4 Anxiety-Reducing Phrases that Empower You to Embrace Life
Imagine being able to use anxiety-reducing phrases and feeling empowered to live your best life. Can words really have such influence? As anyone who lives or has lived with anxiety knows painfully well, anxiety is controlling and overpowering. It can shut down anybody, no matter who they are, how they live, or the hopes and dreams they hold dear. Despite this, there are many things we can all do to reduce anxiety and move forward. One such anxiety-reducing method is to adopt some empowering phrases, such as the ones below.
4 Anxiety-Reducing Phrases that Empower
Worries and fears are made of words, and when we listen to them, we often come to believe them. We can change our beliefs and thoughts about anxiety, which shapes our attitudes and actions. Gain the upper hand by adopting these four anxiety-reducing phrases and putting their principles into practice every day.
- And right now I'm __________. When anxiety grips you, redirect your response by stating what you're doing in the moment. The concept comes from the teachings of celebrated Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. It zaps anxiety's power over you by reminding you that you exist in the moment you're in. You're not where your worries and fears are. You're here now, and you're functioning. If anxiety has your thoughts racing, don't argue, tangle, or believe. Just state, "and right now I am cooking a delicious meal" (or whatever it is that you're doing). This reinforces that your actions are stronger than anxiety's words.
- It is what it is. At first, this may sound like resignation, but it most definitely is not. It's a phrase that embodies acceptance, a concept that is important in overcoming anxiety. Acceptance doesn't mean giving in to anxiety. It means choosing to allow worries and anxious thoughts to exist so you can stop fighting and start living. You can begin to create the quality life you want to have without waiting for anxiety to be gone. Actively leaving anxiety behind by using acceptance increases the control you have.
- I move past anxiety's limits because __________ is important to me. This empowering phrase is all about purpose. When you know why you want anxiety gone from your life, you can begin to take steps to reduce it. Having a sense of purpose gives you the strength required to brush past anxiety's restraints and take actions big and small to live your life.
- One step at a time. When you feel overwhelmed by anxiety and discouraged with your progress in reducing it, remind yourself that accomplishments happen one step at a time. Slow advancement is still advancement. Anxiety is difficult to beat; however, it is possible to beat it. The only way to move forward in life is one step at a time. Use this phrase for encouragement and renewed motivation. You're making progress, one step at a time--ever forward.
These four anxiety-reducing phrases can empower you to rise above anxiety and its relentless harassment. By changing your perspective, you can change your actions. Imagine the potential for your quality life.
APA Reference
Peterson, T.
(2019, January 3). 4 Anxiety-Reducing Phrases that Empower You to Embrace Life , HealthyPlace. Retrieved
on 2024, November 4 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/anxiety-schmanxiety/2019/1/4-anxiety-reducing-phrases-that-empower-you-to-embrace-life
Author: Tanya J. Peterson, MS, NCC, DAIS
I read a book written by a Navy Seal that I am reminded of when it comes to empowering phrases. The Seal had a fear of heights and was being trained by a rock climber to remain calm and overcome his fear by living in the moment and staying focused. Climbing a vertical rock face the Seal panicked when he found himself unable to climb any further due to fear of falling. The rock climber told him to not overthink it and said "live in your 3 foot world". What he was referring to is the idea that when climbing you can only control what you can reach, which is limited to about 3 feet for most people. The 3 foot world philosophy is one that I find can be applied to almost any stressful situation. Just thought I'd share. By the way, the Seal that we are talking about later went on to become the the man who terminated Osama Bin Laden.
Hello Chris,
This is amazing. What a great philosophy and inspiring story. Thank you for sharing this!
Update: Inspired by your comment and this story, I bought Mark Owen's No Hero and am looking forward to reading it.