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3 simple hacks to heal anxiety

Updated: May 13, 2020

Written by: Justin Williams



 

Your time and your mental health matter most above all monotonies of life. But, sometimes school, family, friends, situationships, lovers, spouses, social media etc., take up the bulk of our time. This, in turn, can leave one with a minimal amount of time for self-care and left with a racing mind. Mental health articles that speak on coping can be overcomplicated and full of argle-bargle- for SEO. This article is dedicated to focusing on the essential aspects of healing anxiety, the practical things you can do on a day to day basis to calm your mind, and worry less.


 

I had a panic attack in the middle of Walmart.


 



During uncertain times as a pandemic is upon us. Stress is almost unavoidable. Last week I scraped together some money from several savings accounts to get self-care products. I took to the car, turned on some Frank ocean, and headed to the comess that is Wal-mart. A physical embodiment of capitalism. Upon my arrival, I was greeted with yellow tape, masked people, and chaotic energy, which illuminated the space with fast movement. Needless to say, the place looked like a scene from the beginning of "I am legend."


My heart began racing, my thoughts followed. I remember thinking: "everyone is looking at me" "staff are going to assume I'm stealing because I'm black and wearing a mask" "I'm moving slower than everyone else." Then I remembered, staff were going to do that anyway. Apart from the fact that I was wearing a mask. Anyway, I was full-on shaking in line, which did not help my case of trying to not look sick.


Alarming people and bringing more attention to myself was the last thing I wanted. A worker miffed at me. Aw shit. Her eyebrows scrunched, her double chin dipped and glared my way. She asked, "are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine. I replied ( I felt like Afreet itself was going to burst from between the aisles and remove the little bit of composure my body could muster). If someone were to tap me on my shoulder from behind, I would have probably shit my pants. I was alone, or at least I felt like it.


After a good look and a deep breath, I realized, many people were panicking. What a time to have anxiety. I was made aware of my condition by the familiarity of feelings a panic attack brings. Others, on the other hand, remained in their state of panic. Driving back, I reflected proudly. I came to the conclusion that anxiety is much like an old school computer error screen sent from our brain.


There are two primary ways to handle an error screen. 1. spend valuable time scouring the web for answers. Or 2. Find hacks to maximize time and cut down on error codes for a smooth-running optimized experience. The following are five ways to hack the strongest supercomputer computer known to man- your brain. And heal from anxiety.


 

Understand your anxiety


 



Anxiety impacts many people, but maybe especially prevalent & acute for those who are creative, gifted, and highly sensitive. Psychotherapist Diana Pitariu writes, "Anxiety is a common emotion experienced by creative people & while some of the symptoms may be similar from one person to the next, how and when people experience anxiety differs widely." One of the solutions she suggested was to read up on the heart math institute and see if you would like to try one of their devices to improve what they call your "heart rate variability" and reduce your stress. She notes, "There are no easy answers, simple solutions, or quick fixes for managing stress" but follows with "You can learn to understand why your life gets so oppressive, depressive, stressed or otherwise unhealthy. You can learn to live in a new better way. "


There are three primary sources of stress for the creative and gifted.


Situational


- The conflict between values and values of others ( what is and what ought to be )

- Interpersonal disharmony

- Challenges beyond our capability to respond

- Threats to emotional or physical well being

- Lack of resources to accomplish a task


Self Imposed


- Setting exceedingly high standards for ourselves

- Fear of failure

- Fear of success

- Negative self talk

- Emotionally loaded/ highly evaluative beliefs about ourselves & our environment

- Believing that everyone should love, respect, & praise us.

- Catastrophizing

- Worrying


Existential


-Global concerns ( nuclear disaster, war, poverty, world hunger, the environment, etc.)


 


"You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, its important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages"


- Michelle Obama



 


Some practical lifestyle changes that will reduce stress


- Eliminate soda

- Start spending on a budget

- Switch out cable for Netflix or Hulu

- Contact your insurance carrier, phone company, or credit card company, and ask if they will reduce your bill

- Challenge negative core beliefs


Remember that thoughts influence feeling. Negative thoughts lead to negative emotions, which thereafter lead to destructive behaviors. For example:


- Justin wakes up and thinks: "Life is pointless & I'm never going to achieve financial independence, so I'm just not going to try."


