Mindfulness: Fighting the Anxiety Monster

Externalization is an important tool for destigmatization and promoting a healthier self-image. Just because we struggle with anxiety does not mean “we are an anxious person.” The mind and body connection is a feedback loop. The way it works is anxious feelings and thoughts trigger your central nervous system (CNS), which quickens vitals like heart rate and blood pressure. These bodily symptoms signal your mind that your anxiety is rising, which in turn causes your CNS to respond even stronger. This can lead to panic attacks and an overall loss of cognitive ability, and cognitive reasoning. Your body’s response to anxiety is a primal vestige of our evolutionary “fight or flight system” which, although natural and useful in a crisis, can quickly “go off the rails” and no longer respond to real environmental threats. In other words, our mind can create “perceived threats” that either do not exist or are not nearly as threatening as we sense them to be. In this way, we must be mindful that perceptions, and feelings do not equal threats. This is a central tenet of ACT or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy which is one of my most used approaches with clients. With my custom anxiety treatment plans, let me help you conquer the monster of anxiety, and together, we can challenge the thoughts, worries, and fears that do not reflect reality and fool our bodies into feeling under threat. Additionally, we will work to externalize and destigmatize our sense of self and see our struggles as external to who we are as people, with all the innate virtues and unique qualities that make us special and valuable.