Article reprinted with permission from the author.
Questions:
What is anxiety and why is it so hard to manage this emotion?
What causes anxiety?
What are the biggest problems with being anxious for a longer period of time?
What is the best way to overcome anxiety?
What are some tools we can use right now to feel less anxious?
The Keys to overcoming anxiety:
Do you also struggle with anxiety during these challenging times? Does the uncertainty of what the future may bring, make you feel worried and powerless? But what can you do to not get paralyzed and overwhelmed by your emotions? Based on my almost 20 years of experience, I found that overcoming anxiety isn’t just about getting rid of its symptoms, but instead embrace this emotion as catalyst for healing and growth. Let me share with you some of the keys, that can get you started on this journey.
Your anxiety is not done to you, but created by you: Believe it or not, that’s good news, because accepting that you create your anxiety, reminds you of your ability to un-create this emotion. You have the most powerful tool at your disposal—your mind. After all, it was your mind that created your anxiety in the first place. And with the right guidance and tools, your mind learn how to resolve this challenging emotion.
Your anxiety cares about you: I know, considering how overwhelmed and debilitated anxiety can make feel, it is difficult to imagine, that this emotion serves a positive purpose. Yet, the fact is, that anxiety is created by the protective aspect of your subconscious mind, which usually originates in your childhood, when you were the most vulnerable and powerless. Like an overzealous bodyguard – or super-nanny - this inner protector uses anxiety to warn you from anything that can potentially cause you to get hurt, rejected or abandoned. The problem is that while you have grown into a self-reliant adult, your inner protector still uses the same anxiety warning-system that used to keep you safe. Why? That’s the next key.
Your inner protector needs an update: During your early years, the protective aspect of your mind worked tirelessly to find answers to three crucial questions: 1. Who do I need to be and what do I need to do to be safe? 2. How can I avoid getting rejected? 3. How do I get love and attention? Depending on your circumstances, this inner protector may have figured out, that you need to be quiet and invisible to not get in harm’s way. Or that you need to please others or be an over-achiever to not get rejected. Or that it is better to accept, that you will not get love and approval, rather than being continuously disappointed. To heal, these old anxiety-triggering patterns and ·beliefs from your childhood need to be replaced with new, empowering, and self-affirming ways of seeing yourself and the world.
These are only a small collection of the keys to overcome anxiety.
You can find all 10 keys on my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/drfriedemannschaub