5 steps to overcoming anxiety in the moment

AnxietyUK suggests practising the “APPLE” technique to deal with anxiety and worries.

• Acknowledge: Notice and acknowledge the uncertainty as it comes to mind.
• Pause: Don’t react as you normally do. Don’t react at all. Pause and breathe.
• Pull back: Tell yourself this is just the worry talking, and this apparent need for certainty is not helpful and not necessary. It is only a thought or feeling. Don’t believe everything you think. Thoughts are not statements or facts.
• Let go: Let go of the thought or feeling. It will pass. You don’t have to respond to them. You might imagine them floating away in a bubble or cloud.
• Explore: Explore the present moment, because right now, in this moment, all is well. Notice your breathing and the sensations of your breathing. Notice the ground beneath you. Look around and notice what you see, what you hear, what you can touch, what you can smell. Right now. Then shift your focus of attention to something else – on what you need to do, on what you were doing before you noticed the worry, or do something else – mindfully with your full attention.

For more tips about fear and uncertainty and doubt – FUD – in the Reading Room, see summaries of “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway” and “Emotional Agility” or this Thrive in Five edition, 5 ways to manage fear, uncertainty and doubt.

If you would like to receive these generally bi-monthly Thrive in Five newsletters, sign up here.