DO YOU FEEL ANXIOUS?

There can be several reasons why normal everyday anxiety evolves into the kind of anxiety that starts to trouble us.

These reasons have less to do with genetics and brain chemistry than with our understanding of what anxiety actually is, and our attitude towards feeling anxious.

This video is only about 50 seconds long but in it I touch on two huge reasons why anxiety escalates beyond our control.

Firstly, we regard there as being something wrong with feeling anxious. I felt hugely anxious about giving this TedX talk. However, I didn’t feel anxious about the fact I felt anxious. I knew nerves and anxiety were a perfectly natural response to an important day in my life. Because I was comfortable with my feelings of anxiety I didn’t exacerbate that feeling and once the talk was over, the anxiety could pass.

Secondly, we regard the part of us creating anxiety as our enemy. We think it knows better but is deliberately playing the antagonist and acting in a malevolent fashion. We think that part hates us.

In truth, it loves us.

The thoughts it gives us are not because it wants to scare us, they are because IT is scared and needs help.

If that part hated you it wouldn’t bother trying to protect you. Often the first step towards getting control of anxiety is to shift our perceptions of its motivation.

So, that part of your mind telling you the things that make you feel anxious...
Have a listen.
It’s here to help.