Using Logic Is Helpful for My Anxiety

I've found that my mind looks for logic when I'm anxious. In my experience, one of the difficult things about anxiety is dealing with the lack of control that accompanies it, especially when I feel like I can't make sense of what is happening in the situation I am in. When I feel this lack of control, I become completely overwhelmed and feel as though I don't have control over the circumstances within my environment.

I've found that when I feel this overwhelmed, it can sometimes feel like I am on a runaway train, and I have no idea where it is headed. Then, the more I think about how I don't have control over the situation, the worse my anxiety gets. And all of the physical symptoms of anxiety get worse as well, along with the behavioral symptoms, such as having a hard time sleeping or focusing.

Why Logic Helps My Anxiety

I've noticed that when I can look at facts and work through something logically, it helps calm these racing thoughts. Being able to focus on specifics and think about a stressful situation in a systematic manner helps me see something from a more sensible perspective rather than from a runaway train of thought. If I am looking at that same stressful situation from an irrational, illogical point of view, I'll react emotionally instead of thinking through my reactions. The problem with this is that usually, when I react emotionally, it makes my anxiety worse and can lead to a panic attack.

How I Use Logic to Help My Anxiety

When I start to feel like things are out of control, I've found that I have a hard time keeping my thoughts grounded, and then things feel chaotic. I've once described this to my therapist as suddenly having an urge to escape. When these thoughts start to spiral, it's hard to get a grasp on them, and I find myself reacting through these feelings of wanting to escape the anxiety I feel.

So, I've learned through therapy how to use a more logical train of thought to help me react less emotionally. When I go through a stressful experience, I have learned to write down what the situation is, my thoughts, my feelings, and my behaviors. By doing this, I can visually see everything surrounding the situation, and I can identify what causes me to feel anxious. Also, by doing this, I can see my faulty thinking so that I can correct that thought pattern.

Then, I can identify facts that help me look at the situation from a logical point of view and identify what I can control. This prevents me from feeling as though everything is chaotic and out of my control. And this keeps me from feeling completely overwhelmed with racing, illogical thoughts.

Using logic is a helpful way to cope with anxiety. If you intentionally use logic to work through your anxiety, share how you do this in the comments below.