Anxiety can ebb and flow for some people while being ever present for others. No matter which camp you find yourself in, quotes about anxiety can help you maintain a healthy mental space.
Anxiety disorders affect 19.1% of adults in the United States each year, and 31.1% of adults at some point in their lifetimes. Anxiety looks different from person to person, and it can put a stop to fully participating in and enjoying life. But, with the help of a trained professional, medication, or a combination of treatments, you can learn to control and manage anxiety rather than letting it control you.
In that process, quotes (and possibly a few deep breaths) may be the help you need on a difficult day.
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Understanding anxiety
At its core, anxiety is a survival instinct that alerts you to danger. It includes worry, physical tension, and other physical changes, like a racing heartbeat, increased breathing rate, or a rise in blood pressure. Anxiety is a normal part of the human experience. But the amount and duration of anxiety determines if it’s shifted into an anxiety disorder, which typically means the anxiety is:
Out of proportion to the situation
Not age-appropriate
Preventing normal, daily functions
Anxiety disorders come in different types based on how long, when, and where someone experiences anxious feelings. The most common anxiety disorders include:
Generalized anxiety disorder
Illness anxiety disorder
Panic disorder, with or without panic attacks
Specific phobias, such as agoraphobia
Treatment options include both medication and therapy, with many medical providers suggesting both until symptoms feel manageable. The symptoms between the types of anxiety disorders can vary, as can the therapy or medication used to treat them.
A licensed therapist can use any one of the different types of therapy to help you understand thought patterns and develop new habits. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), for example, is one of the most common therapies for anxiety. It explores and identifies dysfunctional thinking patterns behind problematic feelings and behaviors.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) skills can also assist someone with anxiety by cultivating a peaceful presence that allows for one to detach from harmful irrational thoughts and uncomfortable emotions. A therapist, like in-network professionals you can find through Grow Therapy, can use it to help you adapt and your thought patterns to reduce anxiety.
Whether you’re in the thick of it right now or simply looking for words that make the weight feel a little lighter, the quotes below are here for exactly that.
Did you know?
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health concern in the United States, affecting around 19.1% of adults each year according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Despite how treatable anxiety disorders are, fewer than half of those affected receive treatment.
Quotes to shed light on this common mental health concern
Society’s understanding of mental health issues continues to grow and expand so that stigmas surrounding anxiety are slowly disappearing. Those stigmas lose power as people understand how this common condition works and feels.
Here are some quotes to give you (and others) a deeper glimpse into this mental health disorder:
“Just because I can’t explain the feelings causing my anxiety doesn’t make them less valid.” — Lauren Elizabeth
“Anxiety’s like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you very far.” — Jodi Picoult
“Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strengths.” — Charles Spurgeon
“Anxiety is love’s greatest killer. It makes others feel as you might when a drowning man holds on to you. You want to save him, but you know he will strangle you with his panic.” — Anais Nin
“Feeling the need to be busy all the time is a trauma-based response and fear-based distraction you’d be forced to acknowledge and feel if you slowed down.” — Tutu Mora
Famous quotes on anxiety: Words of wisdom from celebrated thinkers and leaders
Rick Melton, a Grow-affiliated provider, offers one of his favorite quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr., “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
Here are a couple more to repeat to yourself:
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.” — Theodore Roosevelt
Coping with anxiety: Inspirational quotes to help you get through tough times
Anxiety can hit hard when times get difficult, and other times it’s the source of the challenges. These quotes are a bright spot when the swirling darkness of anxiety clouds your view:
“Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” — Oprah Winfrey
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Nelson Mandela
“He that can have patience can have what he will.” — Benjamin Franklin
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” — Dr. Seuss (Theodore Seuss Giesel)
“A man will be imprisoned in a room with a door that’s unlocked and opens inwards; as long as it does not occur to him to pull rather than push.” — Ludwig Wittgenstein
Social anxiety: Quotes to help with the fear of social interaction
Sometimes, a little inspiration can motivate you to step out of the house, go to an event, or meet a friend for lunch. Quotes like these can also keep you grounded in the present moment in stressful social situations:
“Sometimes just being there for someone and not saying anything can be the greatest gift you can give.” — Kelly Jean, “6 Simple Ways to Help Someone With Social Anxiety“
“Social anxiety looks different on different people.” — Fallon Goodman, Social Anxiety in the Modern World, TedX
“No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.” — Virginia Woolf
“Many of us have been through the crippling fears and constant anxiety that social anxiety produces—and have come to be healthier and happier on the other side.” — James Jefferson, Social Anxiety Disorder
“You are not weak. People like us, we’re brave. We’re the ones who get up and face our worst fears every day. We keep fighting.” — Jen Wilde
Powerful quotes to help with confidence
Cynthia Mobley, MSW, LCSW, LISW-CP, LICSW, and Grow-affiliated provider, says, “I read [a quotation from Fred Rogers] every day as it is stuck to the mirror on my bedroom vanity. ‘Our deep sense of knowing that we are cared for is probably the most important thing we human beings have for coping with the perpetual changes in our bodies, in our lives, and in the world around us.’”
Mobley also says, “It will remind all people they are not alone in this world, and we are all experiencing changes, and we are all in this together.”
