HOW TO RISE ABOVE ANXIETY
Life can be quite uncertain...no.
What is feeling "Anxious"? How can we understand it? What tools and techniques are available to us to overcome it?
Through-out the last 10 years, I have invested a great amount of time studying and observing various social behavioral habits, behavioral psychology, social psychology, and experiential interpretations of what I perceive is going on in "Social Environments". The reason I am so interested in seeking to understand the World around me and how to navigate through it is because I am "Nero-Divergent" (Autistic spectrum) and do not naturally understand "Socially normal" human behavior and ways of communication. So, I have experienced A LOT of Anxiety through-out my life.
What I have found through the process is that through finding and maintaining our personal "Center" (staying grounded in the "Now") in our life and experiences; we can create a dramatic shift in our experiences of Anxiety and transform our Life in how we relate with the External World around us. It can be taken even deeper when we are able to understand what it is "Life" is trying to communicate to us in every moment and why we are becoming "Anxious".
To put it as generally as I can... The more "present" we are with our Life, relationships, and environments... the more we can "see" and understand what is going on around us, what people may be trying to express, and gain a kind of " Situational Awareness" of what may be factually happening in our experience, from a place unattached to the outcome of the situation.
Shared below are some notes I have learned in my journey that have created profound shifts in my relationships and understandings of "Social norms" (relating to others) ... when relating to the Anxiety that being in "Society" creates for me.
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ARE DIFFERENT NOTES, TOOLS, AND TECHNIQUES I HAVE LEARNED TO COPE WITH ANXIETY, OVERCOME THE VARIOUS LEVELS OF ENERGY IT PRODUCES WITHIN THE BODY, AND TO COME TO UNDERSTAND WHY WE EXPERIENCE IT.
* REMOVING OURSELVES FROM ANY SITUATION OR ENVIRONMENT THAT IS OVER STIMULATING- This action removes the over stimulation as to be able to neutralize our internal energies and thought patterns. In doing so... we have an opportunity to breath, relax, and stop the "roller-coaster" of the various emotions and internal energies that arise from the stimulations in the immediate environment.
For me... this would typically be a room full of high volumes of noise or a lot of various movements in my prefrail vision. A lot of us are fairly sensitive to the frequencies of sounds, peripheral movements, and energy flows of our environments. Removing ourselves from these environments that may be "too much" for us instantly provides an opportunity to slow down and regain control of our "Internal state".
* FIND ANYTHING IN THE IMMEDIATE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT THAT WE ENJOY ENGUADGING OUR ATTENTION TOWARDS WHEN FEELING OVERWHELMED- This draws our attention towards an enjoyable object or person that helps us feel at ease by focusing our conscious attention towards it or them. By doing this, we remove our attention from the overstimulating stimuli and that allows space for us to calm down. By using this positive stimulation to calm our state of Anxiety, we can transmute the energy that the overwhelming stimulation was creating within us.
When we are able to ground our anxiety, we can return to the conversation, debate, or experience and respond / interact from a more stable state where we feel comfortable to continue the interaction... or make the decision to remove ourselves from the situation.
* LEARNING HOW TO ADDRESS ANY SITUATION OR DIS-AGREEMENTS EFFECTIVELY- We want to do this as soon as we realize there is an "un-easy" amount of tension present in any interaction. One of the most effective ways to handle any situation is to first keep our emotional state "grounded" (there is a difference between "expressing emotions" and "re-acting from" an emotional state), speak towards the conflict directly, and to do all of this with integrity when communicating through intense conversations staying as emotionally grounded as possible. By doing so, we have the opportunity to remove any lingering unnecessary tension in the future.
As a result, we will not carry any internal subconscious baggage of unfinished aspects of our day, nor any consistent thoughts in the back of our mind that could easily be triggered by unrelated experiences from the tension of our previous experiences, effecting unrelated interactions in potentially an unwanted negative way.
* "MANAGE OUR LIFE" TO THE BEST OF OUR CURRENT ABILITY- This can be done by taking care of as many tasks, "to-dos", or projects as possible that we may have been putting off -or- were inspired to do that day. In a short phrase... we can learn to value the ability to "Keep our lives in order". This skill removes a lot of our Subconscious anxiety knowing we have taken care of our life's responsibilities, which can be half of the battle of removing the Anxiety.
I have found a good way to start the day can be simply the act of cleaning the room or making the bed before I leave in the morning. There is a saying... "A messy bed is a messy head".
The flow of symmetrical energy in our environment has a tremendous effect on our internal state unconsciously. This action also sets the day with a sense of accomplishment first thing in the morning. Which inspires many more accomplishments throughout the day.
* LISTEN TO AND FOLLOW OUR INNER INTUITION- This is the Inner spirit, "child within", or our primitive instinct speaking to our Conscious mind. It is those "Gut feelings" that know when to much is too much. It can come up when we feel we are being lied to, deceived, manipulated, being purposely over-stimulated, or are doing something we internally know we shouldn't be doing.
There is so much I would like to say here about our sense of "Inner knowing" and the profound amount of influence it plays in our life. Though, to keep this objective towards Anxiety... the tip here is to slowly learn how to trust our "inner self" and follow our intuition about our immediate environment, experiences, and the flow of energy around us based on how it makes us "Feel" internally.
* LEARNING HOW TO EFFECTIVELY TAKE CONTROL OF THE STIMULATIONS AROUND US- This may be achieved by calmly asking someone to allow us space to process information. This technique allows us to ground out being overstimulated by words / movements, and it gives us time to process and understand what is going on in front of us.
