Release Anxiety and Building Trust Again
Accepting the experience of anxiety
Our anxiety is with us for a good reason. Sometimes ‘it’ thinks ‘it’ can protect us from future hurt, other times ‘it’ thinks ‘it’ can keep us alive. There are also some times of great significance when ‘it’ wants to show us that we are on a path that is not what we really want to be doing.
Let’s admit it, there are various complex reasons for being anxious. They vary from situational to chronic. A difficult situation that we are experiencing may cause intense anxiety and after enough time passes the anxiety will probably subside. However, when anxiety is chronic or caused by traumatic experiences that induce shock to our organism, it is a different case. Our behaviour is our natural response to our past experiences. When we are chronically anxious it may be that we grew up in an environment that was overprotective, and advised us to be careful about almost everything. Or it may be the case that we were neglected, physically abused or emotionally abused and experienced this world as a ‘scary place’.
Anxiety breaks down trust in self and trust in others… Anxiety causes fear or worry that can make less aware of true needs in a given moment. It can also make less attuned to the needs of another person due to survival instinct.
There is a way to move from anxiety to trust. Trust is key to overcoming anxiety. Embarking on a therapeutic journey with yourself, an accountable partner or a therapist that you can connect with is crucial. In therapy, you can uncover the roots of your mistrust on yourself and/or the world. Then you can rewire your brain, to re-learn how to connect with what is important for you, your inner truths and values.
Expressing your feelings and thoughts
Expressing your feelings and thoughts in a confidential therapeutic space is a powerful method to release old memories and allow you to reconnect with your inner truth and others. As you express yourself, you rewire your mind to trust yourself in the process and the person you’re talking to. This process is where many of us find it challenging because vulnerability has not been part of our society, so yes, this will be a huge leap for many of us.
Practicing breathing techniques, mindfulness and meditations,too, will be of great help in order to learn how to redirect your attention towards where you want, and alleviate your anxiety. These science-backed techniques have shown that the parasympathetic nervous system gets activated within seconds to calm the mind and body down.
Discussing your difficult emotions or/and situations in a safe and understanding space can also facilitate your capacity to deal with difficult situations and find solutions that you could not see possible before.
Having a listening ear will help you create new ways of focusing more on hope and belief in yourself rather than over-criticism, distrust, doubt, and overwhelming anxiety.
And if anxiety comes up again, as it will, because it is part of our human nature, you will remember that it’s okay to ask for support, for a listening ear, and be equipped with mindfulness techniques to channel your anxiety out, and continue to build in more trust along the way.
Can you trust yourself again to release your past to welcome the new? :)
xxx
