Everyone who struggles with anxiety is looking for a cure. Yet, in many regards, the cure is already within us. Much of the time, we perpetuate anxiety through our habits.

Anxious habits aren’t personality traits exclusive to those with anxiety. These behaviors are something that can affect any individual of any mental state. As a result, some people end up with mild anxiety.

This article will identify 10 anxious habits to help you overcome these behaviors.

What Causes Anxiety?

Anxiety is a natural reaction all living creatures experience when met with life-threatening situations. In many regards, this “mental illness” is a piece of evolution that saved our ancestors. And, generally speaking, we react to anxiety in two ways: flight or fight. ¹

This kind of behavior was perfect for natural selection. Consider it this way, imagine one of your ancestors was face-to-face with a mammoth. Naturally, they’re going to receive anxiety from that situation. They have two options:

1. Flight – run to a safer place and continue living.
2. Fight – risk death but with the reward of a meal for the next week.

Our modern world doesn’t present these circumstances. Though we are still vulnerable to death, we’re much less likely to experience life-threatening situations. So, why do we still experience anxiety?

There’s a lot of debate when it comes to the answer. Some say it’s because we live in a society that doesn’t meet our other natural tendencies. ² For example, the hustle lifestyle of a major city presents more stress than most of us can handle.

Others believe that anxiety is purely caused by genetics and environment. For example, if someone in your family has anxiety, you’re more likely to have it yourself. Or, if you are living in a mentally unhealthy environment, you might develop the condition. ³

Our reaction to anxiety greatly determines the habits we develop through it. This is the overall purpose of the following list: to identify how we react to anxiety and how this reaction controls us.

1.) You Expect the Worst and Induce Panic

Before something happens, do you find yourself over-analyzing the situation? Do you consider the worst that can happen?

Whether it be at a social gathering or right before an important event (i.e. a job interview), you have a difficult time grounding yourself in reality. You find yourself brooding over everything from potential errors to embarrassing situations that may appear.

This kind of thinking may sometimes lead to panic. When you’re not grounded, possibilities seem infinite and identifying becomes stressful.

As mentioned, our anxiety is a natural reaction to a life-threatening situation. If we’re always considering the worst-case scenario, our brains think we always place ourselves under life-threatening circumstances.

When negative overthinking appears, the best thing you can do is try to stay as grounded as possible. Many mental health professionals suggest keeping in tune with your five senses. Notice what’s around you and what you can identify. Take deep breaths and remember that the worst is only a psychological trick.

2.) You’re Constantly Trying to Hide Your Anxiety

Let’s be honest, anxiety is embarrassing. We don’t want others to know we have it or to appear vulnerable.

People with anxiety have a tendency to hide their condition – to make sure it’s always out of sight, even when one is experiencing an episode. However, hiding it comes with the risk of furthering anxiety – the risk of becoming anxious about whether or not your anxiety is exposed.

You may try to take control of every little thing, from your body movement to your tone of voice. Yet, by considering all these little details, you’re really damaging your self-confidence. No matter how hard you try, you’re always uncertain if you’re succeeding.

Being open about your anxiety can be tough, but we guarantee you’ll feel a lot better if you’re willing to talk about it. Just remember, anxiety affects 40 million adults in the United States. ⁴ You aren’t alone in this battle.

3.) You Overanalyze Everything

Do you find yourself analyzing everything down to the tiniest detail? Whether it be a situation you’re in or a project you’re trying to complete. One of the biggest factors of anxiety is overthinking and making issues more complicated than they really are.

Most people who struggle with this habit are well aware of how futile these thoughts are. Overthinking consumes a lot of energy. As a result, it leaves us fatigued and unable to think. However, the biggest concern with overanalyzation is how much it can fuel your stress.

Consider it this way, you’re overthinking your circumstances (most likely expecting the worst) and putting together everything that can go wrong. Yet, by preparing for something that most likely won’t happen, you’re overusing your energy just to further stress yourself out.

The next time you find yourself overanalyzing, it’s important to take deep breaths and remember it’s all a product of your mind.

4.) The Future Scares You

The future scares everyone to some degree. Yet, most also anticipate the promises it holds. Well, not if you have anxiety.

If you expect the worst to come in a situation just days away, you most likely are thinking the same for months or years down the line. We all fear the future for different reasons, whether it be failure, losing something we currently have, or death. This fear often puts us directly in the situations we hope not to be in.

Why?

Because we aren’t planning to better prepare ourselves for the future. Instead, we’re succumbing to fear and letting time pass hoping to get through one more day.

In many regards, fear of the future is one of the most debilitating aspects of anxiety. It prevents you from making the best opportunities for yourself.

Remember the flight or fight reaction? You must find the willpower to fight for your future. You may continue to fear it, but if you don’t let anxiety have its way, you’re bound to find yourself in a better situation than you expected.

5.) You Often Consider Past Actions and Conversations

Overthinking in the middle of a situation can be mind-numbing. But the afterthoughts that appear later in the day or night can be paralyzing.

If you struggle with anxiety, you’ve most likely played conversations or actions you made over and over again in your head. In some sense, this may appear as a way to better understand yourself. By analyzing a situation and coming to grips with where you went wrong, you can improve on the future. However, too much analysis can be dangerous to the point of inducing panic.

