Anxiety disorders affect between 13-18% of the general population, but the truth is we all experience different forms of anxiety throughout our lives. An anxious mental state is often defined by feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness, or dread. It is often future-oriented, meaning that our anxieties are directed toward possible threats or negative experiences that haven’t yet happened.

In the real world, most of us experience anxiety in varying degrees depending on the situation. It isn’t always a bad thing, as some anxiety can motivate us to re-plan or re-think a situation before acting. However, excessive anxiety can be crippling to a point where we can’t decide, we don’t take action, or we mess up when the event finally comes.

Different Forms of Anxiety.

Anxiety can come in many different forms depending on what it is that triggers our feelings of fear, worry, or dread. These three types of anxiety are often the most common types discussed in modern psychology research, but there are probably other types of anxiety that don’t fit so neatly in these categories (specific phobias, existential anxiety, death anxiety, etc.) Nevertheless, these are the types of anxiety I will be referring to in this post:

Social Anxiety

Social anxiety is a fear or worry about social situations. We may feel uncomfortable or avoid environments that involve large groups of people (like school, work, public speeches, high school reunions, etc.) or we may even feel uncomfortable or avoid certain kinds of 1-to-1 interactions (like job interviews, dating, interacting with a stranger for the first time, or meeting a celebrity).

Most people feel some kind of anxiety in these situations but it varies greatly from person to person. Some people may feel more comfortable in groups, while others feel more comfortable during 1-to-1 interactions. Some people may feel more comfortable talking to familiar faces, while others feel more comfortable meeting someone for the first time. It really depends on the environment and the person.

For more on social anxiety, and how to overcome it, check out Sean Cooper’s The Shyness and Social Anxiety System.

Performance Anxiety

Unlike social anxiety, performance anxiety is a fear or worry about performances, such as a student taking a final exam at school, or a musician performing on stage, or an athlete playing at a big sports game. We worry that we won’t do our best, or that we will mess up or lose, and that anxiety can actually inhibit us from performing to our maximum capacity (or even performing at all, for example due to too much “stage fright”).

Instead of focusing on what we need to get done to succeed, we become more focused on all the ways things that may go wrong. This can sometimes become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Our thoughts make us more uncomfortable and ill prepared, and then those thoughts lead to actions that reinforce our previous conceptions.

Choice Anxiety

Choice anxiety is an anxiety rooted in uncertainty when making decisions. The truth is that none of us can act or make a decision with full knowledge of what the consequences will be; the universe is just too complex, and our minds aren’t capable of completely understanding it. Due to this, we often feel anxiety when making a big decision in our life, because we don’t know if we will make the best possible choice.

Some common big decisions we need to make throughout our lives include: what college to go to, what career to pursue, who to date/marry, where to live, what kind of car to drive, etc.

We make decisions everyday and we have to face the “opportunity costs” from choosing one option over another. Some research suggests that the more options we have to choose from, the more difficult it is to make a decision. They claim that having more options leads to a higher “opportunity cost” (theoretically: the more we have to choose from, the more we miss out on), and when this opportunity cost becomes too big we can often suffer from paralysis by analysis. Paralysis by analysis inhibits us from making ANY decision because we are so lost on what the right course of action is.

I’m sure that you’ve experienced these kinds of anxieties through your life to varying degrees. That’s good. A lot of our anxiety can be healthy and natural. However, when it starts interfering with how we want to live our lives, then it can become a problem that we need to deal with. The first step toward dealing with this problem is identifying some of the potential causes of our anxiety, then we can determine what are the best ways to treat it.

The Most Common Causes of Anxiety

There are a lot of factors that can contribute to our anxiety (and our mental health more generally). In this section, I am going to discuss some of the most common causes of anxiety, and also some potential treatment options for each one. However, it’s important to remember that because our anxiety can be due to such a wide array of different variables, it is often better to integrate several treatment options simultaneously.

Genes

Certain gene variants may be associated with greater levels of anxiety. We all have a different biological make-up, and sometimes individuals may experience increased levels of anxiety for no other reason but that it is embedded in their genetic code. These genes essentially cause chemical imbalances in the brain that leader to your anxiety.

Treatment options: If your anxiety is driven by your biology it may be possible to get prescribed medication from a professional psychiatrist. Beware, however, that many of these medications can have negative side effects (you may go through several different medications before finding one that works best – a good psychiatrist will help you through this process). Also beware that if your anxiety is caused by other factors than medication will only serve as a quick fix, but it won’t solve the deeper issues in your life. You may need to supplement your medication with other treatments.

Health

Anxiety can also be caused due to physical inactivity and poor diet. When we don’t treat our bodies right then that can often have an effect on our mental states.

