You’re always thinking ahead in any situation to possible what-ifs. Or your anxiety is less about thoughts and more about a tightening you get in your stomach or a shaky feeling. Or you have panic attacks that seem to come out of the blue. Maybe you self-medicate with alcohol or drugs to simply lower that idle speed and feel more relaxed.

Anxiety is about emotions and thoughts but also your brain: your amygdala, your emotional center, fires up, and your prefrontal lobes, your rational brain, go offline. Here’s a 3-step approach to managing your anxiety:

Like anger, anxiety is one of those emotions that, if it gets too high, becomes too difficult to rein in. If your anxiety is rising, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Is there a real problem that I need to fix? There is rational and irrational anxiety. Rational anxiety is about a real-world problem: You haven’t heard back from your boss about the work schedule or the doctor about medical test results; you don’t know if your friend is still angry with you after Saturday’s argument.

If there is a real problem, take real action: Check in with your boss, doctor, or friend. The key is to be decisive, not dither, and get the issue off your plate.

If there is no real problem you’re dealing with but instead you’re just feeling anxious, physically shaky, or irritable, it’s time to use tools to lower the anxiety itself: Take a hot bath, do some exercise, engage in........

© Psychology Today