How to Identify Your Anxiety Triggers

If you suffer from anxiety, it’s likely that there are certain things that will trigger your anxiety. This can include things that lead to anxiety attacks or simply make you feel anxious. For your own benefit, it’s helpful to identify these triggers. 

Keep a Journal 

One of the best ways to identify triggers is to look at patterns in your life. Keeping a journal can help you see these patterns. In your journal, you can write about your day overall or you can get more specific. You can talk about things during the day that made you anxious or events that made you uncomfortable. It is helpful to maintain your journal over an extended period of time. This will give you plenty to look back on when you want to identify your triggers. A journal is also helpful so you don’t forget what happens each day. It can be hard to identify patterns and triggers if you don’t remember everything you’ve done and experienced. 

Identify Major Stressors 

Anxiety can often be brought on by major stressors in your life. Typically, these will be fairly obvious but sometimes you may need to think about your life to determine what is affecting you. Examples of major stressors can include moving, separation, death in the family, or any other type of trauma. Your anxiety may also be manifesting if you have a stressful work, school, or home environment or if you experience a great deal of pressure. Take some time to determine what stressors exist in your life. Knowing what causes your anxiety can help you find ways to work around or through your stressors. 

Seek Outside Perspectives 

Sometimes you can’t identify your triggers all on your own. It can be helpful to talk to other people and gain their perspective as well. You can start off by talking to family and friends who know you well. They might have some insight on what they think affects you. Sometimes, the people close to you can observe what makes you anxious when you don’t. In addition to talking to loved ones, you can also talk with a therapist. A therapist is trained to help you work through mental health struggles. They can guide your conversation to help you find what your anxiety triggers may be. 

 

To improve your mental health, you need to understand your condition and how it affects you specifically. Identifying your anxiety triggers is an excellent first step. When you know what triggers your anxiety, you can find ways to work through it and seek out helpful treatments. 

 

As you look for helpful treatments, consider looking into TMS Therapy.