The Anxiety/Panic Attack Journal

Once again The EasyCalm Series is growing and getting better than ever. The EasyCalm Mobile Edition is a brand-new mobile streaming version of the series which can be accessed anytime — from anywhere. The Mobile Edition includes the EasyCalm coaching videos plus all the bonus relaxation sessions and even a few extras. It is compatible with just about any mobile device, including iPhones, Android phones, iPads, Android tablets, BlackBerries, etc.

And the best news of all? It’s free! The new mobile edition of EasyCalm is included free with every purchase, enabling users to take advantage of the series in new ways, with 24/7 access from their phone, tablet or other device. Take the series with you to the gym, shopping, even on vacation. It’s completely up to you. The new mobile edition adds incredible flexibility, making the series a better value than ever.

Anxiety-Busting Extras Just in Time for Christmas

As well as the new EasyCalm Mobile Edition, the series now includes a soothing guided relaxation video called “Naturally Calm.” Once again, it’s 100% free. There is even a streaming version of Naturally Calm on the Mobile Edition website, so you can enjoy this unique new NLP guided relaxation video anytime and anywhere.  In fact, you can even check it out right now on my Youtube Channel here (don’t forget to thumbs-up and subscribe!).

More to Come…

Besides these two cool new additions to The EasyCalm Series, we will be updating the series further in the coming year, with new resources, relaxation sessions and other tools to live easier…and calmer.

~Jon
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Has anyone ever accused you of being “too sensitive?”

Many people who experience anxiety also have a high degree of sensitivity. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Sensitive people tend to be more self reflective, and unfortunately, more self-critical. This critical inner voice and tendency toward inward focus can often contribute to anxiety problems.

But if you happen to be one of the “sensitive ones,” how can you turn down your obsessive inner dialogue?

Obsessively self-critical thinking is a habit. It’s a “thinking habit” that works in the same way as other, more conventional habits. You develop the behavior gradually over time (and often unknowingly). And you overcome this habit the same way – with time and persistence. In fact, the easiest way to overcome a habit like this is to refrain from dealing with it at all, and instead, develop a few new habits that can effectively block the old one.

The EasyCalm series is largely based on this concept of using new, more productive habits to replace old, unproductive habits, the kind that lead to anxiety and panic attacks.

There’s also a lot you can do on your own to use this method of overcoming anxiety and panic. The key is to begin “installing” new habits, especially “thinking habits,” that will more or less replace the old unproductive ones. And when I say “old, unproductive habits,” I’m primarily talking about three issues: a tendency to over-control situations, obsessive thinking, and excessive inward focus.

All these habits can be diminished or even eliminated by shaking up your routine, your day-to-day life, and establishing new habits that have nothing to do with the old ones, and are much less likely to “feed” the anxiety. You have to take a look at what you are doing, thinking, watching and reading in your day-to-day life; and then recognize that, whatever it is,  it’s not working for you. Seriously.

Anxiety problems are a clear indication that your life is out of balance; and often, one of the best ways to restore balance is to begin making changes (both big and small) in your everyday routine. Of course, it helps if you have a clear “map” to follow from where you are now to where you are going. Or perhaps I should say a clear GPS signal. =) That’s where EasyCalm comes in. It gives you the right focus, and keeps you on track as you begin the process of making changes in your life, and moving beyond anxiety.

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Have you ever watched a really depressing, violent or anxious movie?  These kinds of films definitely affect our emotional state.  In fact, if the director is good, he’ll get you to empathize with the characters, and actually feel the same fear and anxiety that they do.

But what happens when you’ve finished watching a movie like this?  Do you return to your “normal” emotional state as soon as it’s over?  Of course not.  Strong emotional states tend to linger, and sometimes a lot longer than we would like.

After watching a depressing or stressful movie, it’s not uncommon for people to feel somewhat depressed themselves for hours, days, even weeks afterward.  Anything that tugs at our emotions (movies, music, television, books, art, etc.) can have this lingering effect.

Consider this hypothetical situation: what if you watched three horribly depressing movies every week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. How would you feel on the days in between?  The emotional state conjured up by the depressing films might linger long enough to keep you in a perpetual state of anxiety or depression.