- He feels unmotivated, fearful of success & failure, & lethargy.


- He doesn't fulfill his daily obligations that day and watches Netflix while spending the day on his phone.





 

Challenge negative moods


 

Photo by Autumn Goodman on Unsplash

Your mood matters and should be respected. Graham C.L. Davey Ph.D., writes, "Mood and worry go hand in hand – well, at least bad mood and worry do! This has often raised the chicken and egg question, "Which comes first, my bad mood or my worrying?" Worrying tends to occur in times of stress, anxiety, depression – even anger, and other negative moods that become associated with worry include guilt and shame.


How to challenge your negative mood


1. Journal everything. Write down your thoughts as they come at least twice a day. Pay close attention to when you feel stressed out and write down what triggered the stress.


2. Write down one-word feelings that describe the thoughts that you previously wrote down.


3. Challenge your current version of reality with reality testing


Playlist that will put you in an uplifting mood










 

Dive into the Creative Process


 

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash


Do you have a yearning for the pleasure of creativity? Turns out, drawing, painting, coloring, sculpting, playing music, ect., salubriously helps us to be better versions of ourselves. A scientific article was written by Heather L. Stuckey, DEd, and Jeremy Nobel, MD, MPH, gives us deep insight into the benefits art has upon our health. "Art helps people express experiences that are too difficult to put into words, such as a diagnosis of cancer. Some people with cancer explore the meanings of past, present, and future during art therapy, thereby integrating cancer into their life story and giving it meaning." The outcome of art is fantastic, yet the true beauty of art is the creation process.


"I begin with an idea, and then it becomes something else." - Pablo Picasso



When the mind wanders, sometimes it must flow. Have you ever found yourself wholly submerged into something? That is flow. A common term. It enhances your mood, slows down your heart rate, and even reduces anxiety. Lost in the moment, we can simply be us with the constraints of external forces. This allows us to use both hemispheres of our brains to visualize what our next move will be. Dr. Hyland, who has a private practice in Salt Lak City Utah, suggests using visualization as a peripatetic compass to guide our minds to a meditative state. Heres the problem. Sometimes anxiety clouds our minds and blocks us from seeing the unseen-apoptosis. By any means am I a breatharian, this application of meditation seems a bit more practical. Here is an exercise that helps me create mental imagery from scratch.


1.Light a lavender-scented candle & sit comfortably in front of it.


2. Observe the candle's essence. This should only take about 5-15 seconds. Some essential questions to ask yourself are, "what colors do I see? "Is the shape similar to anything? How does it move?


3. Thereafter, shut your eyes and take a deep breath. Be positive that your eyelids are relaxed and calm. Unwrinkle your brow. Scan your eyes and make sure that any tension is blissfully released. See the afterimage of your flame? It may be faint, the fact of the matter is that it is there. Or, maybe it is a blurry orb. Even better, perhaps you can see the shape & details of your flame.


4. Maintain the mental shadow image for as long as you can hold it. Do not strain or stress> keep it natural. Stay relaxed.


5. Before you open your eyes again- wait. Attempt to recall the details of the image. Internally describe what you saw. Remember, colors, shape, and movement- the more details, the better. Specificity is vital, Imagine that you're relating your flame to a painter, who solely relies on your interpretation. No pressure. The quality of the description will determine the outcome of the painting.


6. Finally, your eyes and repeat the process several times over. More details will come as you commit. 5 minutes a day will make your visualizations even easier.



To summarize, healing anxiety is a long process that requires constant tending to like a growing flower. However, working on it every day can show produce short term outcomes. Even though many people experience anxiety, it differs from person to person and should be treated as such.


Learn to challenge yourself to work through the anxiety and keep moving forward, tell negative moods, "come on with the come on," and don't waver to dive into creation in the process. Your anxiety is under your control.

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