Anxiety can be like having a lasso around your neck. Just one small tug and you’re left gasping for air.  I remember my days when I would experience severe panic attacks – before I learnt what I’m about to share with you – and how horrible that was. Yet life doesn’t have to be this way. You can overcome anxiety. Firstly though, you need to understand what anxiety actually is…

Anxiety is a fear of what might happen in the future. Yet we all know that the future hasn’t happened yet. This fear of the future is simply a story we have made up in our mind; a story that might seem very real to us, but is still just a story of the mind. Therefore it is our mind – not life or the circumstances and situations we find ourselves in – that create anxiety.

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? You apply these five steps and just watch how quickly the anxiety dissolves.

Overcome Anxiety Step 1:

If you have negative thoughts running around your head – fears, worries and self-depleting mind-chatter – they will keep you living in a self-induced nightmare. The easiest way to free your mind of negative thinking patterns is to reprogram the subconscious mind.

As a child we are programmed, much like a computer, on how to think, act and behave. We form limiting beliefs about ourself that have us thinking we’re not good enough, money doesn’t grow on trees, and all sorts of other fear-driven thoughts and it is this childhood conditioning that creates anxiety. In order to change these thinking patterns you need to change the subconscious programming.

I run a course teaching you how to do this yourself, or you can visit a therapist who uses techniques that deal directly with the subconscious mind. Whichever option you choose, removing the limiting beliefs causing the anxiety is what will cure the anxiety so anxiety is no longer part of your life. 

   There are plenty of techniques you can use to ease the anxiety, like what I share below, but if you are programmed to experience anxiety, until you clear your subconscious mind of the limiting beliefs causing the anxiety, then anxiety will still take its hold. Yet if you don’t have programming that supports anxiety, then anxiety cannot exist for you.

Overcome Anxiety Step 2:

If we’re being 100% present it is impossible to experience anxiety. Yes really! If you consider that living in the past causes depression, living in the future causes anxiety. When our mind is focusing on our future fears and worries and concerns we invite anxiety in. 

    How do we remedy this? How do we cure anxiety? We start being more present. Being more present is about focusing 100% on the task at hand and engaging all of the five senses in whatever it is you are doing. No multi-tasking peeps! Another way to help you be more present, is to focus on the breath…

Over Anxiety Step 3:

When we get anxious our heart rate increases causing us to take short, shallow breathes into our chest. This lack of oxygen depletes us, leaving us with an uneasy feeling that can lead to the dreaded panic attack. We need oxygen – and big doses of it – to survive. Oxygen itself just so happens to be good for our mental health too!

So next time you feel anxiety set in…STOP! That’s right. Stop what you’re doing. Take a deep breath in, right down into your belly, allowing it to expand to the front, to the back and to the sides. Then simply allow the air to exit your body slowly on the exhalation, staying present to how it moves through your body.

Continue to breathe like this until your heart rate has slowed, and you’re feeling calm. When you breathe deep into your belly, focusing on the breath, it reconnects you with your body, which forces you into the present moment. It takes you out of your head full of anxious thoughts, and into your body.

Overcome Anxiety Step 4:

Avoid caffeine. Yes, that means ditch your morning cuppa peeps! Caffeine is a stimulant that boosts our heart and breathing rate. This is the same fight or flight reaction that kicks in when we’re in danger. Is it any wonder once the initial caffeine high wears off we’re left feeling jittery and on edge? So get off the caffeine and take up laughing instead…

Overcome Anxiety Step 5:

When we laugh our body produces happy chemicals, such as endorphins, that make us feel better instantly. Laughing really is one of the quickest ways to change your mental state. Even if it’s a fake laugh, you still get the rush of happy chemicals.

So fake it ‘til you make it! Laugh BIG! And see how quickly your body relaxes and your mind calms down.

Anxiety doesn’t need to be a part of your life. Want to get rid of anxiety in two-minutes flat? Visit www.gettingnaked.com.au/anxiety for my free audio playshop where I share the exercise I teach with all my clients to overcome anxiety, as well as all you need to know about the subconscious mind to experience a life free of anxiety.

Relationship and Self-Love Therapist, Author and founder of Getting Naked, Tamra Mercieca has helped thousands of people overcome anxiety and depression. Find out more about how Tamra can help you at www.tamra.com.au