Do you suffer from anxiety?
If so, you’re not alone. Anxiety is running rampant in society today. More than 18 percent of the adult population in the U.S. alone suffers from an anxiety disorder every single year (that’s over 40 million people). Millions more suffer from less severe manifestations of the disease, which nonetheless affects their mental health and daily lives. In other words, you’re in good company.
What does anxiety have to do with a growth mindset? A lot, as it turns out. No, people who have more of a fixed mindset aren’t any more likely to experience an anxiety disorder than those with a growth mindset, but researchers have shown that people who already have issues with anxiety who attempt to cultivate a growth mindset end up with substantially lower rates of anxiety and are less likely to develop depression as well.
Researchers have studied this extensively, using mindset interventions to help cultivate a growth mindset in the subjects. This effect has been seen in many studies, in both men and women, and in both adults and adolescents. These effects are persistent as well. That is, they don’t disappear after the study ends but last for the long term. One study found them persisting almost a year later.
To put it another way: cultivating a growth mindset can reduce your anxiety over both the near and long term.
The mindset interventions used in these studies were generally the same ones recommended to help anyone cultivate a growth mindset, including journaling, affirmations, trying new things, and meditation. As expected, different treatment methods worked better on different people; everyone is a unique individual who responds differently to different stimuli.
Cultivating a growth mindset had other benefits than just lowering anxiety in the studies. It reduced stress, increased resilience, and encouraged participants to keep trying difficult tasks. The same results the practice has on everyone, in other words, but magnified.
There’s no downside to trying to change your mindset, either; you don’t have to worry about side effects or developing other problems while fixing the one that’s bothering you.
If you suffer from anxiety, working to cultivate a growth mindset is one of the best ways you can manage your anxiety and reduce it over the long run. It may not cure your anxiety, but it will make it significantly better. Start today and begin living the life you were born to lead!
Important note: if you have a genuine anxiety disorder and not just anxiety, it’s unlikely that cultivating a growth mindset alone will be enough to treat your anxiety.
Please seek help from a licensed healthcare professional as well.