How To Fight Off “Adulting Anxiety” In 10 Simple Ways

Be honest; how many times, in the last week, have you told yourself that you want to “unsubscribe” from adulthood or that you’re giving one star to adulthood? If you ask me, I’ve done that at least three times in the last week! Because let’s be real; adulting is hard.

Sandwiched between work and social obligations and responsibilities, drowning in an endless flood of bills, and not getting enough sleep, adulting is tormenting most of the time. One day you’re playing with your friends in the park and the next moment, you’re left wondering where did your childhood and those carefree days go.

While I agree that adulting can be dreadful at times, it’s not so bad. However, that’s my take on adulthood. Did you know that certain people get seriously worried, fearful, and anxious about adulting, in general?

Have you ever wondered why? What makes others so anxious about their lives that you don’t experience? And if you feel anxious about adulting, then why do you feel that way, and how can you fight it?

I might not have all the answers for you, but I do have some ideas that can help you go forward and understand why you feel adulting anxiety and how to overcome it.

Let’s take a look!

What Is Adulting Anxiety?

In simple words, adulting anxiety is the feelings of worry, anxiety, and fear that come when you transition from a carefree young adult with minimal responsibilities to an adult with a life of obligations and responsibilities. Or, it’s the fear of growing up into an adult.

The thought that you can’t handle adulthood often co-occurs with adulting anxiety. You feel overwhelmed by the idea of turning into an adult with all the pressures of social obligations, family burdens, and work responsibilities on your shoulders.

So, what causes adulting anxiety?

First, it could be a fear of failure. One of the main causes of adulting anxiety could be your fear of failing or feeling that something will go wrong. As an adult, you’re responsible for yourself and that means maintaining your own life, supporting yourself, and taking care of your loved ones. So, anything that makes you feel the fear of failing yourself or your loved ones may cause adulting anxiety.

The second reason that can cause adulting anxiety could be the desire to remain carefree. As children, we don’t have many burdens on our shoulders, but as the responsibility of adulthood enters, we feel that we’re losing our carefree life, and we don’t like it at all.

So, to avoid all the panic and worries of adulthood, we might go to great lengths to avoid growing up. This means, self-sabotaging or remaining in a state where there’s little development.

Thirdly, there’s always a fear of taking responsibility for your actions. In your childhood, if anything goes wrong, you’re not asked to take responsibility, but in adulthood, if something goes wrong, it is your responsibility and your fault. To avoid dealing with the stress that comes from that, you avoid growing up and facing adulthood.

Lastly, the fear of death is another reason that can cause adulting anxiety. Growing up means aging and aging means dying one day. Many people, to avoid the fear of dying, cling to their youth.

However, it doesn’t work that way. Death is inevitable. Some people might experience adulting anxiety because they are terrified of dying.

To help you fight off adulting anxiety, take a look at these 10 simple ways;

How To Fight Adulting Anxiety?

1. Count The Plus Points

Instead of focusing on the downsides of adulthood, focus on the bright sides. Now that you’re living alone, think about it; “Your house, your rules”. Now you don’t have to ask for permission to have pizza for dinner.

You can live your life on your terms (as long as you do it safely). Think of your responsibilities as an investment. If you cook for yourself, you can share it with others the next day.

2. Have Fun Doing Adult Activities

Just because your responsibilities are boring doesn’t mean you have to make fulfilling them boring. If you have to do chores, then have fun doing them. For example, if you have to clean your house, then maybe listen to some music or dance while cleaning the house.

If you have to shower then make sure to indulge in expensive products for once. If you don’t want to cook, then take yourself out for dinner.

3. Stay Focused On The Present

When adulting anxiety gets too much, it can help to focus on the present for a while. Do what you can in the present and deal with whatever happens when it happens.

Adult responsibilities can be daunting but when it becomes too much, focusing on the present can help you take one thing at a time and worry about other things as they come.

4. Enjoy The Process

While we’re at it, remember to enjoy the process. It’s good to focus on the present moment as you’re working through your tasks but if you don’t enjoy the process, the tasks will feel like a burden.

So, take your mind off of things and focus on enjoying the process in the present moment. As an adult, things might seem too tough, but when you keep practicing and keep going, they’ll become less and less terrifying.

5. Allow Yourself To Make Mistakes

That’s how you learn, after all. Mistakes are a part of your learning process so when you’re enjoying the learning, make sure you allow yourself to make mistakes and forgive yourself for the same.

Once you realize that making mistakes is OK, you’ll feel less anxious about them. You’ll realize that “yeah, this is bad, but it won’t remain bad for long.” Failing and making mistakes will help you eventually learn.

6. Face Your Responsibilities

We all avoid some things because we feel they’re too tedious or too tough for us to tackle but what if you faced your responsibilities before they have a chance to make you feel anxious? The more you ignore your responsibilities, the more they’ll build up, and the more you’ll feel anxious.

However, when you face your responsibilities head-on, there will be no chance for them to build up and cause anxiety. Smart, right?

7. Embrace Your Inner Strength

One of the reasons why people experience adulting anxiety is because others try to take their control away from them. This happens when one has controlling or overprotective parents/guardians.

To overcome this, you need to draw on your inner strength. Learn to set healthy boundaries, speak up for yourself, and learn to defend yourself. Embrace your inner self. Find what you like, interests and hobbies, and build yourself around them.

8. Don’t Hesitate To Ask For Help

There are people in your life who have been adults for longer than you have been one, so when you feel yourself floundering in your adulthood and adulting, seek their guidance and help. You can always learn from their experiences.

If you need to seek counseling, then don’t hesitate to do so. A counselor or life coach can help you face adulting anxiety and learn how to overcome it.

9. Avoid Feeling Regrets

There are always things that hold us back from truly enjoying life to its fullest. And those are regrets. If you have regrets, then you need to learn to let go of them. When you cling to regrets, they can cause you unnecessary stress and anxiety that can only contribute to adulting anxiety.

So, avoid feeling regrets and if you have them, learn to let go of them for your sanity’s sake.

10. Remember, You’ve Got This

Adulting might be harder than you have imagined, but it’s not impossible to go through. Adulthood like death is inevitable. But just because it’s inevitable, doesn’t mean you get stressed about it.

Adulting anxiety stems when you focus on the worries and fears of responsibilities and obligations. Once you know how to take care of those responsibilities and obligations without losing your inner child, then you know you’ve got the hang of adulthood.

Whatever happens, always remember that you’ve got this!

Final Thoughts…

There are always moments when you feel tired of adulting all day. And it’s OK. Adulting is hard, but it doesn’t have to be. Adulthood, while it may not seem like it, can be fun.

With the right steps and help, you can find easy ways to make adulting anxiety go away. If you feel scared of obligations and responsibilities, then you can seek help from a mental health professional.

If you’ve already taken your first steps to fight adulting anxiety, then I hope this article will motivate you and encourage you to keep going.

Remember, adulting can be downright terrifying, but you’ve got this! Listen to Dory, the fish for one, and; Just keep swimming!

If you found this article helpful, let us know in the comments below or DM us on social media. You can also share your thoughts by writing to us at info@calmsage.com.

Take Care!