The Anxiety/Panic Attack Journal

When was the last time you worried about something, and the exact thing you worried about actually happened? In all likelihood, the answer is “never.” Or at least not very often. The fact is, most of the things we worry and feel anxiety over never come to pass. It’s a strange irony of life that we tend to worry so much about things that don’t occur; but the bad things that DO happen in life are almost always things we never see coming.

This is good to keep in mind if you are worry-prone, especially for hypochondriacs and obsessive thinkers. Ask yourself, “when was the last time one of my anxious predictions came true?” Really think about it. I’ll bet your fears have been wrong a lot more than they’ve been right; and many people (like me) have NEVER had one of there anxious worries come true (at least not that I can remember).

So if the things we worry about almost never come to pass, what does that tell us? It’s actually quite encouraging. It means that once we have started worrying about something, the odds of that thing actually happening go down to around zero. That’s right…zero. Now tell me that’s not good news…

Personally, I’ve worried about thousands of different eventualities in my life, but I cannot think of a single time the thing I worried about came to pass. And even if a few of my anxiety-fueled predictions had come true, so what? They would still have been wrong a hell of a lot more than right. Put it like this: It’s a good thing I didn’t bet hard-earned money that my worries and fears would turn out to be true — I’d be broke today.

The bottom line: the things we worry about tend to be things that never happen. Let that give you some comfort the next time your imagination takes off on an anxiety trip. When we cross examine our fears and anxieties they tend to disappear like mist in the wind. Completely insubstantial and harmless.
~Jon

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I often get emails asking about the differences between EasyCalm and other methods of overcoming anxiety, so I wanted to post my thoughts on the subject today.

 Of course, I haven’t tried EVERY possible method of overcoming anxiety and panic attacks, but I have tried a LOT! (it’s sad/funny because it’s true! haha) Here’s how I think the EasyCalm Series differs from other programs:

Many popular methods say that you have to re-train your thoughts (pretty much all of them), but the big difference in programs is HOW they propose to do this. EasyCalm (www.easycalm.com) uses a very gradual approach to build a “pattern of success” (very important) to change your overall outlook and the way you deal with potential anxiety situations (and life in general). It is true that we’ve had great success with this method, and I have coached it to hundreds of people over the last 5 years who have turned their life around completely. Here’s one of the reasons why:
 
One of the main points of EasyCalm is that “you literally cannot start too small.” This means, that you can set your expectations extremely low in the beginning–it really does not matter, as long as you are consistent (that is the key). We use small improvements (little victories) to build upon and create a pattern of success (successfully dealing with life’s challenges and worries). Over time, this decreases the base level of anxiety and research shows that it actually “rewires” the neural pathways in the brain. So you not only FEEL different, you actually ARE different.
 
In my experience, this type of behavioral modification technology is vastly underused — a great deal of substantial research verifies the benefits of using this methodology to overcome a wide range of behavioral/emotional issues such as anxiety and even depression. And of course, we offer a more comprehensive refund policy than most methods — a full 2 months. This ensures that anyone can try our approach and test the results for themselves with absolutely no risk — just the way it should be.
 
One personal note: these days, many people are aware of the concept, “Whatever you focus your attention upon  tends to expand in your life.” Well, in my experience, this is ESPECIALLY true of anxiety. That is why the EasyCalm Series focuses on successes (even small ones) and progress (no matter how modest) to build stronger and stronger patterns of success. In effect, we deal more with solutions and strengths, than problems and limitations. That, to me, is the single greatest attribute that sets us apart. When you get down to it, EasyCalm (www.easycalm.com) is not really about anxiety at all (oddly enough!) — it is about enjoying a healthy, balanced life. That is the goal, so THAT is were we place the bulk of our attention!
 
Until next time, be well and be aware — where is your focus today?
Jon
 
 
Jon Mercer, MA
Personal Development Coach
http://www.easycalm.com/
Managing Director, Youniverse LLC

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