Anxiety and Acceptance

[matty_t]

So I've been doing a lot of reading and listening for new tips on anxiety treatment, and it seems to me that overwhelmingly the most important thing to do is to embrace/accept your disorder. I used to use distractions a lot to get away from my anxious nature, which used to work really well, however it is clear to me now that it is certainly not a permanent solution. After quite a long period without sufficient distraction, I fell back into my old habits and completely feared anxiety and panic again. This is the part I want to work on now.

Does anyone have good experience with accepting their anxiety for what it is? I totally get the concept, but just a bit confused as to how to put it in motion. I know it will require a lot of practice, and I am ready for this. Though the details is what I am lacking. Would anybody have tips or tricks, as subtle as they are, on how to make acceptance more effective that I can start practising?

Thanks

[gypsylee]

I think you need to walk a line between acceptance and making anxiety who you are. I definitely agree acceptance is a huge part of dealing with anxiety because fighting it just makes it worse. But at the same time you can't sit at home thinking "I'm an anxious person, I can't do x, y and z". An example of both these ideas would be going to a social occasion even if you're really anxious about it but at the end of the day coming home and resting because you're worn out, and not sitting there beating yourself up because you weren't the life of the party or whatever.