Imagination and emotionality are closely linked and what we imagine can feel very real to us (even when it isn't at all).
As the author Katherine Paterson once said: "To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another."
If you find yourself becoming overly anxious, use the following steps to help you calm down and start to regain control.
1) Breathing is the short circuit for anxiety
Quicker, Shallower breathing is the first trigger which catapults all other anxious sympoms into action So by controlling breathing you control all the other anxiety symptoms .If you usually breathe out longer you breathe in, your body has to calm down right down (regardless of what tricks your imagination is acting)
2) Prepare for peaceful performance
If you get anxious and fear upcoming events, you'll notice that just thinking about that interview, speech, or whatever will start to cause physical responses – namely, anxiety.
So you might be thinking about next Wednesday's dental appointment and find yourself breathing more quickly or your palms getting moist. This in turn primes your body to become even more anxious in the actual situation and so the vicious cycle continues. And note the role of the imagination in priming your mind and body to feel fearful.
One symptom of too much fear or anxiety is not being able to think clearly (Nasrudin stumbled into the nearest tomb!). This happens because the emotional part of the brain 'swamps' the thinking part so as to avoid, say, over-analysis getting in the way of running like Bejessus from a lion.
But in most modern situations we want to retain clear thought. And keeping your 'thinking brain' working actually calms you right down. The next step helps you do that.
3) Use a different part of your brain
When we become very anxious, it`s hard to think clearly. But if we force ourselves to use part of `the thinking brain, it will dilute the emotion and begin to calm you down.
The easiest way to do this is with numbers. You can scale your own fear from 1 to 10, 10 being the most terrified it's possible to be and 1 being the ultimate relaxed state.
When you're feeling anxious, ask yourself: "Okay what number on the scale am I right now? Am I a 7, or a 5?" Just doing this will lower anxiety because it kick-starts the thinking brain, diluting the emotion and automatically making you calmer.
4) Get control of your imagination
Fear and anxiety thrive when we imagine the worst. we developed imagination to be able to project into the future so we can plan ahead. However, a side effect of being able to imagine possible positive futures is being able to imagine things going wrong. Uncontrolled imagination is nesting ground for anxiety and fear can spoil otherwise happy lives
5) Use the AWARE technique
Fear and anxiety can feel as if they 'just happen to us', but we have much more control than we realize. AWARE is an acronym standing for:A: Accept the anxiety. Don't try to fight it.
W: Watch the anxiety. Just watch it and when you notice it, scale your level of fear and start to breathe longer on the out-breath.
A: Stands for 'Act normally'. Carry on talking or behaving as if nothing is different. This sends a powerful signal to your unconscious mind that its over-dramatic response is actually not needed because nothing that unusual is going on. Like fire fighters coming out and seeing that no emergency is happening and so going back to the fire station.
R: Repeat the above steps in your mind if necessary.
E: Expect the best. One of the greatest feelings in life is the realization that you can control fear much more than you thought possible.
Overcoming fear and anxiety will give you the 'spare capacity' in life to focus on what you really want to be and do. It takes effort, but imagine the rewards.
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