Chances are that you're feeling some tension and anxiety right now. There are plenty of future calamities out there between the pandemic, politics, and the economic crisis.

But what is happening with your body? Your motivational avoidance system gives you the energy to participate in behaviors that will help you prevent that threat. 

According to Beyond Blue - a mental health organization, anxiety is more than just about simply feeling scared or concerned.

That happens when fearful thoughts occur from the blue. Some find it impossible to deal with daily existence, where there might be an anxiety disorder.

Hot and cold flushes, squeezing of the chest, feeling nervous, wound up and edgy are physical feelings felt with apprehension.

Head In Hands
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A man staring at blank sheet of paper with his head in his hands.

Why Does it Happen?

Researcher Tory Higgins and his collaborators found that the system often allows you to be more vulnerable to anxiety as you want to escape a specific danger. 

Consequently, the entire universe can feel like a more chaotic and risky environment than when you concentrate on achieving a worthwhile goal as you struggle with a specific challenge.

In this environment, many of the factors that engage your avoidance motivation are things you can't fix by yourself-and some of them won't go away quickly.

How to Deal With Anxiety

Here are the things you can do to deal with anxiety, according to science.

1. Take a deep breath

Breathing becomes more quick and shallow at nervous periods. Try consciously to slow down your movement the next time you feel this.

You can do this by counting to three as you slowly breathe in and counting to three as you slowly breathe out.

2. Calm your energy down

Whenever a goal is involved in your motivational system, you have certain energy set against the plan. There's that energy to spur action. You could run from it or fight it off if there was a dangerous animal in your environment. If you can take no particular action, then that energy just intensifies the emotional response without allowing you to achieve anything.

That is where techniques for energy reduction come in. You can either engage in meditation and mindfulness techniques aimed at calming the energy of motivation or dissipating that energy through an activity such as exercising or walking.

In the short run, calming that energy decreases anxiety, but you have done nothing to remove the threat from the environment. As a result, stress and anxiety will likely build up again. You're treating the symptoms, but they're going to come back.

3. Be brave

Avoiding such areas to provide comfort can include behavioral symptoms of anxiety.

While this will offer short-term relaxation, it has the potential to make you more nervous in the long run.

Even in a small way, Beyond Blue told Express.co.uk that "doing something that causes you nervous will help you control your anxiety.

4. Challenge yourself

Anxiety may emerge as to how you perceive influences, how you react, and how you talk to yourself.

In a scenario, Beyond Blue said fear would make you overestimate the danger and underestimate the capacity to manage it.

To combat this, look at the evidence that is valid for and against your proposal.

Try to think of multiple explanations of a case that leaves you nervous.

ALSO READ: What Happens in a Therapy Session? Psychologists Explain What to Expect

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