How to Deal with Anxiety When You Go Through Change

It's hard to deal with anxiety when you're going through change. Change can feel scary and unpredictable, and even more so when you are already feeling stress and pressure in other areas of life. This is something I have experienced recently. Over the years, this anxiety trigger has been something I have worked hard on learning how to cope with. Years ago, I would find that any time any major life changes occurred, I would feel extremely anxious.

Why Change Is Difficult for Someone with Anxiety

One of the reasons I've noticed I feel anxiety around change is related to the unpredictability of the situation. When I experience new transitions, life isn't as predictable as it normally would be. Usually, I know what to expect from day-to-day, but if there are changes taking place and things are new, then I don't know what to expect.

That unpredictability taps into the overwhelming worry that often happens with anxiety. The rumination and the persistent thoughts and worries can become overpowering. Instead of feeling confident that I can cope with what may happen, I feel overwhelmed because I feel as though I don't know what is going to happen.

This also often results in withdrawing from others and wanting to isolate. I know, though, from experience, that this is actually not helpful for me and can ultimately have the opposite effect of making my anxiety worse when I'm going through change.

Essentially, I've been pushed out of my comfort zone, my daily habits and routine, and along with that comes feelings of disarray. The worry that I often feel that something bad is going to happen -- which is characteristic of anxiety -- becomes something that I feel very noticeably.

Dealing with Anxiety that Comes with Change

The problem with this is that it makes it hard for me to function on a daily basis. That becomes challenging when you need to be able to function effectively every day while, at the same time, you are having difficulty focusing because your thoughts are mired in worries about the future.

Things that I know are helpful and that I am continuing to try to work on when dealing with change and anxiety include practicing mindfulness, deep breathing, and meditation.

And while calming my nervous system helps, I think the most helpful strategy that I need to focus on is reframing my negative thought process. I need to recognize the patterns of thinking that lead me to feel overwhelmed, without control, and just worse overall. Sometimes, writing these thoughts down helps me to organize them in my mind and make sense of them to where I can regain a sense of control.

Are there strategies you use to help you cope with anxiety when going through change? If so, share them in the comments below.