If we don’t eat balanced meals and get all the nutrition we need, that often means our brains aren’t getting enough nutrition either. This inhibits our brains from functionally as efficiently as they could be, which could very well become a contributor to higher levels of anxiety.

Physical activity is also crucial to both our physical and mental health. Running, playing sports, going to the gym, dancing, and anything that provides exercise is a great way to relieve stress and anxiety that may build up throughout the days or weeks. It’s important that we have a way to channel hormones (like adrenaline and cortisol) in positive and healthy ways, otherwise they manifest themselves as stress and anxiety.

Treatment options: If you don’t already take good care of your body, you’d probably be surprised of just how much less stressed and anxious you’d be if you started taking better care of your health. Try doing little things like replacing soda with water, eating less cake, going for a jog several times a week, or being more mindful of what you eat, and you’ll begin to feel better both physically and mentally.

Psychology (our thoughts and beliefs)

Many psychologists believe that our thoughts and beliefs are some of the biggest contributors to our mood and anxiety. When we look at our lives from a certain perspective or worldview, we may become more anxious than if we reframed our perspective to something different and more productive. One simple example: If you go into a date or a job interview believing that “I’m not good enough,” then you set yourself up to have an anxiety-driven experience. However, if you reframed your perspective, and instead you saw yourself coming from a place of strength or value, then you would probably be less likely to be as anxious.

Treatment options: It’s important to be mindful of the thoughts and beliefs that drive our mood and behavior. If we discover that our thoughts inhibit us from acting appropriately, then it may be appropriate to adjust those beliefs or replace them with something new. For more on this approach you can check out “Social Anxiety and CBT.”

For more on how to use psychology and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy to overcome anxiety, check out Sean Cooper’s The Shyness and Social Anxiety System.

History

Our personal history and past experiences can also lead to more anxiety in the future. If we have a poor track record of job interviews or dates, then we may think we are inherently incapable of succeeding in these domains of life.

Early psychologists theorized that our self-esteem could be calculated by taking our successes and subtracting them with our failures. The more we succeed, the greater our self-esteem. While this theory definitely doesn’t depict the full picture of self-esteem, it does provide insight into one factor that can influence our self-perception.

Treatment options: It’s important to not let past failures dictate our self-esteem or anxiety about a situation, but when we start accumulating successes it can often become easier to keep ourselves motivated to overcome obstacles in the future. Keep this in mind, reflect on success for inspiration, and you can begin to turn your history around.

Environment

It is also likely that our anxiety is caused by a novel or unfamiliar environment. Anxiety can often be a rational response to an unknown environment because we never quite know what will happen or what risks or at stake. Our anxiety therefore signals to us that we are in danger, and often times this can rightfully inhibit us from taking part in behavior that we may sense as too risky.

Of course, there are also some environments that we may fear irrationally. We may understand that it is a lot safer to take a plane than drive a car, but our anxiety remains persistent despite understanding the risks at stake.

Treatment options: One way to treat these irrational anxieties is through something known as exposure therapy. Basically, we gradually expose ourselves to these environments until we become more and more comfortable with them. This kind of therapy largely makes up the “behavioral” component in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. I also elaborate on this more in “Social Anxiety and CBT.”

These are some of the most common causes of anxiety that I know of, although I’m sure there may be other causes that don’t necessarily fit in any of these categories. As you can also probably tell by now, there is a good chance that your anxiety is a combination of one or more of these factors. What makes you “you” – and what determines your thoughts and mood – is a very complex and interconnected process. But hopefully by reading through some of these causes you now have a greater understanding of what may be the driving forces behind your anxiety.

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THE SHYNESS & SOCIAL ANXIETY SYSTEM



Check out this online course by Sean Cooper to learn more about how to face your social anxiety and shyness.

A big theme of this blog is to take awareness that we have cultivated during meditation and apply it to different senses, different experiences, and different actions. In truth, you can take any sense and use it as an object of meditation. And this includes our sense of balance.

I was messing around in my backyard the other day and I discovered a brick and a plank of wood. I laid down the brick on its side and then put the wood on top of it. Then, I stood on top of my new apparatus and tried to maintain my balance.

I became really focused on how difficult it was for me to keep a still posture. And as I became more aware, I noticed the subtleties of my weight shifting across the board. From one side to the other, and back again. I noticed when my feet were closer together it was easier for me to keep my composure, but when they were further apart it became more difficult. I kept experimenting, exploring, and discovering new aspects of my body and muscle control.

It fascinates me how taking our awareness and applying it to something as simple as balance can reveal new complexities about our conscious experience. I usually take my balance for granted. I get up everyday, walk around, and hardly ever think about how my weight is distributed throughout my body or how my body and muscles work together to keep me upright. But this is hugely important for someone who practices yoga, gymnastics, likes to skateboard, or maybe someone who is getting older and more clumsy.

