A reader asked:
I was recently diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). My therapist said it’s something I’ll have forever and have to learn to live with. That seems depressing… Is that true? Or is it possible to overcome an anxiety disorder completely?
I think you absolutely can overcome an anxiety disorder completely.
But let’s clarify a few things…
- An “anxiety disorder” means you have anxiety that’s reached a level of intensity such that it’s significantly impairing your life, and as a result, you’ve been given a diagnosis by a mental health professional.
- So, can you get your anxiety to a point where it’s no longer significantly impairing your life and the diagnosis is no longer warranted? Absolutely. It takes work and patience. But it’s definitely doable. I spent the first seven years of my career helping people do just that.
- However, overcoming an anxiety disorder is not the same thing as never struggling with anxiety any more. We all experience anxiety—sometimes a lot of anxiety. That’s a perfectly normal, if painful, part of the human experience.
- That said, even if your anxiety struggles are “sub-clinical,” it’s still possible to experience a lot less anxiety by improving the way you think about and respond to anxiety and building better habits.
So, I would encourage you to think less about getting rid of anxiety, and instead, reflect on this question:
What would it look like to have a healthier relationship with my anxiety?
For example:
- When you experience a worry, do you get into a conversation with it and continue worrying or can you acknowledge it then let it go?
- When you find yourself feeling anxious, do you get judgmental and self-critical with yourself for feeling anxious, or do you validate your anxiety?
- When you notice physical signs of anxiety like increased heart rate or butterflies in your stomach, do you normalize those feelings or catastrophize them?
Nobody eliminates anxiety because some anxiety is a normal part of being a human being. But you can absolutely eliminate excessive anxiety—an anxiety disorder—by learning to manage your anxiety in a healthier way.
Next Steps
If you want to learn more about how to experience less anxiety by creating a healthier relationship with it, here are a few resources: