In this article, the discussion is focused on various unhealthy and destructive ways of dealing with anxiety and what, as a writer, you can do to reduce stress in your life.

Writing can be stressful and when coupled with everything else going on around us, we may feel anxious for different reasons. For some, it is the uncertainty of the future, for others it could be financial strain or nerve-wracking career moves. Whatever it is that causes you to feel stressed, you can choose to deal with the situation effectively. This does not mean that the problem will automatically go away but that you are willing to continue fighting for the achievement of your dreams.

1) Catastrophizing

One of the ways many people, including writers, deal with stress is by catastrophizing. Catastrophizing is imagining everything that could go wrong and dwelling on these negative outcomes. The victim sees no way out even though the extent of the stressful situation may not be that dire. In their minds, it appears larger than the actual problem which leads them to continuously stress over the issue.

What to do

Be present. You cannot change the past or predict the future. Your perspective of the future may also not be entirely valid. Remaining present will rid you of the unnecessary responsibility of controlling the future and the stress that comes with it. It also helps you gain better control of what could ensue since much of what we do in the present is related to the future.

Deal with the specific issue. This will require focusing on the particular issue and ignoring what has not happened yet. Focusing on the problem itself will help you move on faster than when you are dealing with imaginary issues.

Take small steps. Ask yourself what small steps you can take to make your day better. You can choose to focus on your family and what is going well with your loved ones. Is your child doing better in school? Is your spouse getting ahead in their career? Has someone in your family who had an illness gotten better? When you take charge of your wellbeing by taking in what is going on around you in your immediate environment, you start seeing the positive in your life which could potentially improve your outlook on everything else.

2) Giving your emotions too much power

Ignoring your feelings may not be the healthiest way to deal with your emotions but so is focusing too much on them. Since we live in a highly emotional world where we are encouraged to feel and be guided by our emotions, many of our decisions are, therefore, made based on what we feel at that particular moment. This is misleading and can become dangerous in the long run.

What to do

Understand how subjective emotions can be. Identifying that your emotions are not always right is a step towards reducing your stress levels. Emotions should be a way of assessing what you feel about a particular occurrence at that specific time. They should, however, not be the only basis in determining your next move.

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