The truth is that most people looking to heal their anxiety don’t think in terms of growth. People tend to think more in terms of cessation. In short, they just want the pain to stop. And although I can relate to this type of thinking it usually doesn’t help much. What is helpful is trying to experience anxiety with new eyes. What is helpful is to challenge yourself to see anxiety not as a curse but a very unwelcome learning opportunity. Now in a perfect world there would be no need to experience pain and suffering in order to grow as a person. But, of course, life doesn’t care much for our preferences. Ultimately, recovery lies not in advice or reassurance from others, but in the discovery and growth of your own internal resources. In this week’s episode of The Anxiety Guru Show I will explore how you can use self-awareness and personal authenticity to decrease abnormal anxiety.
So, listen now.
In this episode of The Anxiety Guru Show you’ll hear about:
- How increased self-awareness reduces anxiety
- How to keep your mind focused on the here and now
- The basis of neurotic suffering
- The process of personal growth
- Radical mindfulness
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Paul – This is a great podcast. I really relate to the concept of embracing anxiety and all of its manifestations. My experiences over the last few years have taught me that anxiety and all the symptoms will never go away. What must change is my relationship with them. The struggle and avoidance is what make you suffer. I experience times of unbelievable peace, joy, and motivation that can last for many weeks. I find myself just living and enjoying things. Ironically the anxiety symptoms that started all of this for me are still present to some degree, but since I am not focused on them, I don’t suffer during these times of peace.
I do however have a lot of automatic responses and habits stored up from years of struggling against anxiety, and this is what I believe brings on the setbacks. The peace slowly disappears as I start to resist the thoughts and sensations. This is how a setback begins for me. This is discouraging and the contrast to the good times just experienced make it seem like there is no point in trying to get better. But I always manage to move forward. Without fail the good times return as I simply stop fighting. I can’t consciously do this at will, it is a slow process. Things slowly settle and I feel better.
I don’t think my anxiety will ever go away, but I firmly believe that I can change my attitude towards it until one day it won’t give it the power to run my life. This will come when I finally stop all struggling and establish healthy thought habits of acceptance.
Glad you are back. Thanks a million for all your efforts to help people!
Wise words. We must definitely grow as people, in order to recover. We need to become more emotionally mature. Great article again, and I’ll give your podcast a listen. https://www.ibeatmysocialanxiety.com