14 Dec Say These Two Words to Overcome Your Anxiety
Anxiety is one of, if not THE most common form of emotional distress and mental ill-health.
Anxiety is ALSO one of the most treatable forms of unhappiness and psychological illness.
It’s not always easy; it’s DEFINITELY not always easy. But there are a range of strategies proven to reduce anxiety and worry that with practice, can be very effective.
Keep reading to find out more about one way via Psychology Today and Jeffrey Bernstein…
KEY POINTS
- The way you look at things affects everything in your life for better or worse.
- Reframing your anxiety helps you overcome it.
- This two-word phrase can make all the difference between doing nothing, making an unhealthy choice, or making positive changes.
I have found that my counseling clients value a two-word phrase that lowers anxiety. This phrase helps combat discouragement and turns potentially disastrous days into productive ones. It’s good for your health and your self-esteem, and it can make you a more productive, better person.
This two-word anxiety-dissolving phrase is, “Even so,” and it seems to resonate for many anxious people in a deep, impactful, positive way.
We Are What We Think
This idea of reframing how you think about things that make you anxious is based on a set of interventions called cognitive-behavioral therapy. This begins with the idea that having negative thoughts about a difficult situation is normal. No one can stay positive all the time. And you can’t force yourself to stop having unhelpful, upsetting thoughts.
If you let your reactive brain fuel those thoughts, they can spiral out of control. Visualize how a funhouse mirror, rather than reflecting you as you really are, warps and twists your image, making you appear distorted from your true self. Similarly, your reactive brain distorts your thoughts, and this can lead you to assume that a given situation is hopeless or that you’re headed for disaster. As a result, you may do things that don’t really help, which can ultimately become destructive patterns in your life or leave you anxious, unhappy, or angry.
Even so, you can train your thinking brain to have stronger, helpful thoughts—the essence of cognitive behavior therapy—that can counter your reacting brain’s upsetting and unhelpful thoughts. Your helpful thoughts about situations can lead you to better feelings and better outcomes.
Unleashing “Even So” to Diffuse Your Anxiety
Let’s put “Even so” to work and see how it can help you. Check out these sample soundbites for any that you can use to battle your self-doubting thoughts…
… keep reading the full & original article HERE