Being more aware of our balance and practicing balance can have health and fitness benefits like:

• Improving muscle control.
• Improving posture.
• Improving blood flow.

It can also strengthen our mind-body connection by:

• Increasing concentration.
• Increasing body awareness.

It’s a really simple and easy thing to practice. It’s not hard to just come up with some kind of “balancing apparatus” and begin playing with it. I personally find it really fun and a good exercise in self-awareness. I recommend giving it a go.

For some reason when I first started thinking about “balancing meditation” I didn’t make the connection that it was in fact a kind of yoga practice. Haha. Either way, this is something I want to keep practicing and integrating into my health routine. Being able to hold my body more still and calmly (and improving my muscle control) seems like a really desirable trait for long-run health and fitness. It also requires an interesting one-pointedness between both mind and body.

UCLA professor of cognitive neuroscience Sophie Scott explains the psychology behind laughter. She starts off by explaining how during states of high emotional arousal (whether joy or pain) we often use non-verbal sounds to communicate our feelings. For example, while angry we may scream or yell. Laughter is another one of these non-verbal sounds. It is typically seen as an expression of happiness, joy, surprise, and sometimes even stress. It has also been shown to play a very universal role throughout other cultures to facilitate social bonding, as well as within other species. For example, scientists have found laughter among chimpanzees, bonobos, and some argue even rats (and as you will see below: penguins too!)

Tickling is one of the most basic stimuli that causes laughter. Dr. Scott explains that it may be an evolutionary mechanism designed to facilitate social bonding between mother and child.

As our social world develops further, we share laughter with others in a myriad of different ways. Sometimes we even find ourselves laughing just because other people laugh, even if we don’t know why they are laughing. This demonstrates a kind of behavioral and emotional contagion involved with laughter (probably as a result of empathy).

When neuroscientists look into our brains while we laugh, they find a lot of neural activity that suggests our brains “get ready to laugh” whenever we hear it. This suggests that laughing may be something that is supposed to be shared between individuals.

Laughter produces endorphins in our brain that make us feel immediately better and relieved afterward. Ever had a good long laugh, where your stomach begins to ache, and you feel like a million bucks? Laughter is a great way to create and share feelings of pleasure and joy with others.

Laughter is good for your physical and mental health.

Humor can be a kind of reframe.

Sometimes we make jokes or laugh in response to really stressful situations. This is a healthy coping mechanism, and often times humor can be seen as an important reframe to an otherwise unpleasant experience. Laughter can help us minimize physical, mental, and emotional pain by looking at a situation from the lighter side of things.

How to embrace laughter.

Here are some suggestions of things you can do to embrace laughter:

• Learn to laugh at yourself. Seriously, laughing at your mistakes allows you to take them less seriously and not get so hung up on the little things.
• Learn to crack jokes about stressful situations rather than complaining.
• Keep stuff around you that lightens the mood. A toy on your desk or a funny poster in your room can become a daily reminder to not be so serious all of the time.
• Make games out of things and be more playful, especially with children or pets who appreciate the attention.
• Watch a funny movie or TV show.
• Find one or two comics to follow on a daily basis. Read them during your morning coffee or on the train to work.

A penguin laughing while being tickled.

I discovered this video this morning and just had to share it. It was actually the sole reason I wanted to write this post. Ladies and gentleman, a penguin laughing while being tickled:

I believe that unless I can integrate a healthy attitude long-term, there is no point in pursuing a healthy lifestyle. How many people do you know who literally work their butts off to lose weight, but then have trouble keeping it off? What happened is they overcompensated in order to meet a short-term goal, but they ultimately tired themselves out. They aimed for short-term gratification over long-term growth and sustainability. Thus, the results of their efforts didn’t last.

This is one pitfall of making any health-related goal that aims to meet a certain deadline. Sure it may motivate us up until a point (it’s an external motivator), but it may not instill the internal motivation we need to become a truly healthier person over the course of our lives. I find that health isn’t so much about a gym membership, or joining a sports league, or buying a treadmill, but an attitude we create about our bodies, one which greatly influences our habits.

In this post I am going to go over the bare essentials toward cultivating a healthier lifestyle. In the second half, I will go over some of the ways I apply these skills, as well as a couple material possessions I think will greatly aid any workout.

Bare Essentials of My Minimalist Workout

Awareness

Yes, awareness is important. If not for any other reason then because it is the one constant in all conscious action and decision-making. The more aware you are of your body, the more attune you are to its needs and demands. When I go extended amounts of time without exercising, I feel and notice my body getting weaker and having less stamina. On the other hand, when I am working out on a frequent basis, my body feels stronger and my stamina increases. This is just one example of how your body sometimes signals whether or not you are treating it right. Eventually, you’ll notice more subtle things. After sitting at the computer for an hour or two, you’ll notice your muscles begin to ache because they want you to move around. The more aware of my body, the more I know when its a good time to get up, go for a walk, or do some stretching.

