Anxiety Past & Present

Listening to your body and finding the good in "everyday anxiety."

View this email online Jasjyot Singh Hans for NPR Friends, This weekend marks a somber occasion — the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Maybe you remember watching the tragedy unfold on TV. Maybe you were too young to remember that day, maybe you lost a loved one or maybe both.  Honoring this day, like all hard days of remembrance, looks different for everyone. For me, Scott Detrow and Tim Lambert’s remembrance of Flight 93 was a tough listen, and also an excellent tribute to some of the lives lost that day. You might want to dive deeper into more context about 9/11 with a book or process the grief through lighting a candle or even making some art. And if you feel like you don’t have a “right” to feel like grieving this anniversary  — you do. No matter what 9/11 means to you, it’s a day that changed the course of a country and so many lives.  Oftentimes, I find that my body is alerting me to these types of grief anniversaries before I even look at the calendar. I can feel irritable and anxious seemingly out of nowhere. It can feel so tempting to push those icky feelings away.  But that’s not the best approach to dealing with anxiety.    Newsletter continues after sponsor message Good Anxiety I recently interviewed Wendy Suzuki, author of Good Anxiety: Harnessing The Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion. I know  — can anxiety really be good? Apparently, yes. Because anxiety isn’t just telling us about what we fear, but what we truly value and appreciate, Suzuki says. Her book is full of strategies for dealing with what she calls “everyday anxiety.” So the next time that knot in your stomach is forming, try a few of these tips: Take a deep breath. It always comes back to deep breathing, doesn’t it? Suzuki says deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps bring you down to a state of calm. Try a technique called box breathing — breathe in for four counts, hold for four counts, and breathe out for four counts.  Get moving. If you’re a fan of Life Kit, you know we believe in all the great mood benefits of exercise. Suzuki says even just going for a quick walk or going up and down the stairs helps stimulate the release of dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline in your brain.  Turn your ‘what-if’s into ‘to-dos’. Anxiety can mean having a front row seat to a movie featuring every bad outcome you can think of. Suzuki says that anxiety response is resolved with action. Instead of thinking “what if they ask me a question in this job interview I don’t know the answer to?”, try coming up with all the questions they might ask and then practice your answers. Practice and preparation are great anxiety busters.  Listen to the episode here The key to turning your anxiety into something manageable, even good, is to get curious about what it’s telling you. This weekend, I hope you listen to yourself more and find what you need — whatever that might be.  — Meghan Keane, Life Kit senior producer   Thanks for sticking with us! Watch this space for next week's episodes on:    💊 How To Start Hormone Therapy | 🏋️ Staying Mentally Healthy While Exercising | 😘 Dating Over 50 We love hearing from you. And we *love* hearing your random life tips. 📹 In fact, we love it so much we started testing out your tips in this new video series on Instagram. 📹 So send us a note at lifekit@npr.org or leave us a voicemail with a greeting, your name, phone number and your tip at 202.216.9823.   You could hear yourself in an upcoming episode or see your tip tested on NPR's Instagram account. Thanks for sticking with us! Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: LifeKit@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Code Switch, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Life Kit emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy