Anxiety can cause you to fall into a spiral of negative thoughts. Here are three steps you can take to prevent this from happening when dealing with stress.
Photo: Alexander Dummer/Pexels.com
By Carol Rickard
I was having coffee with a friend of mine a few days ago and we got talking about how our brains tend to not function at times!
I shared how the depression had suddenly showed up again in my life this past summer after my dog passed away & I lost my routine.
It wasn’t just feeling depressed, it was that my brain did not want to work and this led to my feeling extremely ANXIOUS.
Bonnie shared how she was struggling to get things done with the work she was doing from home.
As she described what happens for her, I suddenly had this idea come to mind:
The Thinking Spiral!
So here’s how it goes…
There is a thought: ‘You must get more work done.’
Then that thought triggers another thought:‘What if it’s not right?’ or
‘What if they don’t like it?’
Then the ANXIETY is triggered & your brain starts to not function.
Then the thought:‘I can’t do this.’ or ‘They are going to fire me.’
Then MORE ANXIETY…
And you find yourself spiraling out of control with ANXIETY and a brain that doesn’t seem to want to work!
This is exactly what would happen to me this past summer, making the ANXIETY more present in my life than the depression.
So, what do we do to STOP the spiral?
Use the LifeTOOL I call:
STOP & STEP
Step 1:
Become aware of it! You can’t change things you don’t SEE happening.
Step 2:
STOP whatever it is you’re doing & STEP away to a different area.
Step 3:
DO some type of physical movement for a minimum of 1 minute.
(more of course is better!) Walk, do jumping jacks, or try air boxing, air guitar or piano!
Then return to the task you were doing. Repeat if necessary!
The principle behind this is that you are: a) not fueling the anxiety by letting it
continue to SPIRAL, and b) creating a release valve for the anxiety by being active.
Do you have a tool you can share with us? Let us know below in the comment box!
~ To Living Well TODAY! ~
via Esperanza – Hope To Cope
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