Lack of concentration due to anxiety: what to do?

The impact that anxiety has on our lives is considerable; it not only affects us emotionally, but also cognitively. Our mind does not work in the same way when we are in this psychological state, as we focus on the problems that it presents to us.

Concentration is one of the cognitive processes that are affected by anxiety, since our attention tends to focus on those stimuli that are related to what we consider a threat. In these cases, what can we do? How can we improve our concentration when we are anxious?

Lack of concentration and anxiety

Anxiety is defined by the DSM-5 as an anticipatory response to a future threat. It is associated with muscle tension, vigilance in relation to future danger and cautious or avoidant behaviors, which are used as a coping strategy in the face of an anxiety-inducing situation. We can also identify other symptoms, such as nervousness, agitation, tremors, worry, difficulty concentrating, among others.

People who suffer from anxiety problems often have frequency intrusive thoughts that become concerns about probable future events and consequences, or catastrophic interpretations of past events that highlight the negative. Although it may sound paradoxical, anxiety is important for our survival, since it amplifies our cognitive abilities, such as attention, under certain parameters.

On the other hand, the managerial capacity of anxiety becomes a problem when it arises at moments that are not relevant to the achievement of our immediate purposes. It robs us of the concentration we need for a task, often diverting it towards objectives for which, at that moment, we really cannot do anything.

In these cases, although concentration and attention are at their optimal state regarding the perceived threat, they are not optimal for activities in which we need all our cognitive resources. This represents a problem because energy and mental resources are not being focused on what is really important. What can we do in these cases? How to improve our concentration when anxiety is present?

Improve your lack of concentration

Below, we will offer you some strategies to improve your lack of concentration when you are anxious.

1. Do R exercisesdiaphragmatic expiration

Get into a comfortable position, close your eyes and observe your breathing. Pay attention to its rhythm and depth. Is it deep or superficial? Is it fast or slow? Then place one hand on your abdomen and try to feel as you breathe how your stomach inflates and deflates with each inhalation and exhalation. Place your other hand on your chest and try not to let it move when you breathe. Only the one on your abdomen should move.

Breathe in slowly through your nose, so that the hand you have on your abdomen feels the pressure of it rising. The hand on the chest should remain motionless. Hold your breath for a moment and exhale slowly through your mouth, so that you feel the hand on your abdomen descend.

This exercise will help you train your concentration, since you are focusing on your breathing, and will provide you with a feeling of relief, slightly reducing your anxiety levels.

Diaphragmatic breathing is a technique that promotes states of calm.

2. Do physical exercise

Exercise not only helps you improve your physical health, but also your mental health. Physical activity has been found to help improve cognitive abilities such as learning, memory, attention and executive processes. In addition, it will also help you reduce anxiety and cortisol levels that skyrocket when you are alert.

When you do the exercise, focus on each movement you are doing, that is, do not focus your attention on what worries you. If you find that your attention has wandered to another topic, gently return it to the exercise you are doing. When you are anxious, it is very common for you to be very distracted from the present, just return to it, but without recriminations. Be kind to yourself.

3. Practice mindfulness

He mindfulness It has proven to be an activity that improves people’s concentration. This is so, to a certain extent, because when practicing it you are constantly focusing your concentration on a particular object. Continuously returning to a stimulus, despite distractions, causes attention to strengthen. The same thing happens with cognitive processes as with the muscles of the body, the more you use them, the stronger they become.

Practice mindfulness It will also help you reduce your anxiety levels. Being an activity that focuses you on the present, it takes you out of your musings or worries about the future. By relocating yourself to the here and now, it reduces the strength of the manifestation of anxiety that is nourished by future time and its inherent uncertainty.

4. Walk in the middle of nature

Immersing yourself in nature will help you improve your control over attention, according to different research. Taking this type of walks has enormous emotional benefits: it reduces anxiety, rumination and negative affect; In addition, positive affect persists. It also has cognitive benefits, such as increased working memory efficiency.

If you have the possibility of taking this type of walks, always do it with full attention (mindfulness). Unplug from the future and focus on the present around you. If you don’t have access to natural parks where you can walk, then try surrounding yourself with some plants in your home. Houseplants have been found to have a psychological effect on task performance, health, and stress levels.

5. Train your brain

Brain training games can help you improve different cognitive processes, including attention and motor speed. Brain training plays a relevant role in improving cognitive functions. This type of mental activity can also help you develop your working memory and problem-solving ability.

6. Reduce multitasking

Although doing many tasks at the same time makes you feel very productive, it is not an excellent strategy to improve your lack of concentration, since in these cases you are constantly dispersing it, and what you are looking for is to focus it.

To have better concentration it is necessary that it be reinforced by focusing on a single task.thats why he mindfulness It is a practice that can improve it.

Focusing on a single task helps focus attention and improve concentration.

7. Accept uncertainty

This strategy, more than helping you improve your lack of concentration, what it seeks is to reduce your anxiety, which is what is generating your concentration problems in the first place. Take time to feel your body and give yourself the opportunity to experience your anxiety.

Once you come into contact with it, just look at it and accept it as it manifests. Don’t resist it, accept it. Remember this well: What resists persists.

Accept that life is a continuous uncertainty and that we move and develop in the midst of uncertainty. The future is a great unknown, a constant mystery that we have to reveal at every moment. Live and accept the uncertainty of our human existence.

Finally, each of the strategies we have reviewed to improve your lack of concentration will not give you results in a day or a week. They need to be constantly practiced to reconfigure the connections in your brain and thus change those irrational thought patterns.

Change is possible, just commit to it. If you have anxiety problems, don’t fight alone, go to therapy.

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