Anxiety – Anxious Thoughts and Broken Records
Have you ever noticed that anxious thoughts are like a broken record?
I know with Ipods etc. it’s a bit outdated to be using a record analogy here but it works well to illustrate a key point about anxious thoughts.
Remember when a record got scratched it made a very unpleasant sound and caused the needle to get stuck on the same groove.
The same one line would play over and over again ad nauseam until you picked up the needle and moved it past the scratch.
Anxious thoughts are bit like this. You might be happily going about your day and then something triggers an anxious thought.
The worry the thought creates sends an unpleasant shock wave through your nervous system. (The scratch on the record).
Then once you start reacting to the anxious thought it is hard to stop thinking about it over and over again. (The needle stuck in a groove)
The repetitive anxious thought can last minutes, hours , days depending on how upset you become by the thought.
I want to share with you a quick technique to jump out of this anxious groove. This technique is you learning how to pick up the record needle and move it past the scratch.
Here it is:
1, Observe
2, Trust
3, Move
Observe the anxious thought and label it. Say
“Oh there is fear X again, imagine that”
Try your very best to not get sucked into reacting emotionally to the thought.
Then
Trust that what you are worrying about will in all probability never come about. Almost all the anxious thoughts we have are a complete waste of our energy.
Trust that things will work out fine.
Joseph Cossman said “If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.”
If you are religious/spiritual then hand your anxious thought over to a higher power. Trust that there is nothing to fear and you will be looked after.
Trust and let it go.
“Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He’s going to be up all night anyway. ” ~Mary C. Crowley
Lastly, Move your attention elsewhere.
Focus on something positive that takes your mind out of the anxious groove.
Replace the anxious thought with a positive thought. You are not trying to suppress the anxious thought, you are simply moving your attention elsewhere. To continue the record analogy, you pick the record needle up (your attention) and move it out of the groove it was caught in.
If you are engaged in an activity then move your attention fully there. Be 100% present in the moment.
If you are walking focus on the surroundings, if you are driving observe all the sights and sounds. If you are with someone focus all your attention on them.
By moving your attention into the present moment there is no room for anxious thoughts to dominate your mind.
Play around with both moving your attention to positive thoughts or into the present moment. Different people find one or the other is easier to accomplish. The key thing is to move your mind out of the anxious groove and put you back in your natural flow.
So to sum up… remember O.T.M.
Observe, Trust, Move
It takes a bit of practice but as long as you remember the above 3 steps you will be able to dramatically eliminate anxious thoughts from your day.
Author: Barry J. McDonagh.
To learn more about how to end panic attacks and general anxiety fast, check out Barry's natural wholistic program at PanicAway.com
Filed under Anxiety Treatments, Causes and Stressors by 
The most common symptoms of anxiety attacks are:
- Increase in blood pressure,
- irregular palpitation of the heart,
- nausea,
- difficulty in breathing,
- tightening of the chest,
- paranoia
After this barrage of uncomfortable symptoms, the most pressing issue on a person's mind is that he is about to die from an anxiety attack. He's convinced that the symptoms are warning signs from the body that something is seriously wrong somewhere. Somehow, he comes to the conclusion that his heart is about to give out any second and he will just die.
STOP!
To dispel any rumors and misconception once at for all…you CANNOT die from anxiety attacks, Period!
Its may not seem like it, but understand that the symptoms are the result of the body being in a state of high alert. The body is supposed to feel that way when you're under REAL danger – except in an anxiety or panic attack there's no real danger!
Its not heart attack. Your not going to faint. Your not suffocating. Your not going crazy. Last but not least, you're not going to just drop dead!
Unless you have an existing medical or physical condition, you cannot die just like that.
Need more evidence? You're the living proof!
Despite all these horrid sensations that you just went through, knowing for sure that you're having a heart attack and your about to die…what happen? Nothing – you didn't die and you ended up being just fine. This is the proof that your fears are false.
Keep this in mind, there's a perfectly logical explanation for EVERY single symptom you experience during anxiety attacks, and NONE of them can physically harm you in any way. It's all coming from you. You are exaggerating the symptoms into MAJOR significance. You create something out of nothing.
You cannot die from anxiety attacks.
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Anxiety: Our Physiological Coping Mechanism
It's important to note that Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress, and it also helps you cope in tense situations.
Everyone knows what it feels like to be anxious. You feel butterflies in your stomach, your thoughts and actions become topsy-turvy, your heart is beating so loudly it's like it's inside your ears, and you may even start sweating as if you're doing strenuous exercise. These are the typical physical symptoms you go through if you have stage fright and you are required to speak in public, or perhaps on your first date. These are normal reactions to stress.
There are five major types of anxiety disorders; general anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PST), specific phobias, and social phobia or social anxiety disorder. Each anxiety disorder has different symptoms, but all the symptoms come together around excessive and irrational fear or dread.
It is part of the normal human's physiologal makeup to feel anxious sometimes, especially when they feel out of control in a situation. There are many reasons that anxiety creeps into our lives, but if it triggers us to take the necessary action in the circumstance, then we are handling it the best way.
Anxiety stirs you up in action. It helps you deal with a tense situation like focusing on a speech that you are about to give, studying harder for an exam, or staying interesting on your first date in hopes you'll get a second date. In general, it helps you boost your performance and deal with difficult or terrifying situations, especially if you are doing it the first time.
I, for one, have many times been in this kind of situation and I can tell you always passes. But, if it elevates to excessive, irrational fear of everyday situations, then the anxiety has become an immobilizing disorder.
Anxiety disorder can cause you to be filled with fearfulness and ambiguity which may be felt only briefly. However, anxiety that lasts at least 6 months has the tendency to get worse if not treated immediately.
Anxiety disorders usually occur along with other psychological or physical conditions. And alcohol or drug abuse can actually worsen the situation.
If you think you have anxiety disorder, don’t hesitate to seek information about it and find treatment right away. There are effective therapies out there and recent research reveals new treatments that can help most people suffering from anxiety lead fruitful and fulfilling lives AND eventually stop their anxiety and panic attacks altogether. It CAN be done, and it can be done organically and naturally
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