Use these quotes can help you dig deep when you’re using introspection to manage symptoms of anxiety:
“Cry. Forgive. Learn. Move on. Let your tears water the seeds of your future happiness.” — Steve Maraboli
“Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” — Marcus Aurelius
“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
“Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” — Swedish proverb
“Some days, doing the best we can may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn’t perfect—on any front—and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else.” — Fred Rogers
“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Living with anxiety: Quotes to remind you that you’re not alone in your struggle
Anxiety can cause you to pull away from friends and loved ones. These quotes can remind you that many people experience the same feelings and those who care about you most are waiting for you to open yourself to their love and help:
“Just because no one else can heal or do our inner work for you doesn’t mean you can, should, or need to do it alone.” — Lisa Olivera
“The advice I’d give to somebody that’s silently struggling is, you don’t have to live that way. You don’t have to struggle in silence. You can be un-silent. You can live well with a mental health condition, as long as you open up to somebody about it because it’s really important you share your experience with people so that you can get the help that you need.” — Demi Lovato
“Just remember, you are not alone, in fact, you are in a very common place with millions of others. We need to help each other and keep striving to reach our goals.” — Mike Moreno
You don’t have to navigate anxiety alone.Browse in-network specialists here
Positive affirmations for anxiety: Quotes to help you build resilience and self-esteem
Affirmations give you a mantra and purpose for your day. Many people pick a daily or weekly mantra to give their actions and decisions focused direction.
Here are a few solid ones for you to use today:
“Smile, breathe, and go slowly.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.” — Amit Ray, “Om Chanting and Meditation”
“It’s about living in the moment and appreciating the smallest things. Surrounding yourself with the things that inspire you and letting go of the obsessions that want to take over your mind. It is a daily struggle sometimes and hard work, but happiness begins with your own attitude and how you look at the world.” — Gretchen Rubin
Turning anxiety into action: Quotes to encourage you to take steps toward your goals
Anxiety builds worry about the future and feeds insecurities, which can get in the way of making, keeping, and accomplishing goals. But these quotes about anxiety can put you to action:
“Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations. The best is yet to come.” — Zig Ziglar
“To venture causes anxiety, but not to venture is to lose one’s self . . . And to venture in the highest is precisely to be conscious of one’s self.” — Soren Kierkegaard
“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” — Deepak Chopra
“The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” — Paulo Coelho, “The Alchemist”
“The journey is what brings us happiness, not the destination.” — Dan Millman, “Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives”
“I will be patient till even patience tires of my patience.” — Ali ibn Abi Talib
Letting go of anxiety: Quotes to help you release stress and find peace of mind
Stress goes hand in hand with anxiety. Consequently, learning to manage and reduce stress can be a part of managing anxiety, too. Like anxiety, stress serves as your body’s warning signal, but keeping it at manageable levels can reduce anxiety attacks and other anxiety-related symptoms.
“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” — C.S. Lewis
“The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.” — William James
“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” — Reinhold Niebuhr
“Breath is the power behind all things . . . . I breathe in and know that good things will happen.” — Tao Porchon-Lynch
“As you breathe in, cherish yourself. As you breathe out, cherish all beings.” — Dalai Lama
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes . . . including you.” — Anne Lamott
Final thoughts
Anxiety is one of the most common mental health experiences there is — and one of the most isolating. The quotes collected here won’t resolve it, but they can remind you that what you’re feeling has been felt before, by people who found their way through. On hard days, that reminder can matter more than you’d expect.
If you’re ready to do more than get through the hard days — if you want to understand your anxiety and build real tools for handling it — therapy is one of the most effective paths forward. A licensed therapist can work with you to identify patterns, develop coping strategies, and help you build a life where anxiety doesn’t get to run the show. On Grow Therapy, you can find a therapist who specializes in anxiety, accepts your insurance, and has availability this week.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the best quote for anxiety?
What is the best quote for anxiety?
There’s no single best quote — it depends on what you need in the moment. If you’re looking for perspective, Marcus Aurelius’s “Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth” can help reframe anxious thinking. If you need a reminder to keep going, Nelson Mandela’s “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall” is hard to beat. The most useful quote is the one that lands for you on a given day.
Can quotes actually help with anxiety?
Can quotes actually help with anxiety?
Quotes won’t treat anxiety on their own, but they can offer a momentary shift in perspective — a small interruption to a spiral of anxious thoughts. Think of them as one tool among many, not a solution. For lasting change, therapy and, where appropriate, medication are the most effective evidence-based options.
When should I see a therapist for anxiety?
When should I see a therapist for anxiety?
If anxiety is affecting your daily life — your work, relationships, sleep, or ability to do things you want to do — it’s worth talking to a professional. You don’t need to be in crisis to seek help. Many people find therapy most useful before anxiety becomes overwhelming, when there’s more space to build skills and develop coping strategies.
What types of therapy help with anxiety?
What types of therapy help with anxiety?
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most well-researched treatments for anxiety and is often a first-line recommendation. Mindfulness-based approaches, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and exposure therapy are also commonly used depending on the type of anxiety and individual needs. A licensed therapist can help you figure out which approach is the right fit.
About Sean Abraham
Sean Abraham is a licensed clinical social worker who works with those who have struggled with substance use, depression, anxiety, loss, communication problems, student life, as well as other mental health concerns.
