Anxiety

ANXIETY

“Fear of the future”

Anxiety stems from a fear or worry about the future.

Anxiety can present in many forms from worry & excessive thinking to digestive problems, high blood pressure, not being able to fall asleep easily or waking continuously throughout the night, to even paralysis in terms of moving forward or doing things in your life.  The mind can always ‘be on’ and can start again with continuous thinking the minute you wake up. Anxiety and excessive worry drain your energy and so fatigue often follows.

You can feel anxious about something specific in your life such as relationships, work, finance, health, etc or it can be a general anxiety where you can’t specifically pinpoint why you are feeling anxious. The driving emotion behind anxiety is fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of safety and fear of not being in control of your future.

Anxiety is the thief of joy as it takes you away from being in the present moment as your mind is frantically trying to control and think of all possible scenarios and outcomes relating to the future with regards to whatever issue/s it is you are anxious about.

Client Case Study

A Client came to see me as she was experiencing digestion problems. She explained that it felt that her stomach was in constant knots and it had been like this for a couple of weeks. She didn’t have any changes in her diet and she wasn’t experiencing anything particularly stressful in her life either. Through Kinesiology testing I was able to determine that it was anxiety that she was carrying in her stomach that was causing her digestion issue.

I enquired as to what she was feeling anxious about and she was unable to pinpoint anything specific in her life. Through further muscle testing the body indicated that the anxiety was to do with war. We discussed this and she admitted she was feeling a bit anxious & worried about the impending war with Russia & Ukraine but didn’t realise it was causing her that much anxiety as to affect her digestive system.  

We spoke about how things can appear to look gloomy in the world and the future of humanity, but to also look at the good that was all around and how humans have evolved since starting wars centuries ago and how people were standing up and speaking out globally as governments, businesses and people. Once she was able to start seeing the impending war from another perspective and to realise that humanity is still evolving and our fate is not sealed, then she was able to digest the future better. She also agreed to cut down the time she was spending daily reading & watching the news. Her stomach issue cleared up within a day.

Holistic Support

These are a few holistic tools that you can use to help alleviate anxiety.

Deep breathing:

Deep breathing is invaluable during a panic attack or if you are feeling anxious and overwhelmed. The deep rhythmic breathing into your lungs and slow exhalation has a calming effect on the nervous system and helps drop you from ‘fight or flight’ mode into the sympathetic nervous system. When you breathe, inhale all the way into your diaphragm allowing the belly to rise. You can also count evenly for inhalation and exhalation breath so that you create a calming rhythm. You should do this for around 10 minutes or until you feel noticeably calmer.

Meditation:

Mediation, either sitting in silence or doing a guided meditation, is fantastic to help to calm the mind, especially if you are an over-thinker and worrier. Start by doing just 5 minutes a day and working your way up to a longer timeframe. You may find it difficult at first but over time the thoughts will be less persistent. Don’t try and fight the thoughts when they come, allow them to come and go whilst bringing yourself back to centre and your breath.

Get grounded:

Feeling unsafe relates to our root chakra energy and a good way to strengthen and rebalance this energy centre is to get grounded. That means going for walks in nature, walking barefoot on the grass, swimming in the ocean, feeling the sun on your skin, playing with your pets or any other activity that helps you reconnect with nature and the planet. Sometimes with modern living we can live in apartments or in dense cities and not have access and connection to nature as much as we should.

Diet:

Look at your diet, are you consuming large amounts of sugar, caffeine, energy drinks or alcohol? If so, then cut down.

Media & Work Exposure:

How much time are you spending a day on social media and the news? So much is click-bait or negative headlines to sell. Spending too much time on these can bring you down and give a distorted view on life. Cut down where you can if you feel it’s affecting you.

With modern technology we are now easily in contact 24/7 with work. How often are you checking your work e-mails? Is it the first thing you check in the morning when you wake-up and the last thing you check before you go to sleep? This too affects our levels of anxiety and doesn’t allow the mind to properly switch off before bed and then you start your day already connected to work and potentially already stressed. Review the times you are checking work e-mails and establish a better routine with boundaries between work and rest.

Flower Essences:

Bach Flower essences are tinctures made from certain plants in the UK. These essences each vibrate differently and help to ease and rebalance discords within your own vibration. Those that are particularly good for anxiety are Rescue Remedy, White Chestnut and Wild Rose.

Essential Oils:

Lavender, Marjoram and Geranium essential oils all help with anxiety and overthinking. These can be used in a diffuser, a spritzer for your pillow or room as well as in a massage blend and applied topically.

Crystals:

Black Tourmaline, Amethyst, Blue Lace Agate and Rhodochrosite are crystals you can use to help calm and ground yourself. You can either wear them or carry them on you or place them next to your bed or on your desk.

Acupressure point:

Hold the acupressure point 14 on the Gall Bladder channel on both sides. These points are found on your forehead, 2 finger breaths above the middle of the eyebrows, directly above the pupil. Hold these points whilst you are feeling anxious or about to have a panic attack. These accupressure points help you process the emotions you are feeling without getting completely overwhelmed.

Affirmations:

Affirmations are a way of stating certain phrases to help change your subconscious thoughts/beliefs from negative to positive over time. Phrases for anxiety such as ‘I am safe, all is well’ or ‘I take each day as it comes and the future holds no fear’ or ‘The universe only sends me what I can handle’. These are just examples, but find or create an affirmation that resonates with you and begin to say it daily.

Final Thoughts

As fear is the root emotion behind anxiety, it is hugely beneficial to investigate the main fear or belief you are carrying that is causing this anxiety.

Sit with it, journal, ask the question: ‘what is it that I ultimately fear about the situation?’ See if you can break it down and get clear on what it is you are truly fearing will or won’t occur. Keep asking ‘why?’ until you get to the core driving fear and belief.

When you are clear on the main fear and underlying belief, then you have brought that fear from the subconscious mind to the conscious. This is where the inner work begins as you face the identified fear/belief and can start to break it down and challenge it. Using this approach, and the tools listed above to support you, will set you on the path to overcoming anxiety.