How Does Anticipatory Anxiety Condition Us?
Anticipatory anxiety is a process that we perform on a mental level, in which we imagine the worst that can happen in a given situation that causes stress or worry. For example, before going through a job interview, you can imagine that you will be asked embarrassing questions that you will not know how to answer, which will also go blank and you will end up being eliminated as a candidate for the position.
One of the immediate consequences of this kind of anxiety is that we fail to focus on the present, projecting dark clouds into the future that we will not be able to dispel, precisely because we cannot act in the future. Anticipation is related to catastrophic future thoughts. It’s as if we live with a constant near danger, needing to protect ourselves from possible threats.
Negative thoughts fuel anticipatory anxiety
Even when we don’t want to, sometimes negative thoughts dominate our mind and make us feel anxious. When what we think makes us feel bad, we talk about distorted thoughts or cognitive distortions. This kind of thinking leads us to view the world through a distorted view of reality, as if we were wearing sunglasses that obscure our radiant days.
Imagine that you are in front of an audience and you need to give a speech. In the case of anticipatory anxiety, catastrophic thoughts such as: “I’m not going to make it”, “I’m going to go blank”, “people will laugh at me” appear , which will make it difficult to think clearly in these situations that we see as threatening. If this kind of thinking is repeated frequently, it can become reality through what psychologists call a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Self-fulfilled prophecy generates a negative expectation that shapes our behavior until what we had imagined comes true. If we think we’re going to get stuck in a presentation, it’s possible that circumstances will arise that allow for this situation and end up confirming our negative prophecy.
Anticipatory anxiety tries to predict the future and makes everything worse
Anxiety helps us mobilize our bodies in the face of a possible threat or a real danger. So it is not bad in itself, on the contrary, it gives us information about impending dangers. On the other hand, anticipatory anxiety tries to predict the consequences of a future event, tries to prevent a danger that hasn’t happened yet, something that can help and protect us on certain occasions, but on others it will hinder our path.
For example, if you think you might be in a car accident, it’s likely that the first thing you’ll do when you get into a car is put on your seat belt. This kind of response can protect you in the event of an accident. However, not all anticipatory anxiety responses help. Continuing with the example situation, if, because of the fear of having an accident, you stay at home or do not get in the car, the anxiety will only increase and it will not be resolved.
Some symptoms that can manifest in the body when we have anticipatory anxiety are: dizziness, tachycardia, sweating, chest pain and trembling voice, among others. In addition, the person may have the feeling that emotions are overflowing or the feeling of losing control of the situation. These symptoms occur due to lack of tolerance for what we cannot control, that is, we often have difficulty dealing with uncertainty and feel that we cannot control everything that happens around us.
Some Secrets To Lower Your Anticipatory Anxiety
To overcome anticipatory anxiety , psychological intervention will often be necessary, complemented in some situations by pharmacological treatment. Some secrets might be: putting off thinking, concentrating on breathing, practicing mindfulness, exercising, and practicing panic-producing situations. Let’s go through them one by one.
Put the brakes on and drive away your negative thoughts
Imagine that you can talk to your negative thinking and say that you want it not to bother you anymore. Say that you’ve had enough of the bother, that you listen to him later, and that at this point you prefer to focus on other, more important matters. If we put off our negative thoughts, it’s easier for our emotions to be unaffected and we can feel more confident.
This habit of postponing reflection on a particular idea works best when we set a day and a time to reflect. In other words, it is not about postponing indefinitely.
Practice situations that provoke fear
If you progressively expose yourself to what makes you fearful, your anxiety will gradually decrease. The solution is not to avoid what is frightening, but to go through small challenges that can lead you to overcome your deepest fears. For example, if you are afraid of flying, a first step might be to pick someone up at the airport and see how planes take off and land.
Exercise the art of living in the present
Anxiety is because there is too much of a future in your life. So if you try to live in the present, you will be calmer. Practices such as mindfulness or meditation can help overcome your anticipatory anxiety. For example, if you focus your attention on your breathing in the previous minutes of a presentation, it is possible that your negative thoughts will disappear or at least diminish.
Do some kind of exercise that makes you feel good.
Exercise can help to leave anxiety behind once and for all. This way you will not only take care of the physical dimension, your body, but you will also contribute to your mental health. In order to transform the practice of exercise into a habit, it is important to insert it into everyday life in a progressive way. If you overdo it, the only thing you’re going to get is a fair amount of tight muscles, injuries, and even not wanting to look at your gym again for too long.
If we use the energy of anticipatory anxiety as an impulse to improve and learn from us, we will see the positive part of it. We can learn to face it and show a healthy degree of skepticism about what it predicts. So it will be helpful to learn to stop the drama and see that, in the end, the worst that can happen is simply a probability. The rest of life is happening here and now, right under our noses, and we have a chance to enjoy it to grow as a person.
