I know what you’re thinking. When is your horrible anxiety going to end, right?
Well, the answer to that will vary from person to person but, what I can tell you is that you already have, right at this very moment, everything you need to get better.
I remember thinking that I needed to find some secret formula to get rid of my severe anxiety. I felt like to get the answers I needed, I shoulda been on some mountain talking with a wise old Mr. Miyagi type.
But I can tell you with confidence that the solution to your problem is already in your possession and not in the Himalayas. The only thing you have to do now is learn how to tap into it.
And once you learn how to tap into it you’ll have a light bulb moment, at least that’s how it happened to me. In fact, I was in the shower (of all places) one day fighting off an anxiety attack, and it was on that day, in that small space, that I was finally able to accept and float through the situation by letting go.
That’s when the light came on and a simple calmness came over me. It’s hard to describe how happy I was to feel that way after feeling so much pain. And to think that I came to such a profound realization doing something as mundane as showering. I found it strange, but I also didn’t care because I was free.
In the end, I didn’t need a miracle or divine intervention. I just let go. That was the “big idea” — Letting go of my assumptions and anticipation removed all abnormal anxiety.
In a way, this has to sound brainless to at least a few people because how can something as powerful as severe anxiety be subdued with acceptance and flotation?
That’s what I thought too when I first came across this idea in the book Hope and Help for Your Nerves. It sounded too easy, but then again why does it have to be hard?
So, try the best you can to float past the symptoms and uncertainty that you live with for now. And remember that none of this is forever if, and only if, you stop waiting.
Stop waiting for death, stop waiting for disaster, and stop waiting for insanity because I promise you that anxiety isn’t bringing any of those things into your life.
Peace of mind is that mental condition in which you have accepted the worst.
— Lin Yutang
Now, you’ll probably flirt with the idea of accepting and floating for a while because that kind of thing, no matter how simple sounding, never really comes easy. But when you do learn how to accept and float — flowing with it all — you’ll have the wonderful epiphany that I had.
And that’s when you’ll know, deep down inside, that you had the power to release yourself from abnormal anxiety this whole time. You just gotta accept and float to get there.
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“Stop waiting for death, stop waiting for disaster, and stop waiting for insanity because I promise you that anxiety isn’t bringing any of those things into your life.”
Ahhh….I just LOVE that phrase. And from experience of having an anxiety disorder, its true. I just need work in different thoughts of that realization into my subconscious mind.
You got it Jaywood. I think we all understand what needs to be done, it’s just that learning how to get that information into the subconscious mind that’s the hard part. That is, indeed, where all the action is.
Accept and float! I like it. Next time I have an anxious moment I will think of this and maybe I will be able to let go, stop worrying so much and just float through it.
Great Article.
Also, any ideas of how you would go about explaining anxiety disorder to someone who has never heard of it and thinks it is “just nerves” and that people with mental heath conditions are dysfunctional, crazy, and not like everybody else.
It is so hard to convince certain people that GAD is even real. there is NO awareness out there..
Any ideas?
Hey Michelle,
I think the easiest way to tell someone about GAD is to give them facts. A good way to do this is to print out something from the web, maybe from the national institute of mental health, or even wikipedia, and that should give them a concrete description of what the condition is.
And although it’s not “just nerves,” people with GAD are certainly not crazy or dysfunctional, challenged at times, but never crazy. =)
Paul, again… thanks for the article. Couldn’t agree more, and I also agree that it takes work and patience to learn to float and accept. I’ve made progress using this technique, but you have to be willing to allow yourself failures without assuming this won’t work, because it will. Dr. Weekes says you can make as much or more progress during a setback as a good spell, and I believe her. Anyway, thanks again for the blog and good luck with the site overhaul. We’re all excited about it.
This sounds like a good way of dealing with things. However, my anxiety manifests itself as purely physical symptoms. I rarely worry or have anxious thoughts, it’s more that the little ‘fight or flight’ switch gets flicked in my head, my body gets filled with adrenaline, my stomach starts flipping and I FEEL anxious. Just the physical symptoms.
Does anyone else get this?
I’ve also made the alcohol/anxiety connection (as detailed in another post). I suspect that it’s likely alcohol thats triggering the physiological symptoms I get. I don’t drink to quell my anxiety, but I suspect it may well be what’s bringing it on in the first place somehow.