These 3 Strategies Will Help You Manage Everyday Anxiety

Everyday Better is LinkedIn News’ weekly personal development podcast and weekly newsletter hosted by Leah Smart, a LinkedIn News Editor . You’ll hear from some of the world's brightest minds and bravest hearts who use science and story to share strategies for how we can flourish individually, in relationship to others and to the world around us. We talk about improving emotional, work, physical and relational health. Subscribe to the show's newsletter for weekly evidence-backed strategies to make your life better, one day at a time.

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This Week on Everyday Better

This week, I brought renowned neuroscientist and the Dean of NYU’s School of Arts and Sciences, Wendy Suzuki , into the studio. We sat down to talk about a topic she's been studying and writing about for the last few years: everyday anxiety. Everyday anxiety exists on the less severe end of the anxiety spectrum.

Anxiety resonates deeply with me because, for years, I struggled with it without understanding what it was or how to manage it. I knew my all-too-common experiences of having a tight chest, "what-if" thoughts, and seemingly inexplicable bouts of sweating weren’t totally normal for a teenager, but I took them as par for the course. I was also too embarrassed to talk about them.

However, these same symptoms continued into adulthood and often got in the way of my goals at work and my internal sense of thriving. Mine weren't always the everyday symptoms; they sometimes felt more deep-seated. So I turned to what wasn’t accessible to me at a younger age: resources and research. It became clear that not only did I have to do something about my symptoms, but that I actually could do something.

When it comes to everyday anxiety, one of the perspectives I've been most interested in is Wendy’s. She's focused on simple management techniques and then using everyday anxiety to our advantage. In her 2021 book, Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion , Wendy explores how we can reframe our anxieties and use them as a tool for growth. As a sneak peek, one of my favorite reframes is taking action by turning our "what if's" into "to-do's."

In exploring her work, what you'll come to understand through the practices she's researched and tried for herself and with hundreds of NYU students is that while everyday anxiety is uncomfortable, "it's a key component in our ability to live optimally." And that, when properly worked with, you might come to view everyday anxiety as good.

Wendy makes sure to clarify the distinction between everyday anxiety, which many of us experience, and diagnosed anxiety. In her research focused on everyday anxiety, she's found three strategies to work with it when you're wound up:

1. Deep breathing: take multiple, focused deep breaths making your exhale longer than your inhale.
2. Movement: Even walking for 10 minutes outside can significantly decrease your feelings of anxiety and depression.
3. Active compassion: Reaching out to someone and offering support releases dopamine (the feel-good hormone) in your brain and helps ease some of those anxious feelings.

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Read: Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion

Watch: Wendy Suzuki's TEDWomen talk "The Brain-Changing Benefits of Exercise"

You might be interested in these other topics related to mental health and mindfulness:

• Harvard's ellen langer on mindful thinking for chronic health
• Understanding the brain-body connection with neuroscientist Tara Swart

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Everyday Better is LinkedIn News’ weekly personal development podcast hosted by Leah Smart , a LinkedIn News Editor. You’ll hear from some of the worlds brightest minds and bravest hearts about how to live with more clarity and intention every day, in and out of work. Subscribe to the show's newsletter .

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