No! Anxiety is NOT Forever! Part 3

Welcome back!

We have gone over many tips and techniques that help anxiety and panic attacks. I hope they have helped you. The mind is a tricky thing to figure out, but together we can work through it.



Here are my last couple of tips!

6. REPLACE THE FEELING

I want you to ask yourself what makes you feel happy. Ask questions like, who makes you feel safe? Who comforts you in those hard times? Where are you most at peace? What's the most calming and happy memory you have? Whatever it is, it can help you when you are in a tornado of anxiety and panic and this is how...

We can learn how to replace that feeling of worry with the feeling that this person or place gives us, which is happy and safe. It doesn't necessarily need to be a person or place either. It could even be a song, a painting, a show, a movie or anything else that calms you. When you have been triggered and you feel anxiety bubbling up, bring that happy thought to the front of your thoughts. Make it come to life! Say it out loud or visualize it in your head and don't leave out any details. If it's a song, listen to it. If it's a show or movie, play it. Now, this technique is easier said than done but if you keep at it, your brain WILL associate your trigger with the good thought that you forced yourself to think about in the midst of anxiety.

I came across a podcast about anxiety in the InSight Timer App that really opened my eyes to this approach. Corinne Zupko releases podcast episodes called "From Anxiety to Love" on the this App and on Spotify too. One episode consists of a very informative and insightful 45 minute long interview with Tom Bunn, a certified therapist and former U.S Air Force pilot who has studied the in's and out's of anxiety. He talks about replacing the feeling with something positive and happy. He also dives into why a lot of techniques for getting out of anxiety attacks don't actually work.

His book, "PANIC FREE: The 10-DAY Program To End Panic, Anxiety, and Claustrophobia", is an amazing book that digs deeper into his findings on this solution and how to achieve this goal.

7. MAKE A CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE

Sometimes general anxiety comes from not feeling good enough throughout your life or being in the same place in your life for too long with no real progress or growth. It could be internal growth, as in personality changes, or it could be external growth, as in your career path.

For me, I noticed things had been the exact same for way too long. I was doing the same type of part time jobs that I don't like, had the same messy room in the same house for 10 years, I was in the same level of my music career that I was at 6 years ago with no progress or moving forward. Well, I'm happy to say that I've quit both part time jobs, I'm planning on doing bigger music shows, I cleaned my room and painted it a more calming colour, and I'm saving up to move out very soon. These changes helped me step out of my anxiety. On the other hand, if CHANGE is what GIVES you anxiety...I'm sorry to tell you this, but you still do need to make a change.

You cannot stay in the same place forever. Life has different chapters for you to experience and you may need to end this one in order to move forward.

Whatever you are feeling, just know that it's not permanent and you will be okay. These are only feelings and feelings can only hurt you if you let them. It takes a lot of time and energy to work through them, but it's worth it in the end.