…If you believe that you are anxious
Depending on your viewpoint the label “anxiety” comes in various shapes and sizes, In some families, the word anxiety has become commonplace. The term is tossed about as freely as wedding rice. Parents and influential adults in a child’s life start them off at a young age telling them they are anxious. Or they talk and expound about their own anxiety… Children learn and grow by what they are most frequently exposed to. They accept what they are told and how they are labeled as truth. Adults too will live their lives by the common denominators of what they surround themselves with. If they constantly are told they are anxious or they start proclaiming that they are anxious, it is like they are wearing blinders. The blinders give you a tunnel vision that does not veer right nor left. When peripheral vision is prevented, a person goes about missing out on normalcy and hope, and happiness.
Think about it. In society today the label anxiousness is used frequently and boldly and associated with that which is negative. It paints a picture of an anxious person as one that is struggling. A person heald in bondage.
Everyone experiences anxiety but your life is influenced by how you view it.
I want to draw your attention to how the MAYO clinic describes the most common symptoms of anxiety.
- Feeling nervous, restless, or tense
- Having an increased heart rate
- Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Feeling weak or tired
- Having trouble sleeping
Everyone experiences these symptoms even overachievers. They approach life with gusto. They experience these symptoms, but they call it the competitive edge! You also find thrill-seekers in this group. They live life to its fullest looking for the next – NATURAL HIGH!
Remember we have explained previously the adrenaline rush is one of the main causes of these symptoms and those of full-blown panic attacks. Take the time to read through blog posts that address the causes of panic and anxiety.
Instead of using the label anxiety let’s start to think about it as an adrenaline rush. It is one thing if a big black bear is chasing you down. But quite another scenario if you are anxious, panicky, or worrisome when there is no actual danger present.
My mom used to tell me I was like the energizer bunny and maybe a little hyper. Mom was great at building me up. I did not grow up thinking I was anxious but just on the cutting edge of being the best me I could be. So, what if I was a little hyper, I did not grow up thinking it was bad. My childhood impression of my nervous, or restlessness just put me a little closer in my mind to being a superhero! Mom was great at building me up. Ready at any moment to conquer anything bad in the world. If I had been told I was anxious I may have cowered in a safe place and not developed a bold – I can do anything mindset. Most of the people I know who tell me of their overwhelming anxiety are very intelligent and have so much to offer.
Do you help or hinder others by what you say to them?
Believing I was a little over the top helped me try things that otherwise I would have never experienced.
My first jump out of a perfectly good airplane… let’s just say I had some so-called apprehension... I knew the chute would open and I made up my mind I would conquer skydiving with flying colors. I used those on edge type symptoms to offer to be the first jumper. I gained confidence that day that has stayed with me and has helped me weather other highly disquieting situations.
You see a label can keep you wearing blinders that keep you from sensing, seeing, and experience life free from anxiety.
I could have let the experience give me a sense of impending danger panic or gloom. True the thoughts of skydiving did bring with it a little trouble concentrating. But having been raised believing I was like the energizer bunny I would just keep going.
When your mindset only knows anxiety as that which is non-desirable even good things such as your wedding day may be colored with those uneasy feelings. Genuine joy seems just out of reach.
Instead of using the word anxiety I lean toward the word worry. Worry is often found in those who speculate, overthink, and overanalyze. Worry can generate a sense of doom and gloom.
Change your mantra of saying or thinking about yourself as “I am anxious” “ I am a worrier”. the more you repeat those statements the more you are programming your thoughts to believe that which is undesirable. Change your self-talk to abolish overturn, expunge, the words associated with anxiety. Nullify them and refuse to give credence to them
INSTEAD, Check out the antonyms for the word worry.
- calmness
- certainty
- cheer
- comfort
- confidence
- happiness
- joy
- pleasure
- sureness
- trust
- Unconcern
- advantage
- calm
- contentment
- peace
- reassurance
Learn to hold on to these thoughts and speak them out loud.
If you have been surrounded by a belief system (either self-inflicted from your experiences, or those around you) that is corrupt – then everything you believe to be true about yourself is wrong. You need to refocus and learn the truth of your life. If you have conflict over what this truth is read this article from the Courage – How to end your doublemindedness by James MacDonald. Simply put, you want to live a happy joy-filled life but you keep calling yourself anxious… wavering in mind undecided vacillating.
Being double-minded makes you unstable and restless in all your ways. [in everything you think feel or decide] From James 1:8 AMP
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We will be taking a closer look at the pitfalls of being doubleminded. We will compare it to a clay pot with cracks. No matter how hard you try and fill it with water, it will continue to leak until it is repaired. If you experience anger, fear, anxiety, terror, hatred, and bitterness.
“The real problem is a broken heart.” Chaplin John P Mc Ternan Ph.D. – USA Prophecy.com
The symptoms of a Broken Heart are
- Various forms of fear
- Depression-hopelessness
- Constant feelings of condemnation
- Deep feelings of loneliness
- Vivid memories of traumatic events
Fight Back Fight fear 