Using this method, we can neutralize our environment and choose the best choice of action that should be applied to address the current stimulation or question requesting a response.
* LEARNING TECHNIQUES TO NOT ALLOW OTHER PEOPLES OPINIONS, JUDGMENTS, ASSUMPTIONS, OR FEARS TO EFFECT AND THROW US OFF OUR INTERNAL CENTER- It is my belief that most of these projections are their own internal situations, psychological states, or emotional immaturities that they are attempting to project onto us. In the end, it really has less to do with what we are doing and more to do with how they personally feel about us expressing or doing anything that may trigger these projections from them.
There is a great deal you can learn about other people when they respond like this, how they affect your life & psychological well-being, and what their true intentions are. When we are able to perceive the interaction from a perspective that does not take personal what they say... we can eliminate any feeling of Anxiety about "caring what they think about us or our expressions". This opens an opportunity for us to be our Authentic selves confidently removed from anyone's judgment of it.
* AT THE END OF THE DAY, OR AFTER AN OVER-STIMULATING EXPERIENCE, LEARN TO MOVE THROUGH AND GROUND THE RESIDUAL EMOTIONS / ENERGY THAT AROSE FROM OUR EXPERIENCES OF THE DAY- We can begin to look at each day with a desire to consciously understand what it is we learned about ourselves, the people in our life and what their relationships are to us, and the various ways that we can adapt any insights we may have gained from these contemplations into the following day.
The idea is to see each experience from a "birds' eye" perspective, unattached from emotional responses, and to see a kind of "Un-biased truth" of the experience. From there... this gives us insight to grow from, things that we can do to live more in harmony with our experiences, and opportunities to create the subtle shifts necessary to create a Life that is in alignment with our sense of Well-being.
* STEP AWAY FROM ANY SITUATIONS THAT BRING AN UNEASY AMOUNT OF ANXIETY TO CONCIOUSLY GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING WITHIN OURSELVES AS TO WHY WE FEEL ANXIOUS- Once we are able to do this, we can come back to the situation from a place of feeling grounded in ourselves. This helps us feel "Internally free" to respond by being honest with ourselves and then responding accordingly.
Using this process, we will not be forced to react, do, or say something that we may latter regret. It has been my experience that if I do react and say things out of anger, resentment, or anxiety... it creates more internal anxiety that lingers through-out the day and typically makes the situation worse in the long run.
Later in the day when I reflect on the experience, I find I still have more unfinished business with that person or situation to deal with in the future. This lingering un-conscious Anxiety creates more "Subconscious chatter" through-out the day that takes more energy than necessary to process if we would have resolved it all in those moments they arise.
* MAINTAINING A CONSCIOUS FOOD & LIQUID INTAKE- It is fairly well known that maintaining healthy, clean, and conscious choices in our eating / drinking habits are important for overall well-being. Not most commonly known is the Biology of how the chemical reactions interact with our body and psyche from the different foods and drinks we consume. Also, I do not know how to express enough how vitally important water intake is to our body, mind, and thought patterns.
Keeping a "Food Journal" can be very beneficial here, as to consciously recognize how different foods and drinks impact our thought patterns, emotional states, and our day as a whole.
* MINDFULNESS MEDITATIONS- Are any activities, hobbies, or exercises that allow us space of mind to process Subconscious and Conscious information without the need to react to any particular stimulation. When we can remove our emotional triggers and allow the calm states of mind to be present... the Subconscious has space to naturally "Work it-self out".
These practices allow us to work out the clutter of the mind and become more consciously grounded when dealing with real life stimulating experiences, environments, and situations we encounter on a daily basis.
* REMEMBERING TO FOCUS ON BREATHING AND MAKING A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO DO SO FULLY- This is a useful simple way to use the body's natural Anatomy to slow down a pulsing heart rate, which lowers blood pressure, and is a beneficial technique to stop the cycles of overstimulating thought patterns and emotions that arise from our experiences.
This is because we come more into the present moment and not trapped in the internal sensations the thoughts create within our bodies. There are many forms of breathing techniques available online to find what practices work for you.
* POSITIVE THOUGHT TRAINING & AFFIRMATIONS- Being aware of our conscious negative thought patterns created by our subconscious conditioning and observing them from a place of understanding will allow us to face them without negative emotional triggers. There are many methods for this and a variety of ways to achieve it.
By consciously continuously shifting our thoughts from negative to positive patterns from our conscious point of view, we can subtly and concretely begin to overcome Anxiety forming Subconscious thought loops. These can be techniques easily added to any habitual practices we may already have. (More on Affirmations HERE)
* "CONCSIOUS GROUDING" -or- "NATURAL EARTHING"- As an energetic re-stabilizer technique... this can help us stay present in life and have more control over our internal energies and feelings. Practices such as walking bare foot in the mud, forest, sand, or grass has been proven to ground the Electromagnetic dynamic of the human experience.
When we have disruptive thoughts, feelings, and emotions... they cause low vibrational patterns in our Etheric, Energetic, and Magnetic fields. These disruptions create what can be known as "Free Radical Electrons" which keep our internal energy centers un-balanced (Chakras, Meridians & Nerves, Vital organs, and Heart).
These subtleties of our design build up without our conscious awareness. I have found many techniques of "Earthing" to be beneficial ways to help keep these energies more in harmony with life energetically. There is an entire Documentary on "Earthing" on YouTube that I would highly recommend anyone to watch called "The Earthing Movie"... as there is a great deal of information regarding the many benefits of "grounding the body" that you can find there.