Let Go of Anxiety

There are 2 causes of anxiety.

1. Something that triggers adrenaline.

2. The inability to reassure ourselves.

Anxiety is learned by modeling from a parent or by not learning how to reassure ourselves.

1. A loud noise, raised voices, or even a sudden thought can trigger our adrenaline. When we rush or think, or say out loud, "I’ve got to hurry," our body releases a surge of adrenaline to prepare us to run. The catch is, we’re not actually running, so we don’t need that burst. Adrenaline speeds up our heart rate and breathing while shutting down digestion and the immune system. Because it quickly becomes too much adrenaline, we begin to feel irritable and anxious. The stress cycle begins when adrenaline prepares us to fight or flee. The stress cycle ends with us feeling depleted or depressed. We are more apt to get sick when our stress cycle is running because our immune system is off.

Our body's primary response is to trigger adrenaline. It reacts to our thoughts as if the situation is happening in real time. When adrenaline is elevated, we tend to feel anxious and irritable.

#changingworrythoughts #stopanxiety

Adrenaline can impair our thinking by redirecting our mental focus toward physical responses, helping us to either fight or flee. It's important to keep our adrenaline levels low unless we are faced with a life-threatening situation. When our stress levels exceed our coping abilities, we enter a cycle of stress that can lead to feelings of irritability and anxiety, followed by a sense of depletion and depression. #copingskills

2. The ability to reassure ourselves is learned when we sleep by ourselves and learn to self-soothe. When we tell ourselves either silently or out loud that we are ok, our adrenaline turns off because it no longer needs to prepare us to fight or flee. We may not have learned how to self-soothe for a few reasons. For example, we might have shared a room with a sibling, or we may have received comfort from well-meaning parents who allowed us to sleep with them. As a result, we relied on our parents for comfort. Additionally, if we did not feel safe in our environment, this ability to self-soothe may not have developed at all. We can learn how to turn off our adrenaline and self-soothe at any age. Subsequently, once we turn off our adrenaline, we will not feel anxious.

For us to feel in balance, the goal is to keep the stress cycle off. Worrying thoughts, often phrased as "what if," can trigger adrenaline in our bodies. This occurs because our brain perceives these worries as if they are happening in the present moment. The brain's response is to release adrenaline, which initiates the stress cycle. If a thought does not pose a problem that needs to be solved, then it is a thought that should be stopped. You can shift your thought process to a more positive one that doesn’t trigger adrenaline. When faced with a problem that needs solving, check out my blog for tips on problem-solving skills that help keep adrenaline levels low while finding solutions.

Our unconscious or subconscious mind is like the hard drive of a computer. It stores all of our important information. Our conscious mind is what is currently aware. Some of our thoughts flow into our conscious mind from the subconscious. The ideas in our unconscious are often ones we’ve unintentionally reinforced by dwelling on them in our conscious mind, the part of our mind where we’re aware.

When we consciously worry about something, our brain keeps track of how often we think about it and notices the environment we’re in, like when we’re driving in the car or lying in bed before falling asleep.

If we think the same thought, in any environment, 21 times in a row, our unconscious mind records it. Our unconscious brain is hard-wired to record the thoughts we think about, assuming the thoughts are important to our survival. Our brain doesn't discern whether the thought is true or not, only the number of times we think about it before it's recorded. The unconscious mind will then throw the thought out, in the same environment, to our conscious mind.

When we reinforce it by thinking about it again, our unconscious mind believes it was right to throw it out, and it starts seeking more chances to do the same, even in different situations when our mind is at ease. Over time, that "what if" thought turns into a habit.

If we have established a habit of worrying, which triggers adrenaline, we can change it.

1. To change our anxious thoughts, we first need to recognize them as soon as our unconscious mind brings up the unwanted thought. Catching our thoughts as they begin takes practice. Listen for any "what if" thoughts. Just keep at it.

2. When we recognize a thought, we can visualize or imagine something that signifies "stop." This process is called "thought stopping." For example, you could picture a stop sign or envision it being painted over, or imagine the thought floating away in a balloon.

3. Replace it with "I am calm and relaxed." When we think or say out loud, "I'm calm and relaxed," our body begins to shut down the adrenaline response, helping us to relax. The thoughts we consciously choose to focus on won’t trigger adrenaline.

Our thoughts need to be positive because our brain does not understand the word not. So if you were to say "I am not anxious", our brain hears "I am anxious".

Picture yourself in a peaceful place. When you do, your body believes you’re really there and naturally relaxes as if you were.

Therefore, in summary, since anxiety is learned, it can be unlearned. Anxiety is the adrenaline that keeps running. We can consciously turn off our adrenaline. To maintain progress, use a mix of thought-stopping techniques and coping skills to prevent your stress cycle from taking over. For more details, check out the coping skills blog. If you have a problem that needs resolving, visit the problem-solving blog. And if worrying has become a habit, see the related blog for guidance.

#copingskills #problemsolvingskills #relaxation #worringthoughtstopping