A lot of people find anxiety relief through medications. Nearly all those people don’t realize they don’t need medication to rid themselves from anxiety.
That’s because anxiety is a blessing. Left unchecked though, it can become a curse. It can enslave one in discomfort. So much discomfort the only choice that person thinks they have is relief through a pill.
The medical profession is only too quick to oblige people who suffer from anxiety. That’s why almost 20 percent of Americans find themselves with anxiety “disorders”.
But anxiety gets labeled a “disorder” needing “treatment” because so many don’t understand the benefit anxiety brings to those with it. Now, I already can hear the rebuttal:
“Easy for you to say,” some anonymous reader may offer. “You don’t struggle with anxiety.”
Well, I respond, listening to me might be a good idea then. Because you’re right, I don’t. Or if not me, take the example of a client who just today instantly caused their anxiety to disappear.
How emotions benefit
She came to her session complaining about sleeping poorly the night before. We explored the reasons and the main one was a “general anxiety.” I explained why anxiety shows up for her and suggested she could benefit from the benefits her anxiety offered.
We talked about that briefly, then we dove into an exercise which brought her near instant relief. I’m sharing that exercise here. But first, here’s why anxiety is beneficial.
Anxiety, like any emotion, tells humans something they must know. If they want fulfilling, happy lives, the must know what emotions tell them. But if you ask ten random strangers (or strange friends 😊) why we have emotions, i.e. what their purpose is, you won’t get good answers. Most people don’t know why emotions exist.
Emotions give us clues about how to get everything we want. I talk about this and how to use the clues with clients every week. It takes convincing, of course. That’s because other people convince us they know better than our emotions about what’s right for us.
But for those who use their emotions correctly, charting a path to happiness is inevitable. That’s why emotions – including anxiety – exist. They help us discover our happiness. They also light up the path to everything we want.
Negative emotions such as anxiety offer far more benefit than positive ones. But when used incorrectly or not at all, they can spell trouble. And when people mask them with drugs, their benefits get masked too.
How to get the benefit
The key to unlocking those benefits looks like using emotions for their intended purpose. That means using negative, or unwanted, emotions to chart a course to more positive, better feeling ones. That’s the purpose of the exercise I gave my client.
It worked near instantly. And, she could tell it worked that fast. Looking at her face and reactions, it was obvious.
The exercise involves a series of statements that begin with acknowledging the unwanted emotion then moving through that into better feeling emotions. Statements made are declarative, succinct and include increasing levels of emotion as those emotions show up.
My client asked that I make a recording as an aid for her so she can use the recording to practice. Once I did it, I realized readers of this blog could benefit too. So, here it is free of charge. Simply click on this link. It will direct you to a google drive where you can download it to your computer or phone.
The first minute or so offers instructions, then the remaining eight minutes offer the exercise.
Don’t be fooled
As simple as this may sound recorded, the exercise contains great power. Used alone, anyone suffering from occasional or mild anxiety can eliminate such experiences from daily life. Used in conjunction with other practices I offer in my Positively Focused sessions, even those with chronic, medicated anxiety can find so much relief over time, they can eventually get off their medication.
It’s hard when so many people give so much advice about things while not really understanding the purpose and origins of such things. Emotions are one such thing. Without understanding them, doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists do people a disservice.
I realize they’re doing their best and many sincerely want to help.
Of course, there are severe conditions existing where putting people on medications provides needed relief. And from there, a person can eventually perhaps discover ways to better manage chronic anxiety and other unwanted emotions, such as depression.
But for the vast majority of anxiety and depression sufferers, there are very good reasons why such experiences happen. They don’t have to happen. But unless one understands why they happen, finding the way out remains elusive.
Don’t be fooled. Anxiety needn’t be a constant companion. Discover your own inherent, natural relief from anxiety. Then use it for its intended purpose.
Then you’ll find yourself appreciating anxiety for what it is: a blessing. Not a curse. Want to know more? I can help.
