A person who has never experienced an episode of anxiety can not really understand how debilitating and crippling it can be. You can feel the attack coming on but you feel helpless to do anything about it. There's no reason to be overwhelmed by anxiety and stress. You can bounce back by applying these 14 simple strategies for Attacking Anxiety.

1. Clarify Your Purpose

When you are Attacking Anxiety, you must not allow little things that arise to confuse and cloud your purpose. Set up priorities for the things that you need to accomplish and then work on them ONE item at a time. I once heard a saying that is very applicable to working toward obtaining your purpose. The saying goes like this: Mile By Mile, It’s A Trial, BUT Inch By Inch it’s A Cinch. Be sure to set and keep boundaries. Do not be afraid to say NO to things that are not truly important to achieving your purpose.

2. Remove the Clutter
Get and remain organized. Replacing organization for disarray will help you to greatly reduce anxiety. Purchase storage bins, filing cabinets, desks, rearrange your closets and pantries or even rent storage space in order to bring things into order. Make a place for everything and then make sure everything has its place. You will sense an amazing calm when you turn chaos into order.

3. Enlist Outside Help

You have no need to do it alone. Enlist the help of family members, friends and business associates. If you need more support than a friend can provide then seek out professional help or some self-help resources. We live in an era where about anything you need can be ordered or delivered. If you have the financial where-with-all to afford extra expenditures here and there try starting to be creative. Do not spend 4 or 5 hours cleaning your house when you can instead enlist the aid of a bonded and insured cleaning service company. Do not spend a couple of hours cutting and trimming your lawn when you can hire a lawn service company to perform the task for you. Find a grocery store where you can submit your orders online and have your groceries delivered. Have your laundry done at your local dry cleaner when you do not have time to wash you clothes. Have your meals catered when you do not have time to cook for a special event. If you are like me, you probably have trouble justifying paying someone to do something that you can do yourself. If this is the case you must change the way you think. Start thinking of the money spent as an investment in your mental well-being.

4.  Control Only What You Can Control

The serenity prayer is a good resource for this issue.  Stop worrying about things that are outside the realm of your control.  Consider only the things that are under your control and decide upon the action you must take to turn this situation into a positive. In other words, you need to make Lemonade out of Lemons.  Be realistic in your approach.  Rather than picking 7 or 8 things to work on, pick only one or two. Take small or even baby steps to effect change and then do not forget to take time to celebrate your successes.   

5.  Take Care of yourself

Sometimes your greatest asset will be a relaxing bubble bath, or a 15 minute walk, or a trip to Starbucks for a cup of coffee, or getting your hair done and maybe even a massage.  Make sure that you are taking care of yourself.  Maintain a proper diet, exercise regularly and get an adequate amount of sleep.  How you treat your body, mind and spirit will affect your attitudes, emotions, behaviors, actions and lastly your results.

6.  Exercise Regularly

Aerobic exercise is one of the most effective and simple strategy to reduce anxiety and stress.  Individuals that commit to an exercise program display less anxiety. They feel and act less anxious.  Simply walking at the gym, walking your dog, taking a bicycle ride around the neighborhood will greatly reduce anxiety and stress.  If you are up to it, you might even consider trying Yoga, Pilates or Tai Chi.  Exercise is also beneficial in that it will help you sleep better.

7.  Delegate Duties
Attacking anxiety will sometimes require you delegate some of your duties at your work place.  In addition to delegating duties at work, you may also need to delegate some of your household chores.  In my lifetime, I have had difficulty dealing with this item.  My thoughts were "If you want something done right, do it yourself.”  It may be hard to turn over duties to others at first, but you will find that you will be happier in the long run.  It will be liberating for you to allow others help you. You might want to create a chart listing duties or “chores” that you are assigning to your spouse and children.  Then make them responsible for the completion of these tasks.

8. Keep A Journal

Do not attempt to commit everything to memory. Write down however, whenever or whatever you desire. Write down what you feel, think, or believe. Write down anything and everything that is on your mind. In your journal record your challenges and your successes. Be sure to include the things that you are thankful for each day.

9. Breathe

If you start to feel stressed out, immediately stop and breathe deeply. When we become stressed out, our breath becomes shallow. We oftentimes we do not get enough oxygen. Concentrate on your breathing and learn how to meditate. You might begin by your journey by visualizing that you are relaxing in a chair on the beach in Florida. Maybe you see yourself making a birdie putt on the 5th hole of your favorite golf course. Visualize places and or events that bring a calming sensation to you. Research, find and use a relaxation technique that fits your personality. It might be listening to your favorite music on a CD, meditating on some bible scripture or going for a short walk.

10. Release Your Unrealistic Expectations

When our expectations do not line up with reality we find ourselves becoming anxious. Try not to impose unrealistic goals or expectations upon yourself that will cause stress.

11. Be Pro-Active Not Re-Active

Practice recognizing your thoughts and feelings. When you believe that you are starting to get stressed out, STOP and breathe deep. Do not allow yourself to get upset! Then you must ask yourself a hard question. Will the thoughts and feelings I am experiencing right now help propel me to reach my desires? If your answer to this question is NO, then immediately take action, make changes and refocus your direction.

12.  Do Not Beat Yourself Up

If things are not going the way you have planned, do not allow yourself to get down in the dumps.  Acknowledge where you are, where you have come from, where you are going and then celebrate your past successes.

13.  Re-Examine Your Finances
Has running to the post office to buy stamps and to mail bills has become stressful? If so, please consider the following options.  Maybe you can start simplifying things by buying your stamps and or paying your bills online.  Most banks now offer bill paying features that will remind you when a bill is due.  Some utility companies also will permit you to authorize automatic debits from your checking account to pay your utility bill when it is due each month. You may have your employer to direct deposit your paycheck into your account.  This will eliminate the need to go your bank to make a deposit. You might start keeping track of your important events, birthdays and meetings on your computer or BlackBerry. These suggestions could possibly serve you well in attacking anxiety.

14.  Learn To Laugh
Laughter reduces the level of various stress hormones such as cortisol, epinephrine and adrenaline in your body.  It also will increase the level of health enhancing hormones such as endorphins and neurotransmitters in your body.  Laughter also increases the number of antibody producing cells while it enhances the effectiveness of T-cells. Thus laughter serves to provide a stronger immune system. Laughter can act as a distraction that will move away you form anger, guilt, negative emotions, stress and anxiety to a state of calm and happiness.  

We all respond to anxiety and stressful events very differently. By applying the 14 strategies we discussed in this article, we can learn to become proactive in regard to stress in our lives. We can train our mind to respond to anxiety and stress with fear and dread.  We can stressful situations with relaxed calmness and confidence. Stress does not always need to be all bad or negative. Some stress can be positive results in our life if it challenges us to reach for higher goals. Stress can motivate us to be the BEST we can be.