Coaching practices for How to Deal with Chronic Anxiety
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For How to Deal with Chronic Anxiety, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I spend my days bracing for the next wave of it, scanning my body, dreading the moment it shows up
- When I make myself face the scary scenario I end up still wound up and rattled afterward, and then I dread doing it again
- Even once the worst of it passes, I can’t get back into the room
- I only ever try a new way to handle this once I’m already deep in a full-blown wave, and by then I’m too far gone to think
- My list of no-go situations keeps quietly getting longer as the fear spreads, and the whole thing feels too overwhelming to face head-on
Practices that may help
- Run toward the feeling
Actively invite more of the anxiety rather than waiting nervously for it to pass.
The DARE Response to Anxiety, Made Practical - Combine worry exposure with relaxation skill
After the exposure period, apply a relaxation practice to close each session with a deactivation phase.
Worry Exposure, Made Practical - Engage with the present moment
Once the edge comes off, redirect attention fully into an activity or your surroundings.
The DARE Response to Anxiety, Made Practical - Worry Exposure, Made Practical
Worry exposure, developed by Thomas Borkovec as part of his CBT for generalized anxiety disorder, reverses the usual avoidance strategy: instead of suppressing or distracting from worry, you deliberately face the feared scenario in detail, allowing the anxiety to peak and then naturally subside. It is a form of imaginal exposure applied specifically to chronic worry. The evidence base is the broader CBT-GAD literature, in which worry-exposure elements appear as part of well-supported treatment packages. - Rehearse the response before you need it
Learn and practice the four steps in low-stakes moments so they are available under pressure.
The DARE Response to Anxiety, Made Practical - Build an avoidance hierarchy and work through it systematically
List all the situations you avoid because of anxiety, from least to most frightening, then work up the list.
Safety Behavior Fading, Made Practical - Use grounding before anxiety peaks, not after
Start the technique at the first sign of anxiety — not once the wave is overwhelming.
The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique - Worry stimulus control: confine worry to a designated time
Schedule a 20-minute daily "worry period" and postpone all worry outside it.
Worry Exposure, Made Practical - Balanced, compassionate self-talk
Talk to yourself as you would to a friend — accurate and kind, not harsh or falsely cheery.
The Anxiety Toolkit, Made Practical - Reframe from "preventing catastrophe" to "coping with discomfort"
Shift the goal of entering feared situations from preventing disaster to practicing tolerance.
Safety Behavior Fading, Made Practical
Related concerns
- How Do I Deal With Extreme Anxiety
Actively invite more of the anxiety rather than waiting nervously for it to pass.
Run toward the feeling
- How To Cope With Severe Anxiety At Work
Learn and practice the four steps in low-stakes moments so they are available under pressure.
Rehearse the response before you need it
- How To Deal Extreme Anxiety
Start the technique at the first sign of anxiety — not once the wave is overwhelming.
Use grounding before anxiety peaks, not after
- How To Deal With Bad Anxiety
Talk to yourself as you would to a friend — accurate and kind, not harsh or falsely cheery.
Balanced, compassionate self-talk
- How To Deal With Extreme Anxiety
Start the technique at the first sign of anxiety — not once the wave is overwhelming.
- How To Deal With Severe Anxiety
Once the edge comes off, redirect attention fully into an activity or your surroundings.
Engage with the present moment
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