How to live with anxiety

1. 01Audit your worries on paperList every worry currently in circulation. Anxiety thrives on vagueness and shrinks when it's specified — most lists are shorter and duller than the feeling implied.
2. 02Split solvable from unsolvableNext to each item write one action or the word 'nothing'. Solvable worries get a date in the calendar. Unsolvable ones need comfort, not strategy.
3. 03Ask what the worry is standing in forWe often worry loudly about a small thing to avoid a quiet, larger one — a relationship that's ending, work that's meaningless, a grief unmourned.
4. 04Treat the body firstSleep, food, alcohol, caffeine and movement change the baseline more than reasoning does. An anxious mind in an exhausted body cannot be argued with.
5. 05Practise the worst case, out loudSay what you fear plainly, then describe how you'd survive it. Catastrophes lose most of their power when finished rather than half-imagined.
6. 06Find one person who can hear it uneditedAnxiety is mostly a loneliness problem in disguise. Being witnessed without being fixed does more than reassurance ever will.
7. 07Know the threshold for helpIf it's shrinking your world — avoided places, missed sleep, panic — that's a signal to talk to a professional. See the mental health guide for how.

General educational information, not legal, tax, medical, or financial advice. Rules vary by country and change over time — verify with a qualified professional before acting.