Anxiety is not our natural state of being. It does not have to be our default. In my journey with anxiety, I don’t think I grew up knowing this. I don’t know when I started to be more anxious. I think it was likely around 12. There is a way out though.
We must first define anxiety. When I say anxiety I relate to it in three manifestations:
- The mind becomes very agitated and magnetic. It continues to loop through the same series of thoughts you want to stop thinking.
- The body responds and becomes tense and very uncomfortable. You stop your breathing and you restrict the flow of energy throughout your body.
- You awareness gets lost in the thoughts which further trigger the body.
You feel helpless, scared, trapped, constricted, and hopeless.
Many people tackle anxiety through either meds, food, or sleep regulation or a combination of
them. These can be very effective, but they don’t really tackle the root of the problem. The root of the problem is that you are disconnected from your inner being, your essence. If you reconnect to your being, you will see that everything else falls into place (including your eating and sleep).
We want to develop a state of being that does not need externalities in order to be good. Imagine how good it would feel to be able to live your life without worrying about getting “triggered” all of the time, without needing to tip-toe around life. Do you know how much energy you spend trying to make life be the way that you want it?
Anxiety is not our natural state of being. You were not born with anxiety. You learned to be anxious. There is nothing wrong with being anxious, it does not mean you did anything bad or are bad or are the cause of your anxiety. It just means that you have not yet learned (relearned) how to live differently.
The “cure” to anxiety is to understand why we get anxious.
What is Anxiety:
Anxiety is a build up of energy in the body. This energy gets trapped (usually we unconsciously stop the flow because we get scared). This is quite uncomfortable (most people would describe it as feeling panicked). We aren’t usually even aware of our bodies in this place. Instead, our mind kicks in to try to “solve” the energy. It starts looping over thoughts trying to either figure out either what to do or how to identify the threat. Because our thoughts effect our body, these thoughts further intensify the anxious feeling. This can go on for hours or even days.
The solution to anxiety is to be aware of your body when you start feeling anxious:
- Notice your heart. It’s ok if it hurts.
- Notice how your mind keeps trying to pull you into the loop. Feel how magnetic it feels.
- Try to relax your shoulders and relax the muscles around your heart.
- Breath into your stomach five times.
- The thought loop will drag you in again. When you notice that it did, you are already free of it. You might feel a further sense of helplessness (like you can’t control your mind). Try to smile and know that you’re doing amazing. Try to relax deeper.
- If you have done the two-week challenge, or have a good sense of what it feels like to be “connected” to your inner being, imagine what it would feel like to feel totally connected right now. Try to hold that feeling for about 17 seconds.
Awareness of the body and disassociation from the mind is the way out of anxiety.
There is a way out.
There is freedom. You can feel good and calm no matter what happens. It’s possible.