Category / Anxiety

Anxiety Self-Acceptance Therapeutic Approach

Validation is Powerful

Your feelings are valid.

Whether that made you breathe a sigh of relief or look around for the person with the “real” problems I must be talking to, your struggles are real, your experience matters and you have every right to feel the way you do. Yes, even you.  

We’ve all heard that the first step to overcoming an addiction is admitting that you have a problem. Well, when it comes to mental health, the first step to recovery is allowing yourself to have a problem. Mental health issues are still dripping with stigma and often kept as deep, dark secrets, locked away tight where no one else will ever find them. Sometimes it’s because we don’t want others to see us as sick, but sometimes it’s because we’re afraid they won’t.

catastrophizing
Anxiety

Getting Rid of The Gremlins

Imagine for a moment that your boss/teacher/friend/significant other just asked if you have a moment “to talk.” What’s your gut reaction? Is it panic or dread? Is your heart racing and your stomach in your throat? For many of us, the first response is to jump automatically to the worse conclusion and face the situation with dread.

These invasive little thoughts that creep into our brains, quietly at first, and then louder, saying things like, “you’re going to get fired,” or “you failed the class,” or “he’s breaking up with you” are called catastophizing. But I call them gremlins– little seeds of doubt that grow into full blown pains in the butt. And the psyche. (I had a client once call them the Committee of Assholes – also an excellent choice.)

acceptance
Anxiety Self-Acceptance

Acceptance is Transformative

Do you find meditation easy? Can you still your mind, gently let go of your thoughts and focus only on your breathing? No? Me either.

The concept makes sense, but it always seemed like I was doing it wrong. I’d look around at the other yogis in my class, who all seemed so zen-like and focused, while I couldn’t get my brain to shut up.  And the louder my thoughts got, the more frustrated I became. I kept telling myself, “No, no, no! You’re doing it wrong! You should be able to do this like everyone else!” Eventually I gave up trying– it was impossible to meditate with all that noise to fight off.