The last three blog articles have been about the crisis of Anxiety and Stress and finding your way out, maybe permanently. This article will wrap it up.
Obviously, you always have the option of taking prescription drugs to calm the anxiety and stress. Prescriptions, as you know, only mask the problem and leave you dependent on the drug indefinitely.
In our last article we discussed a method (created by Byron Katie) of conquering anxiety and stress by becoming honest with yourself about just how accurate or helpful your thoughts are concerning your situation. Often a buried belief or perception we have about ourselves that we blame or project onto others makes us susceptible to anxiety and stress. Sigmund Freud and Karl Jung made fortunes counseling patients about these destructive thought processes. Most of us are troubled by projecting our wounds onto others to a lesser or greater degree.
So, in this, the last article of the series, I suggest you engage a coach or find a wise friend or mentor to provide neutral feedback about your stressful or anxious situation. Please don’t sit in a bar drinking and commiserating with a buddy about the futility of your life or situation. That will take you nowhere good, and in all likelihood you’ll have to pay the beer tab.
Often, when we are stuck in a negative frame of mind, our thinking gets into a negative circular loop, increasing our level of anxiety and stress. This guarantees that our creativity and perspective escape us, and our mood deteriorates further.
In an earlier article, I reminded you that all stress and anxiety are internally created. As Einstein once said, “The significant problems we have cannot be resolved from the same level of thinking that created them in the first place.” We need to “get out of our head” and often the only way to do that is with someone who can give us good feedback and help us gain introspection and let go of our reactive triggered emotions.
It is perfectly possible, even likely, that what causes you stress and anxiety is a very real and distressing issue. Almost everyone is struck with adversity occasionally, and sometimes life really “piles it on”. During such times, strong self-control to minimize anxiety or stress is of even greater importance, wouldn’t you agree? During a real crisis, we need every bit of our creativity as well as our decision-making and analytical skills to act intelligently and decisively.
Finally, you should be aware that new discoveries about our emotional and mental capabilities are being published frequently. We are learning new coping skills and healing protocols that are allowing us to cure both physical and emotional diseases simply with a change of attitude. This seems incredible, but more of us now know exactly how to apply these miraculous healing tools to a host of serious problems.
There is reason for great optimism and hope for all of us today.
Tom Searcy, BCC
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