Do you struggle with bouts of anxiety?
Anxiety is how the body responds to stressful situations.
It’s the feeling we get when we anticipate something negative that is about to happen.
When you’re feeling anxious, the body behaves as if the negative event has already happened.
Anxiety can appear in different forms – flashbacks of fearful situations (a.k.a anxiety ‘attacks’) that strike you in quiet moments or a slow-boil worry that bubbles beneath the surface, ruining your mood and appetite.
When a person experiences this for a prolonged period of time, it can morph into an anxiety disorder.
I was a teenager when I first had to deal with constant bouts of anxiety. Back then, it felt as if I was the only one who was going through it almost on a daily basis.
I discovered later on that my generation – the millennials – are the most anxious generation in history!
The American Psychological Association reports that 12% of millennials have officially diagnosed anxiety disorders – which is double the amount for baby boomers.
But despite the trends, what concerns me is not that more people are becoming more anxious. What concerns me is that many people don’t know how to effectively deal with anxiety.
Recently I was going through a personal crisis that made me incredibly anxious.
The feelings have since subsided, but I felt like sharing some perspectives that have helped me successfully manage anxiety.
All Human Experience Is Internal & Self-Created
First of all, understand: all human experience is 100% internal and self-created.
Whether you’re feeling happy or anxious, angry or depressed, in love or heartbroken – all human experience is internal.
You may be triggered by something outside of you, but the feelings you experience as a result are all happening inside of you.
Take this article for example.
Right now as you read these words, you may think that you’re reading my article.
You can see the words in front of you. You may even hear a voice ‘reading’ the article to you as your eyes scan the words from right to left.
But what’s really happening here is light is falling upon the screen, reflecting and entering through the lens of your eyes.
The image is then projected in an inverted manner as an image on your retina.
You may think you are perceiving the world, but what you actually perceive is all within you.
In fact what you ‘perceive’ are all ‘re-created’ through the awesome power of your brain and the medium of your five senses.
You derive value from this article because the characters you perceive on your screen are in English – a language you understand.
You may feel inspired, confused, bored or enlightened – depending on how you ‘re-create’ the experience in your mind.
But another person who doesn’t understand English may be looking at this same article and feel completely indifferent. The words mean nothing to them.
Same data, but different ‘re-creations’.
Pain or pleasure, joy or misery, peace or anxiety – all human experience is internal and self-created.
When I was going through bouts of anxiety, I keep reminding myself of this one simple fact.
A simple fact that whatever I am anxious about, I am currently creating that experience within myself.
I keep feeling anxious because I’ve allowed my mind to ‘re-create’ that anxiety-inducing experience over and over again, like an annoying pop-up ad that keeps appearing throughout the day.
But the lesson here is this: until you have acknowledged that all anxiety happens within you, and is entirely your own creation, no amount of external help can completely quell your anxiety.
The first step to deal with anxiety is to take responsibility for it.
Once I started to repeat to myself that ‘all my experience happens within me’, I slowly but consciously reclaim control over my mental state.
I started to link the idea of ‘anxiety’ to ‘internal and self-created’… and each time I get an attack, I affirm that the anxious thoughts are just ‘my own’.
Eventually, the feelings become less and less intense. And my ‘bounce-back’ rate became a lot faster.
Anxiety is the body’s natural alarm system to help us anticipate and prepare for ‘dangerous’ or threatening situations.
To have this alarm system is healthy.
The actual problem lies not in the alarm, but our inability to respond effectively to the alarm and take an effective course of action.
When the siren wails, you can always quietly go over and turn it off. Or do something to relieve the feelings of uncertainty.
Remember that all human experience is internal and self-created.
Conduct Your Own Anxiety Inquiry
Once you have understood this basic concept, then the next step is to get curious.
Knowing that everything is internal – go deep and seek the answers within you.
Feelings of anxiety are the symptoms of the disease. Your job is to figure out what’s causing it.
To do this, download the “Anxiety Inquiry: 5-Steps to Reduce Anxiety” Handout here.
Alternatively, you can perform your own ‘anxiety inquiry’ by opening up a blank document and writing down everything that is causing you anxiety.
Your concerns, your fears, your worries.
Write down the ‘story’ of what’s causing these anxious feelings within you.
What is your body trying to protect you from?
What are the things within your control? What are the things out of your control?
What options are available for you at this moment?
What have you learned about yourself from this experience?
Anxiety becomes debilitating when we use our anxiety as an excuse to avoid doing difficult things that will make our lives better.
What you want to do is not to move away, but move towards the anxiety.
Get close, get clear, get closure.
That’s how you successfully process negative emotions when they arise.
Summary
All human experience is 100% internal and self-created.
Whether you’re feeling happy or anxious, angry or depressed, in love or heartbroken – all human experience is internal.
What you ‘perceive’ are all ‘re-created’ through the awesome power of your brain and the medium of your five senses.
The first step to deal with anxiety is to take responsibility for it. Until you have acknowledged that all anxiety happens within you, and is entirely your own creation, no amount of external help can completely quell your anxiety.
Perform your own ‘anxiety inquiry’ by opening up a blank document and writing down everything that is causing you anxiety.
Get close, get clear, get closure.
