Anxiety

Anxiety. Experienced by all but felt in so many different forms. Most utilize escapism, overthinking, and countless unhealthy ways to proceed this uncomfortable familiarity. If you are experiencing anxiety it’s past experiences coming up, fear of the future, brain chemistry, fear in general signaling your fight or flight, or a build of stressful/trauma situations. Whatever the case may be this is putting you and your body in emotional distress and can potentially lead to various health issues. Their is a way to break free its not easy but you are never stuck! 

I like to break it down like this:

Anxiety = Worry =

F alse

E vidence

A ppearing

R eal

Our mind plays tricks on us. And once we have formed deep neural pathways its difficult to break free from those feelings because your brain wants to continue to go down the same path. This means constantly checking in with yourself and your environment. 

Check in with yourself:

Are you surrounding yourself with positive individuals or people who experience anxiety/cause you to feel anxious?

What is the quality of your inner voice?

Do you speak positively about yourself and others?

What kind of tv shows do you watch, ones about sadness, hardship, and violence?

Is the music you listen to generally positive?

Do the artists who make the music you are listening seem to have generally good intentions?

What is the quality of food you are consuming?

Our perception Creates our Reality

Everything we digest through our five senses and the quality of those things not only feeds deep into our subconscious but creates our reality. Often times we hear the phrase “reality isn’t real” or “nothing is real”.  This is because our lives are based off of perception. And as tiny humans we perceive a very small amount of what is actually around us.

The orange represents our perception of sound.

Compared to other species on earth humans only hear a portion of frequencies.

As colorful as our world can be our eyes perceive a very tiny amount of what is actually going on around us.

So, our perception of the world determines our reality, and what we consume via our perception and senses feeds into our subconscious mind creating the current now.

To find relief from anxiety we must take a look at our own actions and the things we can control. Such as the things we watch, listen to, eat, and surround ourself with. The first step is taking initiative to heal and gaining self awareness. Most anxieties are formed at a young age from trauma and beliefs we have put upon ourselves. Real healing takes time and there are many avenues to go about the healing process. However it all Boils down to creating a safe calm space in your internal world. 

From my experience breathe work, yoga, learning through reading, meditation, and mind hacks have allowed me to observe a feeling before I allow my mind to control my body and emotions. 

Breathe:

Taking a deep breath in is linked to the sympathetic nervous system, which controls the fight-or-flight response.Exhaling is linked to the parasympathetic nervous system, which influences our body's ability to relax and calm down. Thus deep breathing tricks your brains into thinking you are relaxed. Even five minutes of abdominal breathing can reduce anxiety and stress. Deep breathing increases the supply of oxygen to your brain and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes a state of calmness. When experiencing an anxiety attack short breathes are taken from the chest we must do the opposite of that to trick the body into a state of peace. Deep breathing creates space and gives oxygen deep within your body when you are inhaling and exhaling deep from the diaphragm.

See breathe is not the only outlet to calm the mind. We hold trauma within our bodies and the use of yoga to move that stagnant energy around along with breathe and the ability to focus in the now, encouraging mediation, is extremely resourceful. This allows for the parasympathetic system to take over and relieving you, allowing focus on the present now instead of the future or past. Yoga is the perfect smoothie for bringing your emotional, physical, and spiritual body into harmony. Many have cried after yoga classes because so much energy was released. If you are able to drop into meditation after a class that is where the real healing begins. Allowing yourself time to feel and be aware of you, is necessary to get closer to your subconscious mind (the secondary system which runs your life it hold your beliefs, experiences, etc. the system from which you operate from). The closer you get to your subconscious the easier it is to release those old habits, limiting beliefs, and thought patterns. The goal is to create the experience you want and for most that is one without anxiety.

How to relieve anxiety daily:

Take at least 5 minutes to breathe ( best right when you wake)

Write a list of things that bring you joy/what you are grateful for

Spend time in nature alone without your phone

Quiet your mind with meditation, just sit, close your eyes and allow yourself to be

Yoga or some physical form of movement to get rid of unwanted energy and step into your power

Take breaks from your phone scrolling puts your body into fight or flight mode

Read and gain knowledge of how to better yourself

Restorative and grounding yoga poses to do everyday:

Childs Pose (Balasana)

Aligning the spine creating space for yourself to focus on breathe and ground.

Cat & Cow (Marjaryasana to Bitilasana)

Personal favorite to cultivate peace in the body. Releases low back pain, best when synchronized with breathe.

Legs up wall pose (viparita Karani)

Changes perspective and allows for blood to go back down to the brain.

Book reccomendations:

Breaking the habit of being yourself Dr. Joe Dispenza

The universe has your back Gabriella Bernstein

Awareness Anthony D. Amello

Love, light, & blessings.