Anxiety Acceptance

Acceptance is a key component in managing anxiety. This page explores the concept of anxiety acceptance and provides helpful strategies and techniques for accepting and coping with anxiety.

In the following sections, we will review different evidence-based techniques and strategies for anxiety acceptance.

Noting Meditation

This is a technique I like to call “Accept your anxiety and it will go away”.

One day, I was experiencing anxiety with uncomfortable physical symptoms. But, instead of trying to fight those feelings, I just stopped and accepted that my anxiety was taking over. I gave in to anxiety.

To my surprise, the physical symptoms lessened. So I started to do this more often. I would tell myself, “Okay, I’m feeling anxious right now, but my body is not trying to hurt me. It is just a temporary sensorial experience, and it is okay”. Let yourself feel uncomfortable, do not fight it. Feel those physical sensations going on in your body.

To my surprise, I learned that this technique is actually a similar technique than the one used in noting meditation for years. In the noting meditation, you acknowledge how you are feeling, you “note it”, and give it a name. You don’t try to fight anxious thoughts or feelings in your body, you just note them.

So, here would be how to implement this, step by step:

1. When you start to feel anxious, try to accept the physical feelings that come with anxiety. Acknowledge them.
2. Try giving the feeling a name. For example, “stress” or “anxiety”. It can be whatever you want.

If you want to learn more, I talk more in-depth about the noting technique used meditation in this Noting Meditation for Intrusive Thoughts Guide.

Here is my favorite guided meditation using the noting technique, from Headspace meditation.

Tapping Technique for Anxiety

The ETF (Emotional Freedom Technique) is a simple evidence-based technique (1 & 2) that you can apply in 2 minutes.

EFT consists in tapping 8 different acupoints on your face and upper body, while you repeat a short phrase (known as the Reminder Phrase).

The Remind Phrase uses the following format: “Even though I have [this problem], I deeply and completely accept myself”. The first part of the sentence is creating exposure to your problem, and the second part is encouraging self-acceptance.

If you want to learn more about this technique and the different acupoints where you should tap while you say your Reminder Phrase, check out our Guide Tapping Technique for Anxiety.