Managing anxiety

Several months ago I wrote a bit on managing the feeling of anxiety that arises when thinking or trying to work on intimidating projects full of uncertainty. I did not mention it in particular, but I also feel anxious just by encountering and trying to dive into some new topic. The cause is the same: uncertainty over the unknown. Usually the anxiety is triggered by some excellent Medium post, and to make matters worse they tend to come in bunches via various newsletters. These events tend to leave me frazzled, worn out, short of breath, and doubting myself. It might sound laughable, but it’s a huge problem for me.

Well, I should say that it was a huge problem. I’m happy to say that I’ve learned to be more resilient in the face of this kind of anxiety by simply pushing a little bit further than I find comfortable. In just a few months of “exercising” I’ve noticed a huge difference! Anxiety has transformed into slight discomfort, which is far more appealing and manageable. And it definitely feels like a huge victory to be able to solve a problem that has hounded me through most of my technical career.

I really wish I had found out about this simple and direct approach earlier; I’ll be sure to pass this on to my students as they leave the boot camp and truly begin their software development journeys. Now if only I could solve impostor’s syndrome as easily…