Do you ever wish that you could flick the switch on your anxiety?
Your palms are sweaty, your heart is racing, and your nails are bitten to the quick. It’s all too hard, and the anxiety makes you feel as if you’re living your life under a thundercloud, in fear of the next lightning strike. If you could only switch off these feelings, life would be so much brighter, richer, and calmer, right?
Unfortunately, switching off some of our feelings means flicking the switch on them. Getting rid of the difficult feelings means that we also loose access to our positive, pleasant emotions and that’s a huge price to pay. So, what’s the answer? Distraction and suppression of unpleasant emotions may work for a while, and you’re quite good at those techniques by now. But this strategy is time and energy consuming, and in the end the anxiety will surface even more strongly.
It might seem counter-intuitive, but to ease anxiety for good, you need to feel it first. Get to know it, and what it is trying to tell you. Then we can practice techniques that help you move through the difficult feelings and make them less scary. We can teach your brain that you are stronger than the anxiety, and that you don’t have to fear the fear. That’s when you’re able to tap into the full richness of life again by using all your emotions to participate in activities and social interactions calmly and with joy.
Your anxiety is unique to you. It has developed from your unique personal make-up as much as from your personal history, your trauma, and your wounds. That’s why there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to eliminate it. Some approaches and techniques will lessen anxiety to an extent, but for long term change, we need a more personalised approach. In our session we will explore your personal history, and the expectations you grew up with, as well as your preferences and personality. To remain effective over time, this individualised recipe must be flexible, to adapt to your changing life.
Rather than switching off anxiety and cutting yourself off from unpleasant emotions, you can gain useful tools to live a full and vibrant life. The aim is not to get rid of unpleasant emotions, but to feel the fullness of life without feeling threatened and limited by your fears and worries. If you would like to know more, contact me for a free 15-minute chat to see if working with me is right for you. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
