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Yes, some people proceed blithely through life, but it seems that more people are worrying more than in times past. They may worry about:
- not having a good job.
- never being able to afford a home or losing the one they have.
- climate change
- terrorism.
- America's ballooning deficit, approaching $20 trillion, $1.25 trillion to China.
- health care.
- American children's poor school achievement despite spending #1 in the world per capita.
- the recent increase in violent crime.
- air quality.
- uncontrolled immigration
- worsening race relations
- the lengthening commutes.
All those wories atop those that have always afflicted humankind, for example: looks, relationships, money, public speaking, illness, aging, dying, and death.
What to do?
Of course, there are no magic pills, metaphorical or Xanax. But it may be worth reminding ourselves to more-often use these time-honored tactics:
- An adaptation of the Serenity Prayer: Recognize what you can and can't change. If you decide a worry is out of your sphere of influence, distract yourself by taking a baby step toward something you can change.
- Face the worst squarely. Answering two questions may reduce your anxiety: How likely is that to happen, and would you do to cope with that? For example, you're afraid you'll lose your job and become homeless. If you lost your job, with effort, couldn't you find another one, maybe even a better one? And that's worst case. Chances are that won't happen.
- Exercise. Exercise reduces stress in the short-term because it's distracting---It's hard to worry while you're huffing and puffing. And in the hour or so after exercise, you're less likely to experience the physical manifestation of stress because the exercise tired you. Alas, often the anxiety too quickly returns. That said, a literature review by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America suggests that exercise may yield a reasonably enduring reduction in anxiety.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy perhaps plus an SSRI such as Prozac.The National Institute of Mental Health continues to recommend these individually or in combination.
I am less sanguine about these approaches to reducing anxiety.
- Meditation. A Scientific American review of the literature on meditation's impact on anxiety is equivocal. In addition, a Canadian metaevaluation of 124 studies on mindfulness warned of biased investigators and weak results. Anecdotally, my clients generally report that soon after a meditation session, their anxiety level returns to baseline. Mindfulness meditation training encourages people to let go of control and merely observe, at least among my clients and friends, that advice has proven difficult to follow.
- Tranquilizers and marijuana.The downsides are too great, for example, for prescription tranquilizers like Xanax and the other benzodiazapines, and for marijuana.
As usual, perhaps more effective for you than generic advice is for you to look inward: In the past, what has worked best for you in reducing anxiety? Does your intuition tell you to try more of that or something new?
Marty Nemko's new book, his 8th, is The Best of Marty Nemko.
