Your body’s natural response to stress is anxiety. It is a sense of dread or foreboding about what is to come. Most individuals are afraid and apprehensive on the first day of school, going to a job interview, or making a speech.
Adjusting to a different place, beginning a new career, or taking an exam may all cause anxiety. Although this sort of anxiety is unpleasant, it may push you to work harder and achieve greater results. Ordinary anxiety is a fleeting emotion that does not impact your daily activities.
Some people may find it difficult to manage anxiety on a routine basis and may give up even on simple activities. As a consequence, people may acquire high-functioning anxiety. People with high functioning anxiety often appear to function normally in public interactions, but they are experiencing all of the symptoms of anxiety disorder on the inside, such as intense feelings of imminent disaster, fear, anxiety, a racing heart, and gastrointestinal distress.
You may have an anxiety disorder if your anxiety is severe, lasts more than six months, and interferes with your life. Anxiety is a common feeling. However, when a person experiences exaggerated levels of anxiety regularly, it may develop into a medical condition. Anxiety disorders are a group of mental illnesses characterized by extreme anxiety, dread, uncertainty, and uneasiness. If that is the case, then you must consult a mental health professional and seek treatment.
Anxiety and stress are just two sides of a coin. Stress is caused by demands placed on your brain or body. It might be triggered by an incident or action that makes you feel anxious or worried. Worrying, dread, or uneasiness are all symptoms of anxiety. Anxiety can be a reaction to stress, but it can also strike people who are not experiencing any external stresses. Anxiety can also be a symptom of Melancholic Depression.
There are many ways to cope with anxiety and its symptoms while still leading a more fulfilling and enjoyable life. Make time to engage with others, have a positive attitude in all situations, and stay physically healthy via regular exercise, as well as seeking professional help in case of anxiety disorders. Also, make sure you get enough sleep, be alert and aware, and behave decently and show courtesy and compassion.
Quotes from those who know a lot about anxiety and apprehension, or who have been through similar circumstances, may be very helpful in the coping process. On that note, here is a collection of anxiety quotes from some of the great personalities.
Quotes that give you confidence
These anxiety quotes can help you find some much-needed relief when you feel as if you are spinning out of control and need a solution to get rid of your anxiety and relax from the ideas swirling through your mind. Quotes like the ones below can be used as small therapy sessions. When you read a quotation that makes you feel good, gives you confidence, or helps you relax, you know it is healthy for you.
- “Eventually our anxiety is compounded and made unbearable by our belief that if we were just smarter, stronger, or better, we’d be able to handle everything.” -Brené Brown
One of the misconceptions anxiety feeds us is that if we were just a little bit better in some manner, these unpleasant sensations would suddenly vanish. The result is a vicious cycle in which we get increasingly anxious about our perceived faults. This kind of thinking, as Brown argues in this statement, finally makes our anxiety excruciating. Recognizing that we are enough as we are is an ideal base if we want to start coping with anxiety symptoms more healthily.
Many of the individuals you admire, who you may perceive to be brighter or more capable than you, are prone to suffer from anxiety and stress. The fact is that no one is flawless, and no one’s life is perfect, and your anxiety is not caused by your imagined imperfections.
- “The only way to get to the other side of the tunnel is to go through it, not around it.” -Lori Gottlieb
When you are anxious about something, it might feel very simple to ignore it altogether. In the near run, this may work. However, you will eventually discover that avoiding things that make you anxious is not always feasible, and even when it is, it takes a lot of effort. It can also prevent you from leading a full and happy life. This is why, in the words of Gottlieb, we must walk through the tunnel rather than around it. Going down the tunnel may entail doing things that are frightening to you until the anxiety passes or you learn how to cope with it, or both. This may include beginning treatment to investigate the core reasons for our anxiety. In that instance, cognitive behavioral therapy may be the most effective treatment option.
Ultimately, whatever, the tunnel appears to be, do not waste your life struggling to go around it. Feel the anxiety and discomfort rising within you and push through it. Even though it will be the more difficult road, you will emerge stronger, more resistant, and thankful that you did not let anxiety rule your life.
- “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.” – Charles Spurgeon
Worrying about the future does nothing to improve it in any way; instead, it eats away your strength and diminishes your happiness of today. It saps your joy, enthusiasm, and motivation, leaving you vulnerable to weariness, procrastination, and even high functioning depression.
Therefore, instead of destroying today by worrying about tomorrow, enjoy today to the fullest and seek out confidence and faith.
- “Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.” -Kahil Gibran
To live a tranquil life, we must accept that life is inevitable and that we cannot control what happens. We can only do our bit in the hope that things will turn out the way we want them to, but we will never have complete control.
The uneasiness you create for yourself about controlling the future, as this quote implies, brings you anxiety. A significant reason we suffer is because of challenges to our sense of control. You will sleep better at night if you plan well and then let go of the outcomes.
- “The intensity of the anguish is proportional to the meaning that the situation has for the affected person; although he essentially ignores the reasons of his anxiety” -Karen Horney
In most situations, anxiety manifests itself as a vague sense of anticipation, and the sufferer is unable to pinpoint the source of the anxiety. The depth of the anguish, on the other hand, will always be proportionate to the value and meaning we assign to the circumstances. That implies we have the power to lessen worry by learning to put things in context and establishing a psychological distance from the happenings.
- “You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you.” -Dan Millman
Anxiety is the offspring of our need for control. We react with anxiety whenever we try to be in charge of everything and leave no room for ambiguity and chaos, which are two mainstays in our life. A similar thing happens with thoughts: we feel distressed when we are unable to control them, and the rebound effect kicks in: the more you attempt to ignore a thought, the stronger it becomes. The remedy is to let it go, to acknowledge its presence but not to give it such significance that it bothers us.
