Imagine that, as a sufferer from anxiety, you could use the very same tools that you were so good at using to create anxiety, stress and panic, but in ways you consciously would wish to use them… Imagine how it could be if, instead of using your imagination in ways that end up with you feeling awful, you could use it to achieve the opposite… Imagine how it would be if, just as strongly as you used your imagination to create distressing feelings, you used your imagination equally powerfully to create feelings of calmness, comfort, confidence and safety… Imagine how it is to cope with and to even enjoy challenges, starting each day feeling relaxed, energised and grounded.
Anxiety is always about trying to live in the future; it is about ‘what if…' The answer to that is only limited by our imagination. The possibilities are endless and an anxiety state has us wondering and worrying about them all. Your mind regards all experience equally, whether in reality or in imagination. This means that when you worry about each and every one of those possibilities, on one level, you feel as if you are actually experiencing that situation - however extreme or unlikely. Your body will react just as it would if the situation was real. All the usual stress reactions come into play. These physical reactions were originally evolved to cope with what were commonly, millennia ago, physical threats. Adrenaline rushes through the body causing symptoms such as a dry mouth, clammy hands and a racing heart. Way back, we would then be ideally alerted to deal with a physical threat. These days, when usually our stressors are not physical, we are left with the primed physical reaction the body has gone into with no physical release for it. Adding to that, if we then start to become frightened of those symptoms, that very reaction can be brought on by the fear of it and so we are in a very vicious circle of panic or even full blown panic attacks. Often, when someone first experiences a major panic attack, they may feel as if something life threatening was happening - a heart attack for example. This, of course, then adds to the fear and so the whole thing escalates. The good news is that all of the above reactions were learned in one way or another. No-one was born with these high anxiety, stress and panic levels and…
ANYTHING THAT WAS LEARNED CAN BE UN-LEARNED AND
SOMETHING DIFFERENT LEARNED IN ITS PLACE
Here are some tools and suggestions:
- Since anxiety is always about trying to live in the future (whereas depression is about living in the past), and the present is the only place where you can make changes and live effectively, bring yourself back to the present. Consider this and also use the following tips and suggestions to help you to do this.
- When turning over all the possible outcomes of whatever situation you are thinking about - ie: ‘what if-ing' - consider the difference between possibilities (of which there are always an infinite number) and probabilities (of which, realistically, there are comparatively few). If the scenario you are envisioning is, in truth, a possibility, be very strict with yourself and discard it. If it is a probability, do what you can to plan for it then leave it alone.
- Buy Suzanne's double relaxation CD, Adventures in Relaxation , and listen daily to one or other of the half hour relaxation adventures every day.
- Do something physical but make it something that you enjoy. It could be yoga, running, a sport, the gym or dancing.
- Time management is often an issue. Keep a time diary for a few days. Looking at it may suggest some changes you could make. Think creatively.
- Learn to relax. Like anything, it is a skill. Fortunately, people who are ‘good' at anxiety, stress and panic tend to be at least equally good at relaxing - it is as if the same pendulum were simply swinging in the opposite direction.
- Learn self-hypnosis. You can come to see Suzanne. You will find contact details on this website. If you live too far away to consult Suzanne, go to the National Council for Hypnotherapy or the General Hypnotherapy Register websites to find a well qualified hypnotherapist in your area.
- Talk to someone. Talk to a friend but, if it has been going on for a while or seems particularly distressing or is impacting on your life, consider seeking professional help. See your GP. You can come to see Suzanne. You will find contact details right here on this website. If you live too far away to consult Suzanne, go to the National Council for Hypnotherapy or the General Hypnotherapy Register websites to find a well qualified hypnotherapist in your area.