WRACKED WITH WORRY

Dear Anxiety, 

With you around, receiving a text message saying “Hey” with a full stop at the end gets me panicking that there is a bitter undertone I’m meant to decode. With you, one simple “Hey” isn’t a greeting; it’s a matter of life and death.- Alicia Gillman

With stress we know what's stressing us but this is not always true with anxiety. Anxiety comes with a sense of helplessness. 

- Linsey Holmes (Huffington Post)

We all worry. Whether it is a small problem or a psychological disorder, the steps to overcome faulty beliefs and develop healthy patterns of thinking are the same.

A = Activity, Event vs Intrusive Thought or Urge e.g. not a ‘What if ?’ but a plan of action.

B = Faulty Belief About the Intrusive Thought e.g. Jumping to conclusions

C = Emotional Consequences: Anxiety, Doubt and Worry e.g. Overthinking, Catastrophizing

D = Neutralizing Ritual vs Avoidance e.g. Calming ritual

~Bruce M. Hyman, Ph.D. and Cherry Pedrick, RN

WE ALL TALK TO OURSELVES 

No one is more influential in your life than you are because no one talks to you as much as you talk to yourself.

You need a "Time Out"! Sit down and write out the accusations and questions around the subject you are worrying about. Look at each one and acknowledge what is true and what is false/a lie. Accept what is true and discard what is not.

We need to re-attribute and refocus our thoughts onto what is pure and true.

Here are some probing questions from Paul Tripp:

Would you be comfortable with someone listening to a recording of your internal conversation?

What are some things you say to yourself that stimulates hope, faith and confidence?

What are some things you say to yourself that stimulates fear, anxiety and discouragement?

Remember this from someone who had reason to worry as Nazi soldiers searched her home, 

Corrie Ten Boom, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”