Anxiety, stress and smoke alarms

With on of my Supervision groups I am doing a “deep dive” on ‘anxiety’… And how they can best help their clients who have learned how to do anxiety really well.
So I thought I’d share another super useful strategy.
As with everything (learning to ride a bike, learning to write) you may not get the desired result straight away. That’s okay. Keep doing it! Want it to happen and you can…
Anxiety is a response that is trying to keep you safe from a perceived threat.
Imagine it this way: Your unconscious mind is like a messenger who is trying to deliver a message.
You however are choosing not to listen.
If you continue to ignore the messenger, the banging on the door will get louder and louder and eventually the door may get kicked in… Nobody wants that!
So, it’s usually useful to acknowledge the messenger, pay attention and then get on with it. And yes, I’ll get to the ‘how to get on with it in a moment’.

So what’s the message?
With anxiety your unconscious is trying to deliver a message that it has been led to believe that either your Ego or your body is at risk…
And of the many the annoying things about anxiety is that you may even know full well that you are perfectly safe. But still… there are those sensations in the body and/or the brain.

Smoke alarms
Hence most of the time anxiety is a bit like a faulty smoke alarm… You are just making toast and the thing starts beeping.
No, your kitchen is not burning down…
But your alarm has got its wires crossed. It has become hyper sensitive.
Now it can’t differentiate between the perceived threat of making toast and the real threat of the kitchen being on fire.
Which presents a bit of a problem. Especially if there is a lot of toasting going on…
Your unconscious mind is always trying to work for you.
It really wants to help you.

So it is trying to alert you by giving you those sensations in your body
Just remember that with anxiety 99.99% of the time it’s alerting you toast…
Push it away, suppress it, ignore it
Of course you can push those feelings away. Or suppress them. Or distract yourself from those sensations. Or do something else and try to ignore ‘em.
And how is that working for you…? Now…? and in the long run…?
Truth be known: Sometimes that works and most of the times it doesn’t.

So here is my hack:
Stop for a moment, pay attention to those anxious/stressful sensations… It’s okay to feel.
Yep, do it! Come on be brave…

Fully tune into the sensations.
Those sensations are there anyway, so you might as well pay attention… And no, it won’t be the most comfortable thing to do and that’s okay.
And now: say yes to it. Say yes to the sensations. Even go so far and thank your unconscious.
Acknowledge it.
Say yes to it. Say yes to the sensations.
Now thank your mind and your unconscious processes for alerting you. For letting you know.
And then say something along the lines of: “Thank you for letting me know. And I’ve got this. It’s okay, It’s just toast… Thank you, you are just an old message from my brain. And I’ve got this. Thank you.”

Disclaimer
And no, it won’t be a magic wand… But it will help you, to help yourself. You are starting to take your power back. Back in control.
Now you know what to do with that pesky smoke alarm. It’s time you started rewiring it. Go do it!

Gratitude:
Today I am grateful for understanding unconscious processes. Because the unconscious works so much faster than the conscious mind. And being able to tune into the unconscious and make changes where it’s at, makes such a huge difference.

Zoom sessions are a really awesome way to sort things out efficiently and effectively.

For help:
Take the next step and book your session with DHP. Lazzaro Pisu in Vancouver, today, Call 604 202 7938.
Lazzaro is dedicated to help your mental health. Contact him today.
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