Anxiety can be managed

I'm so sorry that you're having anxiety issues - it can have an impact upon mind, body, and spirit. LONG response, but please read it as you may find helpful information and encouragement.

I'm hosting an anxiety seminar for my County, tomorrow, and there are many, many methods and techniques that can be employed to manage anxiety. "Management" is the goal. "Cure" is lofty and unlikely.

SO......the first thing to do is to be patient. Yes, we all want to be cured of whatever it is that we're facing, but anxiety is thought to be associated with genetic information or environment, or a combination of both. Childhood trauma and/or family dynamics plays a huge part in where anxiety forms, and to what degree.

EFT is helpful - it is not some great and mystical secret. It is very simple to practice and it only requires that one crosses their arms and places their hands on the opposite sides of their bodies: typically, the shoulders, but this can be done while sitting on the legs. This second approach is extremely helpful if I'm at a meeting or somewhere where my legs are beneath a table and I need to calm myself at that moment.

Tapping begins with each hand lightly tapping at an alternative cadence or rhythm. The added "mantra" can be personal or not exist, at all - it's entirely a personal choice to add this or not. If a mantra is used, it should be a positive affirmation. Mine was, "I'm okay, and okay is good enough." Tapping works by forcing the left and right hemispheres of the brain to coordinate and alternate - this interrupts the anxiety from forming into an attack. Ever see people rocking babies or rocking back and forth when they're grieving or crying? Same thing - it's a soothing mechanism and EFT simply takes it a step further to interrupt the anxiety.

Another method of managing anxiety or a panic attack is to practice "The Now" exercise. This involves taking note of your immediate surroundings, out loud, if necessary. For instance, I will say to myself, "My left foot is crossed over my right foot. My right foot is resting on its heel with my toes pointing at a 45 degree angle. My right hand is holding a cup of tea and my left hand is resting on the arm chair. I can see my bird feeder and it has a squirrel and two bird eating seed. The sky is gloomy and the temperature is moderate at fifty degrees. The air is damp and a slight breeze is brushing my left cheek with the breeze coming from the south. I can see that the trees are all budding out for spring and that my apple trees still have no sign of blossoms, yet...." and so forth.

Yes, that was a long paragraph and some people will feel that it's TLDR, but it's a priceless exercise that can be successful. I had to practice this over, and over, sometimes every 3 minutes. Then, when I was "calm" and not in the depths of an anxiety episode, I would practice the tapping, the "Now" exercise, and other techniques. This method works by interrupting the memory mechanism that creates the anxiety, in the first place. The mind goes to a past event or trauma and that's where it begins to fall apart for us. This method brings us back to the immediate present - the "now," as Eckart Tolle teaches. And, it works.

Anxiety can absolutely be managed. Absolutely. But, it requires time, patience, and practice. It also requires that we be kind to ourselves. No method is "The One" that works for everyone, across the boards. Management requires practicing a variety of methods and techniques.

Recognizing triggers is another helpful exercise. "Why did I respond that way? Why am I feeling so unsettled?" A true "trigger," as defined by psychologists and psychiatrists is when the individual has experienced a past trauma and something associated with that trauma causes the individual to actually re-live the traumatic event in their minds (NOT the current bastardization of the term by various social groups) . The individual isn't actually IN the past, physically, but the mind takes the person back so that every physiological response to THREAT is present: dilated eyes, rapid heartbeat, narrowed vision, shortness of breath, fight-or-flight response, etc. It can be a smell, a color, a type of fabric, a certain string of words put together, a specific place, a certain day........anything can be a trigger for anxiety.

Anxiety is complex. It's not just something that happens. It is a hard-wired response to threat that was developed many thousands of years ago so that human beings would survive.

Whenever you can, practice whatever techniques that appeal to you when you are calm and centered - this will allow you to be able to access those techniques as "second nature" when you feel yourself slipping off the rails.

Brightest blessings to you