MSS #063: Unravelling Anxiety: 4 approaches from my workshops and coaching

MSS #063: Unravelling Anxiety: 4 Approaches from my workshops and coaching

MSS #063: Unravelling Anxiety: 4 approaches from my workshops and coaching.

23 Mar, 2024

Read time: 2.4 minutes

In a hurry? Cut straight to " Get me out of here! – An exit from the anxiety maze." - reduced read time 1.5 minutes

This week, we’re embarking on a journey to understand and overcome anxiety.

By delving into what anxiety truly is and how it manifests, we’ll equip you with a straightforward yet profound technique to break the vicious cycle that keeps us trapped in its grip.

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Understanding Anxiety: Its Roots and Manifestations

Anxiety is a complex beast, familiar yet often hard to define or trace to its origins.

It’s a state not just of mental unrest but a physical and chemical uproar within us, linked deeply to our brain's evolutionary mandate to protect us at all costs.

What Triggers Anxiety?

At its core, anxiety is the brain’s advanced alarm system, signaling perceived threats with the same intensity it would life-threatening dangers.

This mechanism, refined over eons, doesn’t always distinguish between a real threat and the stress of a looming deadline. The result? A chemical cascade that can leave us feeling overwhelmed, tense, and on high alert.

Often our mind weaves a thread through a series of historic real or perceived threats, when it notices anything that fits the remembered “threat criteria” it triggers the system.

For some the trigger for anxiety is known, for many it’s a complete mystery because its one or more events from way back that we may not even consciously be aware of now.

What is happening in the mind – chemically

Essentially our brains are electro-chemical machines. When our mind thinks its detected danger is sets off a chemical alarm system, as follows:-

- The Amygdala sets off the warning alarm, which results in various chemical being released to help the fight and flight system.

- One of those is Cortisol. Some Cortisol gets fed back to the Amygdala, which triggers the fight and flight system again, releasing more cortisol and Adrenalin.

These chemicals cause the symptoms I share in “how anxiety shows up”.

Some other affects are that your IQ drops, as blood is diverted away from the rational thinking part of the brain.

You may feel nauseous and not hungry, as your digestive system is put in suspend mode and your memory goes to pot, all you can remember and fixate on is last time you faced the same threat.

If this process persists neurons can be damaged or die, especially in the memory area. Cortisol weakens neurons ability to connect to each other in the Hippocampus, which increases rumination of thoughts.

The Hippocampus is also alerted to focus on memories of when we last felt threatened in the same way – as the brain thinks this will be useful. The downside is it impacts short term memory and non-Anxiety related old memories. We notice this when we forget familiar things, when stressed and anxious.

How Does Anxiety Show Up?

From a racing heart to a mind caught in an endless loop of worry, anxiety can manifest in myriad ways, including:

• Irritability or feeling on edge.

• A pervasive sense of unease or nervousness.

• Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank.

• Physical symptoms such as headaches, muscle tension, or sleep disturbances

Most of us will be familiar with any of these symptoms,

• High heart rate.

• Feeling stressed.

• Feeling unwell or nauseous.

• Waves of unpleasant feelings.

• Feeling really tense and on edge.

• Being angry, jumpy or aggressive.

• Feeling of overwhelm, unable to cope.

• Strong emotions, that do not seem rational.

• Constant rumination of a thought or thoughts.

• An avalanche of similar worries coming back to mind.

But what if we could address anxiety not by engaging with the thoughts that fuel it but by changing our response to the feelings it evokes?

Get me out of here! – An exit from the anxiety maze

Derived from insights in my workshops and coaching sessions, here's a distilled guide to alleviating anxiety by focusing on your feelings rather than getting entangled in the thoughts causing them.

1. Recognise It's Normal: Understanding that anxiety is a part of our brain's survival toolkit can demystify the experience and reduce the stigma around feeling anxious. So many people ask me “Is it just me that feels like this?”

2. High-Value Parcel Delivery: Imagine your brain's warning signals as a high-value parcel delivery system. It's alerting you to a perceived threat, treating it with urgency and importance. It wants to know you have received the warning message (on a chemical level, triggered by how you think.)

3. Acknowledge Receipt: Just as you would acknowledge the receipt of a parcel, thank your brain for its vigilance. This simple act of acknowledgement can be the first step toward calming the anxious response.

In your head say something like,

“Brain thanks for keeping me safe, much appreciated. At the moment I am safe and ok, so you can stand down now, thanks again for caring.”

4. Name It to Tame It: By giving your anxiety a name, you engage the pre-frontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for rational thought. This helps shift control from the fight-or-flight response to a more reasoned, calm approach.

Choose a name that is maybe fun, calming or supportive. When you notice anxiety show up, acknowledge by using its name.

Even better: A Compassionate Embrace of Your Feelings

If you are up for it, this breaks the feeling to thoughts to feelings never ending circle by breaking the brains chemical loop. Do this.

• Focus on the Feelings: Let your attention gently rest on the physical sensations associated with your anxiety. Where do you feel it in your body? What is its texture, temperature, intensity?

• Send Unconditional Love: Without judgment or analysis, offer these feelings your unconditional love and compassion. Imagine comforting them as you would a distressed child, simply being present and offering support.

• Observe and Allow: Notice any shifts in the sensation. Does it intensify, move, or change in quality? Continue to send love and presence to these feelings without trying to change them. With time, you may find the intensity lessens or the feeling dissipates altogether.

Why This Works

By focusing on the feelings rather than the thoughts, you starve the latter of the attention they need to proliferate. This technique doesn't just offer a temporary reprieve; it helps rewire our response to anxiety, leading to lasting change.

If by any chance, you are reading this part thinking this seems a bit wishy washy, it’s not. Focusing on the the feelings anxiety (or in fact stress) creates taps into the brains electro-chemical system by breaking the emotion - feelings - thoughts continuous loop that prevents yo being able to feel calm again. Give it a try, you will be surprised.

Summary

Quick Recap:

• Anxiety is a normal part of our brain's protective mechanism.

• Acknowledging and compassionately responding to the feelings it generates can help break the cycle of anxiety.

• Simple acts of recognition and love towards the feelings anxiety creates can lead to profound shifts in our emotional landscape.

P.S. For deeper exploration into managing anxiety and transforming your response to it, consider my book and digital course, "Nuclear Powered Resilience," inspired by personal breakthroughs in understanding and alleviating anxiety.

See you next week for more insights and strategies. If you haven't already, follow me on LinkedIn and hit the bell for daily posts on tips, insights, and techniques designed to guide you to a calmer, more focused state of mind.

Want more? 

When you're ready, 3 ways I can help you:

1. My book - Nuclear Powered Resilience

If you want to either build a high level or resilience or overcome a past trauma that is holding you back - check out my book.

2. Build self confidence and resilience fast - £48 training course

I have developed my book into a course to help you fully implement the benefits of my book.

3. Work with me 121 - start with a FREE 15 minutes exploration session.

Lets have an open chat and explore how I can help you and what is troubling you.

If we both think we can work together and I have what you need we can go from there.

Want to explore what else I do? including corporate speaking, coaching and workshops - say hello in an email and let’s explore together.

That's it for this week. Thanks for reading, really hope this helped. Contact me if you think I can help you further at [email protected].

Happy thinking.