when a person experiences increased levels of anxiety by thinking about an event or situation in the future. Rather than being a specific disorder in its own right, anticipatory anxiety is a symptom commonly found in a number of anxiety-related conditions, such as generalized anxiety. Anticipatory Anxiety can be extremely draining for people as it can last for months prior to an event. The worries people experience specifically focus on what they think might happen, often with catastrophic predictions about an event. The nature of negative predictions about the event will be the difference between an anxiety level that is incapacitating or merely uncomfortable.
Symptoms
Some physical and emotional symptoms of anticipatory anxiety may include –
- Chest pain
- Rumination
- Feelings of uneasiness, nervousness, and apprehension
- Hyperventilating
- Muscle spasms
- Difficulty concentrating
How to Deal with Anticipatory Anxiety
In addition to getting help and seeking proper treatment for your specific type of anxiety, there are some general techniques you can do to stay calm and cope better with anticipatory anxiety –
- Getting enough sleep – Sleep and anxiety can form a vicious cycle because people who suffer from anxiety can have trouble sleeping. Then, the resulting sleep deprivation can make them even more anxious.
- Develop a relaxation response – Some may include things such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), guided imagery, or meditation.
- Be self-compassionate – Self-compassion can help prevent you from feeling isolated, make you more mindful, quell that inner critic, and motivate you to recognize and face your fears.
Anticipatory anxiety can be extremely life-limiting as you search for ways to avoid the experiences you fear. Learning how to better deal with it – in the case that medical treatment is not available – is extremely paramount.