When I see an anxious person, I ask myself, what do they want? For if a person wasn't wanting something outside their own control, why would they be stricken by anxiety?
Epictetus
I've suffered from anxiety over the entire course of my life. To be caught in the grip of anticipatory fear is just the worst, and even worse still is that you don't have to be. If you just let go the illusion of control.
Because anxiety really is all about a controlling nature. You are fretting about that which you don't control. Which is everything beyond your own capacity for reason.
Think about it. You are going to die one day. You don't know when. You could sit around and fret about when, where, and how it's going to happen, but it's still going to happen whether or not you are in a state of absolute dread.
Why waste one precious second of your life doing that?
Now, it's easier said than done to release yourself from the clutches of anxiety. Especially so for those of us sensitive souls who are wired for the state. I'm constantly being assaulted by the feelings of others, and if I am not careful to steel myself against the onslaught, boy, do I ever become an inner ball of anxiety ridden goo.
These days, whenever I find myself sliding into an anxious state, I kick in my training. That's right, training. If you don't identify and come up with a regimen to combat unhelpfull existential states, then your emotions will rule your behavior and overall vibe. It's not a good time.
So back to training. Every time I feel the pressure of anxiety start to slide over me, I stop and ask myself a question, "Am I in control here or is my anxiety?"
After much practice being able to first identify the state that is anxiety, then asking myself if that state is doing me any good (NO), most of the time I can move myself out of that state. I'm only upset if I choose to be upset, and this is especially true of the state of not so much fun that is anxiety.
Because the feeling of anxiety is ultimately about control. We don't have any control over the external circumstances of our lives. As a responsible person who tries hard to live right and mitigate consequences, this truth has annoyed me on ocassion, and much of my anxiety has resulted from me trying to control my reality. Hubris sucks.
Over the last couple years I have started letting go of the A-word. It doesn't mean that I still don't suffer from attacks of anxiety, it's just that my mental reasoning training helps me come out of that state faster so that I can get on with the business of living.
Because life is full of enough trials without me making it worse with fretting about absolutely everything, even things that more often than not, don't come to pass.
So next time you come across a bout of anxiety, just hog tie that wily little state of being with some sound reason and watch your overall vibe carry on right nicely!
And as most of the time, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's never anxious iPhone, the header and footer images were made in Canva.