Anxiety is one of the worst feelings I’ve ever experienced… and I’ve experienced a lot of it.
My chronic anxiety began as a preteen. I still remember the very first panic attacks I had back in those days. One night, when I was about 13, I remember laying in my bed, completely consumed by this feeling of the deepest dread I had ever felt. I didn’t know what to do---I felt frozen. Like I was the only person left in the cold, lonely universe.
Out of desperation, to give a job to my restless mind, I closed my eyes and pretended I was riding my favorite roller coaster, recalling every twist and turn, over and over, until I fell asleep.
These terrifying feelings continued to come the rest of my life as worries about actual things, like upcoming performances and social events - and as just general anxiety that, for the life of me, I couldn’t pinpoint what the source was, other than just being alive.
Nobody really ever talked to me about anxiety and how to manage it until I was much older, so I spent years thinking that the end of the world was, in fact, coming at any time.
Eventually I learned more about it, and how to express how I was feeling, and how common it was. Today, thankfully, it’s a topic that’s way more talked about. All of this means our society is headed in the right direction with this too-common experience.
And you know what? I STILL suffer from terrible anxiety. EVEN THOUGH I know what's going on and I have pills to take when I need them and I meditate and I love my life. Gahhh.
If you know the struggle I’m talking about, my friend - if you feel a constant twinge in the back of your mind at the daily insanity that is being a conscious alive human here on Earth -you are NOT alone. I’m right there with you.
But I also can tell you with absolute certainty that it's possible to find relief from the constant anxiety you've suffered from. In FACT, I believe finding your peace isn't just possible, it’s your natural state, and it's time to return to it. And the more you practice with tools that you find work for you, the less time you'll spend in Anxiety World USA.
Here’s the good news, my dear: it’s not a complex process to begin to get out of the constant anxiety groove and get some momentum going. We are going to engage your playful, creative mind muscles so you can tell your survival brain “Hey man, it’s all good, everything is ok!”
But the catch is: it takes TIME to change mental habits. Here are 4 exercises I’ve come up with over the years that still help me to this day when I feel like my world is closing in & I need to get the heck out of my head. If you put in the effort to practice these steps day by day, they will eventually become as natural to you as that swell of anxiety used to be.
So use them with abandon and have fun with it! Just remember big changes happen step by step, babe.
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