Anticipatory anxiety happens when people experience increased anxiety and stress when they think about an event that will happen in the future. Such anxiety may occur in response to large events such as giving a presentation at work, but it can also precede minor, everyday activities such as driving to work, parking your car, or having conversations with co-workers. While this is not a distinct mental condition, anticipatory anxiety is a symptom of other conditions including panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.
If you have panic disorder, you may find yourself anticipating many life events. Driving to work, going into a store, attending a social gathering, and other activities may be a daily focus of your anticipation. Before you had panic attacks, you probably didn’t give much thought to any of these common events. But now anticipation may cause you to feel anxious and interfere with your ability to fully function in your everyday life.
People often feel anticipatory anxiety because they fear that they will a panic attack when they are in these situations.
An infinite number of human experiences cause normal anticipatory anxiety. Many times we experience anxiety in anticipation of doing something new or before we complete a major task or go through an upcoming life event. You might feel anticipatory anxiety before a first date, a final exam, a job interview, moving to a new home, or before a major trip.
If you have panic disorder, anticipatory anxiety likely goes beyond the limits of what people normally experience with new or major life events, leading to problem anticipatory anxiety. This is because the anticipation, or the way you visualize a future event, is focused on having a panic attack in certain situations.
The fear of having a panic attack can be associated with any life situation or event, big or small. In some cases, anticipatory anxiety surrounds any activity that involves leaving the safety of your own home.
Anticipatory anxiety is closely associated with the way you think. With panic disorder, your thoughts are generally focused on worrying about having a panic attack in a situation that will result in embarrassment, extreme discomfort, a heart attack, or even worse.
If you have panic disorder, you are probably very familiar with “what if” worries. Perhaps your worries are similar to these:
This kind of thinking causes a lot of anticipatory anxiety that can lead to avoiding certain activities. The anxiety may be so intense that it causes a condition called agoraphobia.
Here are some ways to cope with anticipatory anxiety:
By learning and practicing relaxation techniques, you will be able to reduce your level of anticipatory anxiety. You may even be able to defuse a panic attack in the making. Some techniques that may be helpful include:
When you find yourself experiencing anticipatory anxiety, there are some things that you can do that may make it easier to cope:
If you can’t get your anxiety under control on your own, it is important to talk to your doctor or mental health professional. A variety of professionals can help you with problem anticipatory anxiety.
Some of the treatments they may be able to provide include:
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