DANGER! INGOZI! GEVAAR!
Trapped. Shackled. Snared. ANXIETY! The disease of our time. Many of my clients are victims. I was one for many, many years. Are you perhaps? I would like to share with you how I learnt to conquer the monster of ANXIETY. There is HOPE!
In “Principles of Psychology,” William James wrote “The hell to be endured hereafter of which theology tells, is no worse than the hell we make for ourselves in this world by habitually fashioning our characters in the wrong way.” Succumbing to ANXIETY is but one. I certainly did!
Danger indeed… Neuroscience indicates that chronic, long-term exposure to the hormone, Cortisol, can cause brain damage. This, especially to the hippocampus, a brain region vital for memory and learning. Worst case scenario? Alzheimer’s disease.
The world today is difficult, maybe more than ever before. It is changing at a rapid, rapid pace. An overload of Information Technology is one. Think of AI. Think of climate change. Challenges for every one of us to navigate. Stress, stress and more stress. The precursor of anxiety…
Let’s explore! HOW ANXIETY WORKS!
Anxiety = A FEELING. ORIGIN = THOUGHT= SELF-talk is the verbal aspect of thinking.
You are not always aware of the inner chats that you have with yourself. They happen automatically. Old, entrenched thinking habits. Now, pretend you have FOUR little gremlins in your mind. Whispering into your ears. HAVOC! Above all, NOT true!
- The WORRIER overthinks and ruminates on the worst-case scenario, the ‘What if’s…
- The CRITIC criticizes oneself non-stop, the I am this or that… Always negative!
- The VICTIM feels hopeless. The world has done one in. “Poor me…!
- The PERFECTIONIST requires one to always be exact and perfect…
With which of the gremlins can you relate?
How busy are they and have they compromised your life?
A SUGGESTION to chase the gremlins away. I did and still am!
Don’t worry, it is not heavy Psychology. Easy to apply.
I once bought a bag and filled it “stuff”. This is a GROUNDING bag. All sorts of small things. squares of material with different textures; even a piece of sandpaper, a bottle or two of essential oils, small toys and things that make sounds, a hairbrush. Whatever takes your fancy…
Whenever a client in my practice is anxious, or even having a panic attack, I give them my bag to them explore. They must use their FIVE senses. The value of this? is to draw their attention off the gremlins and bring them into the PRESENT moment. The “now”, the “here”, the “what.”
The value of my bag is to keep reminding me and my clients to focus on the current moment. It is the only moment we have. The only moment we can be sure of. None of us knows what the next moment will bring. In psychology it is called MINDFULNESS.
“Anxiety cannot empty the sorrows of tomorrow. It only robs today of its strength.” –
Charles Spurgeon
Dr.Sonia