What steps should I take to treat anxiety?

Thanks for reaching out for assistance with this matter. I validate all that you have expressed. If your anxiety has arose only in response to a specific situation, it is called situational anxiety or phobic anxiety. Situational anxiety is different from everyday fear in that it tends to be out of proportion or unrealistic. Often anxiety can be brought on merely by thinking about a particular situation. Then, there is spontaneous anxiety that tends to come out of the blue, peaks to high level very rapidly and then subsides gradually. Remember that anxiety is an inevitable part of life in our fast paced society.

Additionally, it is important to realize that there are various events that come up each day in our life in which it is appropriate and reasonable to respond with some anxiety. If you didn't feel anxiety in response to everyday challenges involving potential loss or failure, something would be wrong.

Implementing exercise, breathing skills, relaxation, and good nutritional habits into your daily life as well as paying attention to self-talk, mistaken beliefs, feelings, assertiveness, and self-esteem can all be helpful in making life more balanced and less anxious. When anxiety begins to interfere with your daily life functioning, and you can no longer manage your anxious symptoms, I recommend seeking out professional help to get the tools and even medication if needed to address your symptoms. Some of the symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder include: tense (feeling keyed up), being easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tightness, and difficulties with sleep. 

Moreover, anxiety can be aggravated by any stressful situation that elicits these fears, such as increased demands for performance or any situation that heightens your perception of danger or threat. Additional ways to address anxiety is Cognitive Therapy, reduce worry behaviors, problem-solving, healthy distraction, medication, mindfulness, and life-style changes. 

I want you to begin to acknowledge what your external events are that might be causing you anxiety, what is your interpretation of events and your self-talk surrounding the events. This will result in the feelings and reactions that you experience. I wanted to provide you with 4 types of negative self-talk that you might experience.

• The worrier, this causes a person to catastrophize and imagine the worst-case scenario which promotes anxiety.
• The critic, that tends to point out your flaws and limitations whenever possible, which promotes low-self-esteem.
• The victim, which generates anxiety by telling you that you are not making any progress which makes you feel hopeless and helpless, which promotes depression. 
• The perfectionist, that generates anxiety by constantly telling you that you are not enough which promotes chronic stress and burnout.

Please be mindful of your thoughts and your negative self-talk about various situations and begin challenging your negative thoughts and replacing those thoughts with positive counter statements. With all the coping strategies that I have suggested hopefully that can assist with bringing you some relief, peace, and calmness in your life. Please continue to monitor your anxiety and seek out help if your situation does not improve.