When the mind is anxious, it will make you believe things about yourself and your life that aren’t necessarily true.
In fact, anxiety tends to lie a LOT.
The mind creates scenarios and often plays tricks on us. Knowing this will help us get back in the driving seat and take over control of our thoughts.
Thoughts are visitors, not the truth.
In order to know what to do, you need to recognize how anxiety lies to you. Below, check out the most common lies that anxiety can make you believe!
The Most Common Lies that Anxiety Tells About You
- By worrying about the future, you can solve problems easier
Worrying is never helpful.
You may try to justify your worries by believing it’s how you can avoid surprises in the future; however, worrying doesn’t prevent anything.
In fact, it only decreases your ability to focus on the present moment, pinpoint opportunities, and find ways to resolve challenges.
Worrying is in a way a person’s effort to stay in control and safe.
But, one has to realize that no one can control everything.
By coming to terms with the uncertainty of life and the future, you can improve your control and manage your life and the experiences influencing it.
- You should fear every sensation you experience
People with health-related anxiety struggle with this problem.
Every tingle, twinge, or flutter causes them to experience an attack.
However, it’s completely normal to feel things: this doesn’t always indicate that something is wrong with us.
Anxiety is causing you to be hyper-aware which only adds more to the anxiety level. As a result, you’ll tend to feel there’s a problem where there’s none.
- You’re in danger
Anxiety makes you feel like you’re never safe.
This begins in the amygdala or the most primitive part of our brain whose job is to encourage the fight-or-flight response.
Although it used to help our ancestors to stay alive from so many predators, today, it’s often triggered when we feel anxious due to an overreactive amygdala.
Namely, anxious people tend to see threats everywhere and avoid a lot of things as a result.
Whether it’s a job opportunity or a social gathering, your anxiety is telling you that they’re not safe for you.
The key is to manage this unexplained fear and learn to differentiate between real and fake danger.
- You’re not strong
The roots of anxiety are in fear.
As a result, anxiety causes you to have little faith in your abilities.
You won’t ask for help because you feel that others will consider you a burden or that they may not be able to help.
The key is to realize your innate strength and ask for help when you need it.
There’s no shame in looking for directions. By solving problems, you strengthen your confidence and realize your actual strength.
- You’re stuck
Anxiety makes us feel stuck and as a result, we begin to question everything.
We’re not sure about our purpose, whether we’re on the right path, and if we’ve made the right decisions or not.
Change your language and negative thinking. Be more aware and grateful for what you have at the moment and realize that it’s normal to feel confused at times.
The key is to locate the problem and focus on resolving it, rather than believing the lies that anxiety is telling you!
Tips to Stop Believing the Lies Anxiety Is Telling You
- Stay grounded and observe
Shake the stress away, literally. Shake the arms, body, and legs or run up and down the stairs.
Relax the shoulders and face, drop the tongue from the roof of the mouth and breathe, and observe everything around you.
Be patient and kind.
- Challenge the confusing thoughts
After grounding yourself and finding the thoughts that are causing your fear, write them down on a piece of paper.
Realize how your mind may have distorted them and catastrophized the situation. Most often, our life isn’t just black and white and there’s a high need of finding a middle ground and color among the black and white.
Jumping to the worst possible outcome is a recipe for panic and anxiety.
The key is to acknowledge the fear, bring yourself back to the present moment, and focus on the facts, not your imagination.
Learn that you can’t control everything and that this is completely fine.
- Show self-compassion
Try to make a decision with a clear mind.
Challenging the worst thoughts is hard, but it’s not impossible. It’s crucial to show self-compassion throughout the process and realize your worth and importance to others.
Show yourself love and ask for help when you feel confused or anxious.
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