What is anxiety and how can we learn to cope with it? Anxiety is a bit like fear, It’s kind of fear’s twin. And actually, the root comes from a Latin word which means choking, which makes perfect sense when you think about it. Understanding anxiety with Tracy Brady.
Understanding Anxiety
Anxiety usually involves something that is not true, something we are preparing for, something that doesn’t exist yet. We generally worry about the future. We know we can’t predict the future, we know that something bad “may” happen. And we know that we “may not” be able to prevent it. And so, that sense of powerlessness and just the humanness of it creates a sense of separation. We don’t like to feel separated from the group.
When these thoughts become a problem, is when we start taking actions based on those untrue threats that we see in the future, that may or may not happen. We do have the ability to create scenarios for ourselves to put us in either a very anxious state or in a very peaceful state.
How To Ground Yourself
One of the first ways you can do this is to ground yourself by bringing your mind into alignment with where your body is in this space, in this moment. Start by asking yourself, Where am I? Begin to feel the space between your feet and the floor, which requires some focus and the brain can only focus on one thing at a time.
Next, use this focus practice: use any 1 (one) of your senses. (Sight, smell, taste, touch, hear) Then name 3 things you can (insert one of the 5 senses).
Once you have put yourself in a position where the amygdala can relax, then you can ask the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that is capable of making logical decisions, to become engaged. And that is when we can start to say okay, and we can begin telling the body it is safe. You can tell the body that whatever it is scared of is not actually happening in this moment. You can tell the body it can relax and it can breathe.
When we leave this present moment we abandon ourselves and we need ourselves to be present, for ourselves in order to heal. We have to trust that we will always be there for ourselves. Something you can do to comfort yourself is place your hand on your heart, lower abdomen or even your forehead, whatever feels the most comfortable. What that tells the body is, it’s okay, I’m here for you, I hear you calling, what is it you are feeling.
When you stop and allow this feeling to be, you can investigate what is going on. Do you need a drink of water? Are you moving too fast? Are you doing too many things at once and causing yourself stress? Do you need to sit down for a few minutes? Are you resisting what you’re doing right now? Do you have to do it right now?
When you question what you’re feeling, you can come to a quick conclusion about the thought you were having before you started to feel the anxiety.
Simple steps to understanding anxiety with Tracy Brady
- Become aware- identify you are having anxious feelings or feelings of fear.
- Ground yourself – bring your attention back to the here and now. Think about the space between your feet and the floor.
- Now ask yourself to use one of your 5 senses to name three things you can…
- Begin to comfort yourself and tell yourself you are okay, you are safe.
- Then start to ask questions to understand what you are feeling. Do you need water? Do you need to slow down?
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