acknowledging my profound sadness and grief Once I started to get in touch with the vulnerability I felt the anxiety became easier to manage The more we avoid or push away our emotions the more anxious we become This process is a learned habit that actually worsens anxiety over time in part because it reinforces anxious thoughts and driven behavior This happens because to keep the unwanted emotion at bay we have to continually work at avoidance Over time keeping up this avoidance becomes something else anxious about When we despite our best efforts drop our guard even for a moment the emotions come flooding in and we again anxiously push them away On this the original negative emotion goes unaddressed and we remain ill at ease and hypervigilant How Do You Feel Right As you learn to better identify your feelings you will gain greater emotional control This means you will be less prone to intense emotional reactions such as panic attacks emotional meltdowns blowups crying spells and worried thinking Plus knowing what feeling means you can address the real issue and feel better When upset or aware experiencinganxiety use the following chart to help you label the deeper