Learn how to free yourself from anxieties with these 8 easy steps
Anxiety can be debilitating. Not only can the fear of the outcome paralyse you, but you may also experience physiological responses in your body that can trigger even more anxiety.
So what causes anxiety and how can you manage it's many forms?
It's important to understand that anxiety is a form of protection. Your unconscious mind's main objective is to protect you. It's responsible for the automatic biological mechanics of your body. It very rarely has the time to think things through, it just works on auto pilot.
At some stage in your life, it's likely that you would've triggered an adrenal response. Perhaps it was the very 1st time you had to get up in front of your class mates as a kid in preschool or kindergarten and perhaps it frightened you so much that you wet your pants. Your unconscious mind, would have associated public speaking with feeling embarrassed. So the next time it becomes even harder, the anxiety sets in and your body resists even standing up. As life continues, your unconscious mind starts to interpret these situations as threats and the neural pathways becomes even more ingrained and anxiety starts to be come a normal automatic response to anything that is uncomfortable. This is just looking at it in it's most basic form.
So what can you do to reverse this response and free yourself from anxieties?
The first thing to do, is to really connect with yourself and think back to when the anxiety actually started.
You may find it helpful to talk with a friend or therapist if it's difficult for you to identify what may have been the first trigger
Once you've identified the root cause of the anxiety, you can often create a new understanding or have more insight about the event which may decrease the intensity of your responses.
be kind to yourself! It's important to remember that a learned behaviour has been developed over a long period of time and even the most determined person will need time to adjust to their new understanding and beliefs.
Learn to recognise the triggers for your anxiety and use interventions to help overcome the intensity.
Some interventions to look into include, Deep Breathing, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) / Tapping, Emotional Stress Release (ESR) or Vibrational Flower Essences, like Rescue Remedy.
If needed, seek out a professional to assist with more advanced interventions to help you replace existing thought patterns with new neural pathways that can change your mindset and physiological response.
Take it slowly, breath and remember you're not alone - you're human and you're learning everyday how to live in this ever-changing world!
