Understanding how our thoughts, feelings, physical reactions and behavior all interact will help empower us to better cope with anxiety. Here is how how this works:

Situation: I am about to take a test.

Thoughts: I worry I will fail the test.

Feelings: Anxious

Behavior: Head down or fidgeting or leaving the room for a walk or freezing and forgetting everything you had studied.

Physical reactions: sweating, blushing, heart racing, etc.

The key to coping with anxiety is changing our thoughts. Here is an example:

Situation: I am about to take a test.

Thoughts: I will do my best. This test is only one portion of my grade.

Feelings: Calm and confident.

Behavior: Remembering what I studied and taking the test.

Physical reactions: At ease physical state.

Please note: Before we can change our thoughts, we need to first calm our minds. Common calming strategies include: mindfulness, taking a walk, thinking about something fun, take deep, mindful breaths, etc.