Anxiety ranges from a constant niggling worry to a full-on panic attack. When anxiety hits, it’s hard to imagine putting it aside and moving on, but there are ways you can overcome those jitters and nervousness.

Discover where the anxiety comes from.

What is causing you to feel nervous or stressed? Is it work, family, home life? When you discover the root of your anxiety, you’re halfway to curing it. You may need to take some time and have an honest inner talk with yourself to find out what has changed in your life that is causing stress.

Once you have determined the source of your worry, then you need to decide if the issue is yours to fix. It may be within your ability to change the root cause, or it may be completely out of your control.

If you have control over the stressor, determine a plan to reduce or eliminate it.

If your work is causing anxiety, formulate some ideas to lower your stress level. It may be delegating some work, asking a coworker for help, or learning a new process to streamline your workload.

If something at home is the issue, convene a family meeting (or a meeting with your spouse only) to discuss the problem. In either case, know that time is typically the best healer of anxiety. For now, try some deep breathing, meditation, exercise, or visualization of the best outcome.

If you cannot control the cause of your anxiety, let it go, or choose a better way to deal with the stress.

There are times we all have to deal with uncertainty, and we have to simply let things take their course. We do not control some parts of life, and we need to recognize those times and let our stress go. Use the stress relief techniques above to free yourself from the fear and worries.

Occasionally, stress is your brain and body’s way of alerting you that something must change. When you listen to and heed your body’s warning, you’ll be surprised at how wise you were without knowing it. If you feel that something is amiss, it likely is. Don’t ignore your brain or your body when it’s trying to send a message.

However, for some of us, worry becomes a habit. Always stay focused when you’re analyzing your worries, and determine if your fears are founded or not. When you begin fretting about things for no good reason, it’s time to step back and look at the bigger picture. Something more than a minor stressor is at work. Talk to a therapist or counselor if you feel you’re worrying needlessly.