Does your anxiety have a hold over you?
If I was to think about all the time and energy I've wasted in over thinking and worrying about future what if's, I swear I could have run round the world a hundred times!
But here’s the thing…
Your anxiety will have less of a hold over you when you stop running from it.
Sounds counter productive right?
But hear me out...
It can be hard for anyone that doesn't suffer with severe anxiety to understand how the brain works of someone who does suffer from it. Anxiety isn't just "oooh I feel a bit nervous" or "I hope this goes well". Anxiety is where your brain is completely taken hostage by your inner critic. For most of my adult life I suffered with what I and a lot of people call "killer anxiety".
Killer anxiety is all encompassing, it fills you with constant negativity, it takes away all rationality and leads you down a path of destruction. It tells you that bad things will happen, it convinces you that you're unlovable, that you're a burden to the people in your life, that you're bad at your job, weird, fat, ugly and boring and the worst thing of all…that the world would be a better place if you weren't here.
It's exhausting.
So trust me when I say, I get how much of a b*tch anxiety is.
But what I realise now is that you have so much more control and power over what thoughts you attach yourself to.
The thing is, the brain has the power to say anything to you...for example, I want you to think to yourself that my face is bright green. You know that my face isn't green right? but your brain has no problem in thinking it. So when those thoughts of "I'm not good enough", "I'll never be happy" etc, etc pop up, remind yourself that not everything your brain says to you is a fact and you have all the power within you to stop the thought and rewrite it because you ARE good enough and you WILL find happiness!
Learning to be at peace with my negative emotions was the most liberating thing I have ever done and I realise now that my mental health struggles were made so much worse by me trying to run from them. By allowing myself to feel whatever it is that I feel without judgement has resulted in me finding my own version of inner peace and whatever life has to throw at me going forward, I know I'll be ok because I choose to no longer abandon myself.
When I learned to befriend my nervous system, I learned that my anxiety was never there to cause me harm it was actually there to protect me. It was simply the terrified part of me that got hurt in the past. When my anxiety flares up now (because it still does from time to time), instead of trying to run away from it, or fix it or even worse shame it, I simply show it love and kindness. I thank it for trying to protect me and remind it that we are safe.
If you're struggling right now, please don't abandon yourself. Believe me when I say things can and will get better.
Whether you believe it or not,
you are loved,
you are enough,
you are not a burden
and you have a much bigger impact on the world than you think.
Much love,
Hannah xx
If you'd like any help or support in learning how to befriend your nervous system, book a FREE discovery call with me today to find out about the different ways you can work with me.
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