accepting anxiety relieves anxiety CH APTER SEVEN Putting the Tools to Work Implementing anxiety techniques on a routine basis means you can start to make choices for yourself that reflect your larger goals and values in spite of anxiety no longer only an anxious you are a person who along with anxiety has a rich and meaningful life Here are ways to turn the strategies learning into consistent habits that will enrich your life for the long term From Strategies to Habits Repeated use of these techniques in a structured determined manner will bring you relief far beyond managing your symptoms Consider the challenging task of quitting smoking Smokers say it usually takes three months for nicotine withdrawal symptoms to leave the body Those three months require deliberate effort to adopt a new learning pattern but the rewards clearly outweigh the effort Three months is nothing compared to a longer healthier and more satisfying life Similarly take the example of Julia Julia felt extremely anxious driving on highways with congested lanes and higher speed limits Each time she drove on a highway the same pattern of neurons fired and a panic attack soon ensued mind reeled with imagined bad outcomes