If you experience anxiety, I feel you. In my 20s I had my fair share of anxiety attacks. It was awful. And really impacted my life and my relationships in quite devastating ways.
That was before I learnt what I’m about to share with you in today’s episode on I Love Me The Podcast. Yes today, I’ll teach to a tool that gets rid of anxiety in 2-minutes flat!
Anxiety can be absolutely crippling.
It can feel like having a lasso around your neck.
Just one small tug and you’re left gasping for air.
I should know, after experiencing my fair share of anxiety, back before I learnt what I’m about to share with YOU!
How to get rid of anxiety.
Now before I teach you this 2-minute exercise that will eliminate anxiety on the spot, there’s a couple of things you need to understand.
Firstly.. what is anxiety?
Anxiety is a fear of what might happen in the future.
So… anxiety, is a fear of the future.
Yet we all know that the future hasn’t happened yet.
This fear of the future is simply a story we’ve made up in our mind.
A story that might seem real to us, but is still just a story of the mind.
So with the mind being the cause of anxiety, then it makes sense that we need to work with the mind to get rid of the anxiety.
How do we do this?
We use active imagination or what you may know as visualisation.
Here’s what you do…
Think of the thing that you’re feeling anxious about.
It can be anything at all.
Not having enough money, losing your job, your partner, your health; whatever comes to you first is the best one to work with.
So think of that thing that make you anxious, think of that now….
Once you’ve got it, close your eyes.
Take a slow deep breath in, allowing yourself to notice how that thing makes you feel.
Then as you exhale, let it go.
Imagine the anxiety leaving your body on the exhalation.
Then, keeping your eyes closed, imagine yourself going into the future to at least 15 minutes after this thing you were anxious about, would have played out.
So if for instance, you’re feeling anxious about giving a speech at your sister’s wedding, then imagine yourself 15 minutes AFTER having given that speech.
Once you’re there, immediately start imagining the BEST possible outcome for the thing that you were anxious about.
If it’s a wedding speech, you imagine that the speech went so well, you felt so comfortable speaking into the microphone and everyone loved what you shared.
They all laughed at the right times…
The speech went soooo much better than you could ever have imagined, and you feel so pumped now.
So pumped that you can’t wait for the opportunity to give another speech some time!
If you were feeling anxious about not having enough money to get by, imagine money coming in at the perfect time to pay all the bills… and then some.
And how freeing and abundant that makes you feel, knowing that you can trust that there will always be enough to go round, and some extra too.
If you were feeling anxious about an icky conversation you need to have with someone, imagine that conversation going amazingly well – so well that both of you walk away from that interaction with a smile on your face and a bounce in your step, feeling completely resolved.
Totally at peace.
If you feel anxious about having too much to do, imagine a time in the future where everything is done, without you having to worry.
And everything was done sooo easily.
You get the idea!
Whatever you do, imagine a result that fills you with joy; that leaves you feeling relief and happiness.
The best possible outcome is what you’re conjuring up in your mind.
And make that picture really bright and colourful!
Turn up those positive feelings.
And allow yourself to really get involved in this seemingly miraculous outcome.
Engage with it, dance with it, rejoice in it.
Let those feelings of joy be felt deeply within you.
And once you’ve done that, take a moment to check in with your body.
Is the anxiety still there… or has it gone?
If you were imagining the best possible outcome, an outcome that you desire, then it is impossible to feel anxiety in the body, because the body doesn’t know the difference between what is real and what is imagined.
So if you do still feel anxiety, go back and do the exercise again.
It simply means you didn’t fully imagine the best outcome possible.
And like anything, when you’re learning something new, it can take a little bit of practise to get good at it.
I recommend practising this exercise regularly.
At least a couple of times a day to start with, maybe on some smaller anxieties, so when the big anxieties hit, you’ll have confidence in this tool to be able to lift you out of the anxiety.
To get rid of anxiety real quick.
The more you practise using it, the more it will be able to support you.
So I’ll briefly just go over the steps again…
You identify what it is that is making you feel anxious.
It’s important you gain that clarity to begin with.
Then you close your eyes, take a few calming breaths.
And you imagine yourself 15 minutes after that event has happened, and picture yourself experiencing that event in a way that feels good, that has a really positive outcome, the outcome you want.
If you do this properly, it WILL get rid of the anxiety.
There will be no anxious feelings in your body.
And that’s because you can’t experience joy and anxiety at the same time.
One cancels the other out.
Now what’s great about this exercise is that you can do it almost anywhere; it’s quick and effective, and helps you come home to yourself.
It gets you reconnecting with your centre of love.
That said, this exercise does not get to the root cause of the anxiety.
In order to clear anxiety at the root cause – so the same anxieties don’t keep popping up – you need to remove the beliefs causing the anxiety.
And this is something I explain in more depth in Episode 2, Programmed for Love.
So that’s a really powerful episode to listen to.
Because when we learn how to change our beliefs, we have a different relationship with ourself, a relationship that doesn’t support going into anxiety in the first place.
Ultimately though, this anti-anxiety exercise I’ve just shared with you, is great for bringing you immediate relief.
To get you instantly out of an anxious situation.
It’s quick, it’s easy.
It’s a tool you can do on your own.
If you’re about to go into an interview or are paralysed with anxiety for some reason, then this can be enough to pull you out of it, so you can start to gain some perspective.
It’s an exercise I teach my one-on-one clients, so they can ease the anxiety on their own when they’re out and about in life.
Then together in our sessions we gradually strip off the layers of beliefs that are creating the anxiety in the first place, so that by the end of our five-months together, the anxiety is no longer available to them.
They no longer have a belief system that supports those anxieties.
What I will say, is that ALL of us can live anxiety-free.
We simply need the tools and understanding to do so.
So practice using this anti-anxiety tool to get rid of anxiety.
Let it be the way you bring yourself back into a calmer space.
And if you do want to clear out the anxiety at the root cause, so it doesn’t arise anymore, then you’re more than welcome to get in touch to discuss my one-on-one program.
Next week, in the lead up to Mental Health Day, I’ll be sharing ALL about my journey through depression.
If you’ve been following for a while, you’ll know that in my 20s I was suicidal, and it wasn’t until I was about to be put in a mental home, that I was able to heal myself.
Next week’s episode, while I’ll be talking about a serious, and what may appear to be a depressing topic, will leave you feeling uplifted.
So if you suffer with depression or know someone who does, may next week’s episode offer you the hope and the healing path you need, to get well, and live, depression and pill free, as I now do.
Thanks for listening…
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That way others can know what to expect when they come across the show.
And of course if you want more of what I share here in these episodes, I have a whole website full or resources for you…
Blogs, meditations, programs, books; everything you need to come into a loving relationship with yourself.
Simply take a peek at my online school Gettingnaked.com.au where I teach you how to strip off the layers of childhood conditioning, keeping you from falling in love with you.
While you’re there, don’t forget to sign up for your FREE Self-Love Starter’s Kit, and if you do enrol in any of my programs, know that a percentage of profits go to planting trees, so together we can re-robe Mother Earth.