Today I’m sharing five breakthroughs I had when I was anxious that you can use starting today to start feeling less anxious, less often.
Back when I was doing everything I could to stop feeling anxious,
giving every thought and feeling all the attention,
I didn’t know I was making myself more anxious.
The 5 simple tips I’m sharing today didn’t happen on purpose,
and I didn’t know why or how they helped until sometimes years later.
It all makes sense now.
Since I tripped over the little epiphanies, you can know they are
simple and doable.
I read an article on Aspartame poisoning and realized that I had most of the symptoms and immediately stopped drinking Diet Coke, eating sugar-free Yoplait, and chewing pack after pack of Extra gum.
The Aspartame made me FEEL symptoms. When I didn’t feel sick from aspartame, my anxiety eased up.
I noticed that my fingers and arms felt tingly when I chewed gum and I felt anxious.
I figured out my first sign of anxiety.
You have to know your body before you can learn to trust your body instead of your mind.
Back when my kids were little, I was teaching, and coaching swim, I started taking short walks to have some alone time and eat more cookies.
When you’re stressed and anxious, you have to de-stress in a way that involves movement.
Moving helps move the energy out of your body and lower your cortisol levels. (Cortisol is the stress hormone that also causes you to feel anxious.)
I unintentionally lowered my stress level and gave myself a break in a way that didn’t reinforce my anxious habits and lowered the amount of cortisol in my body. (All because I love cookies 🍪.)
I thought it was adorable that my 90-year-old grandma kept a daily journal every day for years so I adopted her habit.
I wrote two or three quick sentences about my day, how I was feeling, and what symptoms I had that I thought were some deadly disease.
Over time, I noticed I felt the same way over and over again but had different ideas about what I was feeling.
I also had a major A-ha moment when I realized I wasn’t dead or any worse than when I first thought whatever I felt was going to kill me.
You can do this with any anxious thought and your specific anxiety symptoms.
I learned about how my brain works by listening to You Are a Badass.
This book has very little to do with anxiety but when I heard that worry/anxiety is wishing for what you don’t want, something shifted in me.
I realized I was focusing on everything I was afraid of instead of what I wanted to feel.
I intentionally made my brain look for what I wanted.
I stopped Googling and asking other people if they thought I was okay.
I was Googling and calling my parents daily so I could feel better for a little bit, only to have to do it again the next time I felt anxious.
I was unintentionally telling my brain something was wrong, even though I was only anxious.
I learned to pause and choose a new reaction instead of depending on someone or something else to make me feel less anxious.
All of these changes started by accident.
Without therapy, without tons of inner work,
and they were amplified when learned about coaching and got coached.
These steps aren’t complicated or difficult but they do take intention and time.
If you’re ready to know and trust yourself instead of your anxious thoughts,
to create new, healthy habits,
to see yourself and what you’re capable of in a powerful new light,
you have to make changes.
I work one one-on-one with people.
You can learn more about how I can help you by scheduling a coaching consultation.
Make it a great week.
Megan
P.S. Your life beyond stress and anxiety begins with a decision. Decide now to change how you think about how you feel and anxiety loses its power. The question isn't, “Am I ready?” The question is, “Have I decided to be ready?” Ready is just one decision away. Talk to you soon.
P.P.S. Be sure to check out Episode 54 of the More than Anxiety Podcast to hear more about My 5 Accidental Anxiety Breakthroughs wherever you listen. While you’re there, take a quick minute to leave a review and follow so you don’t miss a beat and help others find the podcast as well. Thanks!
