Decrease Anxiety and Free Your Mind
The Source of Anxiety and Worry
At the heart of anxiety and worry is control. When we wish for a desired outcome, we try to figure out if it will occur by itself. If not, we then think about whether or not we can influence the situation to make it turn out better. Just as parents have to watch their children become independent, or as children watch their parents' health decline, we all face the pressure of lacking the control we desire over situations in life. The outcome is not ours to choose.
The Freedom to React
When we feel out of control, we tend to become anxious. But if we are all out of control in life (which is true), how can we curb anxiety? There are two parts to the answer: giving up control, and accepting our anxiety.
Giving Up Control
If we want to decrease anxious feelings, then we can give up the need to be in control. Wait, this does not mean we raise the white flag. Instead, we realize what we can accomplish, and what we cannot. For what we cannot control, we accept the outcome to the best of our ability, whether we like it or not. For that which is in our control, we need to responsibly to our part. Then we build the confidence of knowing we have done our part.
Accepting Our Anxiety
This sounds backwards, but it is true. If we accept that we are anxious, two things tend to happen:
•By observing our anxiety and acknowledging it, we are free to decrease it. As we see it for what it is, we realize we can still function with it, and in doing so it sometimes actually subsides.
•As we realize the conditions that make us anxious, we can learn to decrease the strong feelings those situations cause inside. Think of past times you have been anxious, and the outcome. Did anxiety help you, or did it hinder you? Could you have made it through without so much anxiety (hint: yes!)?
One final tip is to give yourself permission NOT to fix the problem. Yep, that's right. When thoughts keep looping through your mind, you will probably accomplish nothing except losing sleep.
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At the heart of anxiety and worry is control. When we wish for a desired outcome, we try to figure out if it will occur by itself. If not, we then think about whether or not we can influence the situation to make it turn out better. Just as parents have to watch their children become independent, or as children watch their parents' health decline, we all face the pressure of lacking the control we desire over situations in life. The outcome is not ours to choose.
The Freedom to React
When we feel out of control, we tend to become anxious. But if we are all out of control in life (which is true), how can we curb anxiety? There are two parts to the answer: giving up control, and accepting our anxiety.
Giving Up Control
If we want to decrease anxious feelings, then we can give up the need to be in control. Wait, this does not mean we raise the white flag. Instead, we realize what we can accomplish, and what we cannot. For what we cannot control, we accept the outcome to the best of our ability, whether we like it or not. For that which is in our control, we need to responsibly to our part. Then we build the confidence of knowing we have done our part.
Accepting Our Anxiety
This sounds backwards, but it is true. If we accept that we are anxious, two things tend to happen:
•By observing our anxiety and acknowledging it, we are free to decrease it. As we see it for what it is, we realize we can still function with it, and in doing so it sometimes actually subsides.
•As we realize the conditions that make us anxious, we can learn to decrease the strong feelings those situations cause inside. Think of past times you have been anxious, and the outcome. Did anxiety help you, or did it hinder you? Could you have made it through without so much anxiety (hint: yes!)?
One final tip is to give yourself permission NOT to fix the problem. Yep, that's right. When thoughts keep looping through your mind, you will probably accomplish nothing except losing sleep.