These recollections may not appear until you’re having an anxiety attack. You suddenly begin to recall a situation that embarrassed you or made you feel like less of a person.

If you become anxious over past actions or events, you must let them go. As unfortunate as it is, the past is just something we cannot alter.

Still, that doesn’t mean you should let it break you. As mentioned, recalling the past is a great way to improve your future. It simply takes clarity to understand that you can’t change what’s been done or said, but you can improve what’s to come.

6.) You Blame Yourself

People with anxiety are vulnerable and tend to understand others’ vulnerability better than most. As a result, people with anxiety also fear breaking someone else’s vulnerability.

When you recall past conversations and actions, do you feel guilty? Even when outcomes aren’t your responsibility, do you find it difficult not to blame yourself?

You’re not alone. One of the most common habits of people with anxiety is self-blame. By blaming yourself, you hope to make others feel less vulnerable and more confident in their actions. Still, you’re also fueling yourself with more anxiety.

Don’t get too lost in guilt. As much as people seem to know what they’re doing, the truth is everyone is trying to figure life out like you.

7.) You Compare Yourself to Others

Do you ever tell yourself you’re not good enough? No matter how much you achieve, it seems as though someone out there is one step further. By comparing yourself to that person, you’re only doing yourself harm.

We live in a highly competitive world. It’s impossible to be the best at everything. Yet, we’re often told that the best is the only way to be. This thinking is dangerous as it can make us extremely uncomfortable with ourselves.

In many regards, it sets up a false premonition of how people react to our failures. Not to mention, it gives us false ideas of what successes and failures are.

In much of the Western world, people associate success with job position and income. However, just because someone has a lot of money doesn’t necessarily mean they’re successful. This same person could be struggling with many things in their family life, friendships, and mental health.

8.) You Look into the Smallest Details

People who compare themselves to others often also tend to be perfectionists. Every move they make needs to be properly calculated and they must ensure every stone gets turned before continuing to the next move.

This kind of thinking has been proven to lead to anxiety. Especially in people who struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

As mentioned above, the Western world strives for healthy competition. The reason you choose to buy from Company A rather than Company B is because Company A has something more to offer. We all want to be Company A and we believe that being perfect is what will get us there.

However, the mental stress of perfectionism fuels us with anxieties that we aren’t doing enough and, when we do more, we get overworked.

It’s okay if something doesn’t come out perfect. It’s okay to step away from a project and determine it’s completed even if it feels like it isn’t.

9.) You’re Easily Irritated

We can’t make a plan for every situation life presents to us. At the end of the day, there are too many factors of life that just have to go unplanned.

People with anxiety have a tendency to want control over as many aspects of their lives as possible. Whether it be a relationship, our work experiences, or how the world operates around us. However, it’s simply impossible to gain this kind of control.

Therefore, striving for such control is simply absurd. This is why we start to panic when things don’t go according to plan. We not only fear uncertainty but also the inability to do anything about it.

Rage is a common reaction many people with anxiety experience – particularly, men. Rage is a natural way for our brains to think we’re fighting a situation rather than fleeing. However, fighting what’s beyond our control is futile.

When irritation begins to creep in because you lack control of a situation, take a few deep breaths. Remember that this rage is sucking the peace out of you and leaving you with more anxiety than you had prior.

10.) You Isolate Yourself

One of the most common traits among people with anxiety is self-isolation. Even people who appear to have extroverted personality traits are bound to shut themselves in every so often.

You may avoid social interactions as you fear being judged by others. You may be afraid of curating an embarrassing moment. Or you might have a social anxiety disorder and have a difficult time grasping social situations. Whatever your case may be, you’re not alone in self-isolation.

Though solitude can appear to be comfortable – a refuge from the judgment of society – it can also be dangerous. We’re social creatures and have a natural tendency to need to talk to others. ⁵ By refraining from this nature, we risk inflicting other mental health conditions upon ourselves – most notably, depression.

It’s important to get outside and talk to people. Even if the idea scares you, it’s vital to build up a social life for your mental health. By doing simple activities, like going to your college class or getting involved in a social group, you build immunity to the social pressures you may currently fear.

References

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² Bandelow B, Michaelis S. Epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the 21st century. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2015 Sep;17(3):327-35. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2015.17.3/bbandelow. PMID: 26487813; PMCID: PMC4610617.

³ McGue M, Bouchard TJ Jr. Genetic and environmental influences on human behavioral differences. Annu Rev Neurosci. 1998;21:1-24. doi: 10.1146/annurev.neuro.21.1.1. PMID: 9530489.

⁴ Szuhany KL, Simon NM. Anxiety Disorders: A Review. JAMA. 2022 Dec 27;328(24):2431-2445. doi: 10.1001/jama.2022.22744. PMID: 36573969.

⁵ Martino J, Pegg J, Frates EP. The Connection Prescription: Using the Power of Social Interactions and the Deep Desire for Connectedness to Empower Health and Wellness. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2015 Oct 7;11(6):466-475. doi: 10.1177/1559827615608788. PMID: 30202372; PMCID: PMC6125010.