| Now that the silly-season is behind us, we need to turn our attention to some important issues that affect a lot of people. It seems like there’s an anxiety epidemic, and almost no one has immunity. The number of people who spend countless hours and untold amounts of energy worrying about things that might never happen is increasing at an alarming rate. This is a good time to evaluate our emotional wellness. How well you manage your emotions is due partly to your past experience. Research shows if you grew up in a family where emotional control was difficult, then chances are you will struggle to manage your own emotions. So, the question is: How do you manage your emotions? One author describes anxiety as “thinking about the past and the future, and not trusting the flow of life. Feeling insecure, unsupported and helpless to change your situation. Focusing on negativity and limitation and allowing yourself to wallow in fear.” If you’re someone who suffers from anxiety, I seriously doubt that this description covers the topic fully for you, considering the myriad of insidious ways it interferes with all areas of your life. Examples of this could include: when your anxiety has you believing that the only way to survive a social event is by clinging to the only person you know; when working out how to look like a normal person requires a master’s degree; or when you’ve been living with anxiety for so long that you no longer believe in common sense or trust in logic. This becomes evident when your mind offers you a number of appropriate responses and yet you can’t or don’t react because your powers of reason and logic have been shut down. Fortunately, science has some information to help us to understand what’s happening while we’re in this immobilised state. Mel Robbins, one of my favourite speakers on the subject of anxiety, says that your mind hijacks you, and you need to settle your mind so that your body doesn’t become agitated. Adding an agitated body to an anxious mind causes an even bigger problem. https://youtu.be/wIENw9sobHg “The Truth about Anxiety” Also look for Mel Robbins Mindset Reset Playlist on Youtube. There are several videos that explain a lot of the neuroscience involved in anxiety. The part of our brain that deals with stress, the amygdala, hasn’t evolved since our first ancestors. Fight, flight & freeze, also known as the acute stress response, refers to a physiological reaction that occurs when we are in the presence of something that is physically or mentally terrifying. This acute response was part of our ancestor’s every-day norm, so to be chemically ready to run, hide or play dead was a necessary skill for survival. Fast-forward to the present day, our brains are still wired to keep us sensitive to danger, so it’s not all bad. However, this particular part of the brain can’t tell the difference between the possibility of being a minute late for an appointment, having to speak in public or being eaten by a tiger! It’s all life-threatening to your amygdala, until you learn that there are things you can do to calm it down. Some triggers are important parts of life, like choosing a career path, getting an education, job or meeting new people. It helps to remember that there’s nothing physically wrong, it’s just a part of your brain getting confused about how much danger you’re really in. Understanding more about why we feel anxious will help to learn to manage it. I’ve included the links below to give more information about anxiety and mindful breathing techniques, and other tools to help you to take control of your life. No-one is suggesting that this is a cure-all for anxiety, but there is plenty of scientific evidence that supports the benefits of mindfulness breathing. Feeling Anxious? The way you breathe could be adding to it: https://ideas.ted.com/feeling-anxious-the-way-you-breathe-could-be-adding-to-it/ A Japanese Method to Relax in 5 Minutes: https://youtu.be/m3-O7gPsQK0 If you’re suffering from anxiety or depression, it’s time to take your life back from this invisible menace. Herbal Medicine and Flower Essences are prescribed to restore the physical and emotional imbalances in your body and nervous system that occur as a result of an anxious mind, while Energy Healing offers alternate methods that release any inherited trapped emotions that may cause or contribute to the condition. |
| My person-centred approach to healing gives you the best outcome because the causes are removed with your symptoms Call Margaret on 0414 463 417 to discuss how I may be able to help you. Mention this article to receive 10% off an Immune System Assessment or Energy Healing consultation |