What we notice

When we’re anxious, we tend to do two things. We worry and become preoccupied with our challenges - that is, we over-notice our problems, and we under-notice our strengths.

Remember our thoughts and emotions are not facts. When we’re anxious we unconsciously discount our strengths and magnify our problems. When we’re anxious our memories work differently too – we can find it difficult to remember our strengths, the things we’re proud of and the times when we’ve dealt well with our problems.

We might think we can’t cope but if we were to face our fears; if we were to stand up to them, we would most likely find that we could cope. It’s important to remember that when we’re anxious we underestimate our strengths. It is not so much that we can't cope – the problem is that we feel we can't cope.