- “The more honest you are, the more open, the less fear you will have because there’s no anxiety about being exposed or revealed to others.” -Dalai Lama
Anxiety might appear as a fear of expressing or doing something inappropriate. Every contact becomes a nightmare when we are obsessed with whether or not others like us, and we fret over how to portray the best version of ourselves. This anxiety is based on the notion that if we show our true, chaotic, flawed selves to others, we will not be welcomed or appreciated. It might be frightening to reveal ourselves, but as the Dalai Lama teaches, the more we embrace being transparent and forthright, the less fearful we will become.
In the short term, being genuine with people may cause more anxiety. You will, nevertheless, build more real connections in the long term. You will be able to interact with new people from a place that acknowledges your genuine self without the continual repetition of whether they like you or not in your thoughts.
- “Anxiety’s like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t take you very far.” -Jodi Picoult
Anxiety keeps the mind distracted by shifting from one catastrophist idea to another, from one impending tragedy to another, but such thoughts do not get us anywhere; instead, they trap us in a relentless loop that fuels anguish and misery. It interrupts your daily routine and takes away your pleasure and enthusiasm.
An excellent method to combat anxiety is to take action, no matter how big or small. Slow, steady progress, as well as rewarding yourself along the way, will help to relieve some of your burdens. Remember that crossing something off your to-do list or declining a commitment is also regarded as an action. Eliminating chores that you do not particularly want or need to accomplish will make you feel lighter and allow you to focus on more important things.
- “Anxiety was born in the very same moment as mankind. And since we will never be able to master it, we will have to learn to live with it—just as we have learned to live with storms.” -Paulo Coelho
When our anxiety is at an all-time high, it is tempting to wish it would just go away. It is an unpleasant sensation that occurs at inconvenient times. However, if you begin to judge yourself for the sensation and become frustrated that it will not go away, you have developed a secondary problem: anxiety over your anxiety. There are techniques you may employ to help you deal with anxiety on a more regular basis. However, if it occurs, try to follow Coelho’s suggestions and learn to live with it. Consider it a feeling that comes and goes.
Discovering your coping methods can be an important part of living with anxiety. Breathing deeply and counting as you go is a favorite pastime for some individuals. Many people utilize the grounding method, which involves finding five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can touch, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. While psychotherapies such as CBT and EMDR are acknowledged by some people.
- “Fear sharpens the senses while anxiety paralyzes them.” -Kurt Goldstein
Fear is a powerful feeling that may save our lives in a crisis since it prepares us to run or confront the issue. Instead of assisting us in adapting to our environment, anxiety incapacitates us as we become victims of continuous worry.
- “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
The spotlight effect describes our propensity to exaggerate how much other individuals perceive us. Many people’s social anxiety stems from their feeling that others are constantly looking at and evaluating them. We always accompany ourselves, therefore it is reasonable if we become highly curious about how we appear and conduct. But when you start to believe that other people are just as aware of these things as you are, recollect that they are preoccupied with themselves and that whatever humiliating you did will be forgotten by tomorrow.
- “Feelings and stories of unworthiness and shame are perhaps the most binding element in the trance of fear. When we believe something is wrong with us, we are convinced we are in danger. Our shame fuels ongoing fear, and our fear fuels more shame. The very fact that we feel fear seems to prove that we are broken or incapable. When we are trapped in trance, being fearful and bad seem to define who we are. The anxiety in our body, the stories, the ways we make excuses, withdraw or lash out—these become to us the self that is most real.” -Tara Brach
A sensation of worthlessness and humiliation is one of the things that holds fear together. Our image of ourselves becomes troublesome as soon as we sense that anything is wrong with ourselves. We conceive of ourselves as inefficient and problematic persons. Anxiety develops as a result of this dread. But the reality is that this all depends on the state of mind. Your worrying thoughts will be replaced with positive ones if you take an upbeat attitude and have self-confidence; rather than searching for the negative in everything, seek for the positive.
- “Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” -Corrie Ten Boom
When you take on more duty and burden than you can handle, things can quickly spiral out of control. You are more prone to break down and give up in such a circumstance. Because of the stress of other things, you cannot even manage something you can control easily. The same may be said about anxiety. When you are worried about the future, you are ruining your present. You lose the strength and desire for what you are doing right now because you are worried about the future. As a result, instead of overthinking about the future, you should be mindful of what is going on right now.
- “Understanding the difference between healthy striving and perfectionism is critical to laying down the shield and picking up your life. Research shows that perfectionism hampers success. In fact, it’s often the path to depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis.” -Brené Brown
Everyone has shortcomings, and you should accept them and try to improve them. Hiding them and appearing to be flawless just causes stress, which interferes with your capacity to function regularly.
- “Do not let your difficulties fill you with anxiety, after all, it is only in the darkest nights that stars shine more brightly.” -Ali Ibn Abi Talib AS
All of the problems that are causing you anxiety are just transitory. Since history demonstrates that the best emerges out of the toughest situations, instead of being anxious about the challenges, look forward to the brighter days ahead.
Ending Note
It is impossible to live a healthy and satisfying life when you believe something terrible is likely to happen from one instant to the next and you cannot calm because anxiety fills up your mind. These anxiety quotes might well have helped you gain a better understanding of the condition and how to keep it from taking over your life.
A person suffering from anxiety might benefit from these encouraging words about breaking through the boundaries, asking for help, and accepting your imperfections without feeling ashamed.