What to do when you are scared of things that aren’t real.
Are you scared of things that aren’t real? 😳 Anxiety can make you feel terrified and stop you from moving forward in life.
So how do we release ourselves from the chains of anxiety? ⛓️
We change our perspective. 👀
No. I didn’t put my children on a pole with crocodiles 🐊 underneath. It’s an illusion! Still, it looks pretty scary from the right angle, right? However, if you’ve seen this form of street art before, you will know that looking at this drawing from another angle, it looks like scribbled lines on the ground!
Illusion street art is very similar to anxious thoughts: If you look at them from a particular way, they can look super real ( and scary), but when we change perspective, they lose their power. 💨
WANT TO RELEASE ANXIOUS THOUGHTS? Here’s an Exercise to Try:
1: When an anxious thought arrives, don’t push it away. Listen to the idea or, even better, write it down on paper.
For example, if you feel anxious about your upcoming speech, it may sound something like this:
“I will fail the speech on Monday, and everyone will laugh at me.”
2: Write down three-four reasons this thought is true for you. You read that right: state three-four reasons this thought is true or that what you’re thinking is likely to happen.
Using the statement above, this could sound like this:
I am going to fail the speech on Monday, and everyone will laugh at me because:
– I haven’t prepared enough.
– My ideas are stupid.
– No one in my family is good at public speaking. It runs in the family.
3: Ok great. Now it’s time to look at another angle 📐
Ask yourself : What are some other ways to look at this situation using your statements above?
What could also be the truth? Again, using the example above:
– “I haven’t prepared enough” could turn into:
I haven’t prepared, but if I spend some time this week doing so, I will feel much better, and chances are I’ll do better.
– “My ideas are stupid”- could be changed to:
My ideas may not be the best in the world, but some are pretty good. The more ideas I have, the better my ideas become.
– “No one in my family is good at public speaking. It runs in the family” could be turned around into:
There are many things I’m good at that my family isn’t. Public speaking is something I can get better at by practising. The most important thing is that I speak from the heart and do my best. I’m going to be ok.
4: Notice how you feel. Congratulations! 🥳 You have just taken the first step to changing your perception.
Love Madelaine
Ready to learn more? Join me at our next Holistic Counselling & Coaching intake!