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is just another word for drive, passion, or intrinsic motivation. It’s commonsense: if we are going to commit ourselves to something, then we need to have the desire to do it. It is much easier to stick to an activity when we don’t think of it as a chore or obligation, but it is something we derive joy just from doing it all on its own. You can integrate enthusiasm into your health life in a number of ways. First, you can identify physical activities you already know you love – maybe you like nature walks or a particular sport you used to play a lot as a child. Secondly, you can create your own fun activities: maybe you can challenge someone to a competition, or make a game out of your work-out routine. You can also instill enthusiasm by listening to music that pumps you up (studies show this can work) or finding a workout environment that inspires you. Find ways to make health fun and it’ll become second-nature.

Exploration

I imagine that because we are all unique in different ways, we each should have a slightly different workout routine. Some people like running in the mornings, others at night. Some like team sports, others like going solo. Other preferences may include outdoors/indoors, what exercises to do, what machines to use, how often to work-out, how long is each workout, etc. You can’t go into your healthy lifestyle with a predetermined blueprint of how you should act; you need to explore these options on your own, find what works and what motivates you personally. Take suggestions from your friends, family,coaches, and fitness gurus, but experiment with advice before making it a fixed part of your routine.

Boundary Pushing

This is related to exploration, because you should always be testing your limitations and working to overcoming them. All the hurdles and obstacles you encounter help define your path toward improvement; don’t be discouraged when you find your abilities limited, instead use that limitation as a measuring stick for growth. When you overcome it, you know you are putting in the right work.

My Application

I think if you get these 4 attitudes down in regards to health: awareness, enthusiasm, exploration and boundary pushing, then you are well on your way to living a healthier lifestyle. Over time, you will cultivate new habits, see the costs and benefits, and know what works best for you. Most importantly, you will be in it for the long haul.

Some of my personal applications of these tools include:

Mindful Stretching/Yoga – This is one of the best ways to start increasing awareness of your body. When you stretch, you automatically turn your awareness to your muscles, joints, tendons, and posture. You’ll be able to identify the boundaries of your stretching, and over time notice yourself becoming more flexible and fit. With some exploration, you’ll discover stretches you never knew you were capable of, so be ready to experiment, but don’t do anything that causes too much pain or discomfort. Start with the main muscles and go lightly, then as you become more stretched out explore your boundaries. I prefer to stretch every morning to help wake myself up and get the blood flowing. When I do, I am usually more aware of my body throughout the day as well.

Use your body weight – You really don’t need much more than your body and some space to start working out. Pushups, crunches, planks, side planks, knee bends, squats, lunges, etc. Find ways to use your weight and gravity to work out different muscles. Here is one really inspiring video of some exercises this guy does with just his body and a living room. You can tell he knows how to have fun and be enthusiastic about his practice:

Use stuff around the house – I bet you I can choose almost any furniture in the house and come up with 3-5 exercises. I know it sounds silly, but we really don’t need to go to Sports Authority to pick up an exercise machine if we want to start building strength. Some common things I use are: chairs, backpacks, stairs, jugs of water, etc. It takes a bit of creativity and exploration, but you can come up with a full body workout if you put your mind to it.

Use anything else available to you – As I said at the beginning, my approach to minimalism is essentially “optimize what you have.” If there is a track a couple blocks by your house, use it to run on during the weekends. Or, if you are like these guys, you can use a local playground to do some serious muscle-building.

I like sharing videos like these because I think fitness is something we can all be more innovative about.

Isometric exercises – These are certain kinds of exercises involving the static contraction of a muscle without any visible movement in the angle of the joint. You can do many of them with just your own body, or you can do them against a wall. Here is one example of an isometric exercise designed to tone your chest. Here are some other isometrics you can do in your car at a stop sign or red light. You can find many more of these by searching on YouTube or Google.

Physical things

Although this article is mainly about optimizing your fitness without the use of weights or machines, I think there is a lot of diverse stuff you can do with just 2 or 3 sets of dumbbells. Here is a great resource that shows over 75 exercises you can do, including exercises for your shoulders, biceps, triceps, back, legs, and more.

In addition, I like having hand grips around, just because they are so easy to do while surfing the internet, or reading, or watching TV.

I also highly recommend working out where there is a full-length mirror (if you don’t have one, I would suggest picking one up). This is crucial if you work out alone (like me) because it’ll help you correct your posture and body awareness.

Your application

Now that you’ve found out a little about what I do (and some others), it’s time you start cultivating your own fitness practice. If you are someone who already goes to the gym several times a week or plays sports, you can add some of these ideas into your day to help bring your fitness to another level. If you are someone who has very limited experience with fitness, these are some great starting points.