Do you struggle with bouts of anxiety?
Anxiety is how the body responds to stressful situations.
It’s the feeling we get when we anticipate something negative that is about to happen.
When you’re feeling anxious, the body behaves as if the negative event has already happened.
Anxiety can appear in different forms – flashbacks of fearful situations (a.k.a anxiety ‘attacks’) that strike you in quiet moments or a slow-boil worry that bubbles beneath the surface, ruining your mood and appetite.
When a person experiences this for a prolonged period of time, it can morph into an anxiety disorder.
I was a teenager when I first had to deal with constant bouts of anxiety. Back then, it felt as if I was the only one who was going through it almost on a daily basis.
I discovered later on that my generation – the millennials – are the most anxious generation in history!
The American Psychological Association reports that 12% of millennials have officially diagnosed anxiety disorders – which is double the amount for baby boomers.
But despite the trends, what concerns me is not that more people are becoming more anxious. What concerns me is that many people don’t know how to effectively deal with anxiety.
Recently I was going through a personal crisis that made me incredibly anxious.
The feelings have since subsided, but I felt like sharing some perspectives that have helped me successfully manage anxiety.
All Human Experience Is Internal & Self-Created
First of all, understand: all human experience is 100% internal and self-created.
Whether you’re feeling happy or anxious, angry or depressed, in love or heartbroken – all human experience is internal.
You may be triggered by something outside of you, but the feelings you experience as a result are all happening inside of you.
Take this article for example.
Right now as you read these words, you may think that you’re reading my article.
You can see the words in front of you. You may even hear a voice ‘reading’ the article to you as your eyes scan the words from right to left.
But what’s really happening here is light is falling upon the screen, reflecting and entering through the lens of your eyes.
The image is then projected in an inverted manner as an image on your retina.
You may think you are perceiving the world, but what you actually perceive is all within you.
In fact what you ‘perceive’ are all ‘re-created’ through the awesome power of your brain and the medium of your five senses.
You derive value from this article because the characters you perceive on your screen are in English – a language you understand.
You may feel inspired, confused, bored or enlightened – depending on how you ‘re-create’ the experience in your mind.
But another person who doesn’t understand English may be looking at this same article and feel completely indifferent. The words mean nothing to them.
Same data, but different ‘re-creations’.
Pain or pleasure, joy or misery, peace or anxiety – all human experience is internal and self-created.
When I was going through bouts of anxiety, I keep reminding myself of this one simple fact.
A simple fact that whatever I am anxious about, I am currently creating that experience within myself.
I keep feeling anxious because I’ve allowed my mind to ‘re-create’ that anxiety-inducing experience over and over again, like an annoying pop-up ad that keeps appearing throughout the day.
But the lesson here is this: until you have acknowledged that all anxiety happens within you, and is entirely your own creation, no amount of external help can completely quell your anxiety.
The first step to deal with anxiety is to take responsibility for it.
Once I started to repeat to myself that ‘all my experience happens within me’, I slowly but consciously reclaim control over my mental state.
I started to link the idea of ‘anxiety’ to ‘internal and self-created’… and each time I get an attack, I affirm that the anxious thoughts are just ‘my own’.
Eventually, the feelings become less and less intense. And my ‘bounce-back’ rate became a lot faster.
Anxiety is the body’s natural alarm system to help us anticipate and prepare for ‘dangerous’ or threatening situations.
To have this alarm system is healthy.
The actual problem lies not in the alarm, but our inability to respond effectively to the alarm and take an effective course of action.
When the siren wails, you can always quietly go over and turn it off. Or do something to relieve the feelings of uncertainty.
Remember that all human experience is internal and self-created.
Conduct Your Own Anxiety Inquiry
Once you have understood this basic concept, then the next step is to get curious.
Knowing that everything is internal – go deep and seek the answers within you.
Feelings of anxiety are the symptoms of the disease. Your job is to figure out what’s causing it.
To do this, download the “Anxiety Inquiry: 5-Steps to Reduce Anxiety” Handout here.
Alternatively, you can perform your own ‘anxiety inquiry’ by opening up a blank document and writing down everything that is causing you anxiety.
Your concerns, your fears, your worries.
Write down the ‘story’ of what’s causing these anxious feelings within you.
What is your body trying to protect you from?
What are the things within your control? What are the things out of your control?
What options are available for you at this moment?
What have you learned about yourself from this experience?
Anxiety becomes debilitating when we use our anxiety as an excuse to avoid doing difficult things that will make our lives better.
What you want to do is not to move away, but move towards the anxiety.
Get close, get clear, get closure.
That’s how you successfully process negative emotions when they arise.
Summary
All human experience is 100% internal and self-created.
Whether you’re feeling happy or anxious, angry or depressed, in love or heartbroken – all human experience is internal.
What you ‘perceive’ are all ‘re-created’ through the awesome power of your brain and the medium of your five senses.
The first step to deal with anxiety is to take responsibility for it. Until you have acknowledged that all anxiety happens within you, and is entirely your own creation, no amount of external help can completely quell your anxiety.
Perform your own ‘anxiety inquiry’ by opening up a blank document and writing down everything that is causing you anxiety.
Get close, get clear, get closure.