37 min
052: The Most Effective Technique for Relieving Anxiety B is for Being
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- Self-Improvement
Anxiety, meet the present moment.
I've struggled with anxiety for the greater part of my life.
It wasn't until I went through a particularly anxious period that I went on a search to find an 'off' button for my incessant anxious thinking.
I discovered that by bringing my attention to the present moment the intensity of my anxiety began to lessen. Over time, by continuing to practice present moment awareness, I’ve experienced such a significant reduction in my anxious thinking that I often forget how much I was suffering previously.
In this episode, I share how we can use the present moment to diminish the power of our anxiety and begin experiencing effective relief from our worrisome thoughts.
Disclaimer: The technique outlined in this episode assumes that a low, to moderate level of anxiety is present. Practicing this technique may become difficult when experiencing high levels of anxiety.
Show Notes
Click on a time marker to hear the full podcast
What is Anxiety? 05:04
Anxiety is the experience which is caused by imagining the possibility of something unpleasant happening at a future point in time.
How the experience of anxiety begins and becomes stronger:
* We have a thought about something unpleasant happening (this thought can be conscious or sub-conscious).
* Our body has a physiological reaction to the thought (a sensation in the body).
* We react to the unpleasant sensation in the body with anxious thoughts on what the sensation could mean.
* Our body has an even stronger physiological reaction to the increased anxiety of our thoughts.
* We react with even more anxious thinking about what these increased sensations could mean.
* The cycle continues…
Anxiety Appears to Be a True Representation of Reality 11:34
* Anxiety is our own synthesised layer of reality which we unconsciously super-impose onto reality itself.
* Imagine a tree, just existing in nature. If we imagine that tree is a happy tree, we will begin to notice all of the happy attributes of the tree. On the other hand, if we imagine the tree is a sad tree, we will begin to notice all of the tree’s sad attributes.
* We create a layer of reality which influences how we perceive objects that exist in objective reality.
* When I realised my anxiety was a layer I was overlaying onto objective events, I realised that my anxious experience was only determined by the layer I had created and was not determined by actuality itself.
The Most Effective Technique for Relieving Anxiety 16:42
* The present moment is the most effective technique for relieving anxiety.
Anxiety depends on the future projection of something bad happening. If we take away the future point in time, we remove energy from our anxiety and begin to feel some relief.
* By observing the present moment, we can begin to experience the separation between our anxiety and what is actually occurring around us.
What is The Present Moment? 18:44
* The present moment is not a thing. It can’t be had, gotten or discovered. The present moment is an experience to be experienced.
* The present moment is occurring all the time wherever we go. It’s a tool which follows us wherever we go.
* We perceive the present moment with our senses.
How to Practice Using The Present Moment to Relieve Anxiety 20:42
* An important note: We are not trying to bypass our anxiety with the present moment.
Anxiety, meet the present moment.
I've struggled with anxiety for the greater part of my life.
It wasn't until I went through a particularly anxious period that I went on a search to find an 'off' button for my incessant anxious thinking.
I discovered that by bringing my attention to the present moment the intensity of my anxiety began to lessen. Over time, by continuing to practice present moment awareness, I’ve experienced such a significant reduction in my anxious thinking that I often forget how much I was suffering previously.
In this episode, I share how we can use the present moment to diminish the power of our anxiety and begin experiencing effective relief from our worrisome thoughts.
Disclaimer: The technique outlined in this episode assumes that a low, to moderate level of anxiety is present. Practicing this technique may become difficult when experiencing high levels of anxiety.
Show Notes
Click on a time marker to hear the full podcast
What is Anxiety? 05:04
Anxiety is the experience which is caused by imagining the possibility of something unpleasant happening at a future point in time.
How the experience of anxiety begins and becomes stronger:
* We have a thought about something unpleasant happening (this thought can be conscious or sub-conscious).
* Our body has a physiological reaction to the thought (a sensation in the body).
* We react to the unpleasant sensation in the body with anxious thoughts on what the sensation could mean.
* Our body has an even stronger physiological reaction to the increased anxiety of our thoughts.
* We react with even more anxious thinking about what these increased sensations could mean.
* The cycle continues…
Anxiety Appears to Be a True Representation of Reality 11:34
* Anxiety is our own synthesised layer of reality which we unconsciously super-impose onto reality itself.
* Imagine a tree, just existing in nature. If we imagine that tree is a happy tree, we will begin to notice all of the happy attributes of the tree. On the other hand, if we imagine the tree is a sad tree, we will begin to notice all of the tree’s sad attributes.
* We create a layer of reality which influences how we perceive objects that exist in objective reality.
* When I realised my anxiety was a layer I was overlaying onto objective events, I realised that my anxious experience was only determined by the layer I had created and was not determined by actuality itself.
The Most Effective Technique for Relieving Anxiety 16:42
* The present moment is the most effective technique for relieving anxiety.
Anxiety depends on the future projection of something bad happening. If we take away the future point in time, we remove energy from our anxiety and begin to feel some relief.
* By observing the present moment, we can begin to experience the separation between our anxiety and what is actually occurring around us.
What is The Present Moment? 18:44
* The present moment is not a thing. It can’t be had, gotten or discovered. The present moment is an experience to be experienced.
* The present moment is occurring all the time wherever we go. It’s a tool which follows us wherever we go.
* We perceive the present moment with our senses.
How to Practice Using The Present Moment to Relieve Anxiety 20:42
* An important note: We are not trying to bypass our anxiety with the present moment.
37 min