But what if you watched only happy, inspiring, motivational films (or books, television, web sites, etc.)? Influences that promote positive states tend to linger too, just like the negative ones.

Have you ever been to a fantastic concert and then felt like you were on a high for the rest of the week?  That’s the amazing lingering power of positive emotional states.

It’s important for all of us to get as many of these kinds of influences in our lives as we can.  Whether it’s an awe-inspiring movie, motivational speaker (not Matt Foley!), a concert, inspirational book or whatever.  But you must take the initiative and seek out positive influences. They’re not going to come looking for you.

So your assignment today (and EVERY day) is to seek out positive, inspirational, motivational, happiness-inducing influences of all different types.  And remember, the stronger the positive emotions produced, the longer the effect will linger.

If you regularly seek out happy, positive influences, over time you become much more calm, resilient and optimistic. And besides reducing anxiety and increasing happiness, it can also have positive effects on your physical health, such as calming digestive problems or strengthening the immune system.  And because of the aforementioned lingering effect, it’s possible to stay in this “calm and happy” state of mind long after the movie/book/concert/event is over. It can effectively become your “new normal.”

Begin by taking control of the kind of influences and information that you allow “on your radar.”  Proactively seek out the best, brightest, most optimistic and inspiring influences you can. This simple behavioral change can reduce many emotional problems like anxiety and panic attacks; and help you live an all around happier, healthier life.

~Jon

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Hypochondria is probably the most common type of anxiety in the world.  Most of us know someone, or maybe several people, who have persistent fears about their health, disease and illness.  In fact, if you’ve watched television at all in the last 15 years you have been bombarded with illness-based messages that could  turn almost anyone into a hypochondriac.  The media is rife with images of disease and illness, and adverts that lead you to believe it’s not a question of if you will get some crazy illness,  only when.

Playing to health fears may be great for the pharmaceutical companies and the for-profit medical industry, but it’s terrible for actual human beings–you know, like you and me.  The only way we can avoid this persistent negative “programming” is to pay close attention to what we read, listen to, watch on television, and the kind of information we allow “on our radar.”

So hypochondria is partially cultural in origin, no doubt about it; but that doesn’t mean it’s entirely cultural. Some people do seem to have a genetic predisposition toward health worries; though the research is unclear how big a role your genes may actually play. But no matter where it comes from or how you classify it, there is something you can do about hypochondria.  Many of the same guiding principles that help relieve other types of anxiety will help you, too.

One principle that helps hypochondria suffers is to become aware of just how often your inner voice is predicting doom and gloom, and notice how many times these predictions are just plain wrong. Take a few minutes to recall all the times you have worried and stressed about disease or illness in the past. How many of those fears were justified? The odds are, you’ve probably had millions — yes millions — of negative and anxious thoughts about disease and illness in the past.  So how many of those “predictions” came true?

I would bet that very few of those dire predictions ever came true–if any.  Most people’s hypochondria worries are ALWAYS false.  They are literally NEVER true.  Think about those odds…a million worries about illness and disease, but NONE of them turn out to be true? Seriously? What does that tell you?

It tells you is that these thoughts (hypochondria) are simply lies.  They’re not half-truths; not “kinda” true. They’re just lies.  Reviewing your history of hypochondria and health anxiety will make it clear to you how these fear-based thoughts are practically NEVER correct. They are an extremely unreliable source of information, unless of course, you consider that the information presented is always incorrect. Then, by assuming that the hypochondria thoughts are always wrong, you will always be right. ;=)

It is true that simply knowing something is wrong intellectually does not necessarily keep you from experiencing anxiety about it. Anxiety is by nature irrational. However, I find that understanding how invalid and incorrect these thoughts are, leads to them having much less of an impact on your life.  You just don’t take them as seriously when you know they are statistically ALWAYS wrong.

Hypochondria is a lie.  It is unlikely that any of the fears and worries you’ve had about health in the past have come true.  And what does that tell you? A lie is a lie, no matter what fancy name we give it.  And when you begin seeing hypochondria for what it is — just a bunch of lies — it will have far less control over your state of mind and your health.

–
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Jon Mercer, MA
http://www.jonmercer.net/

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“Getting Unstuck” has been called the “post-anxiety series.” It’s about moving forward and creating a new self image, something that is critical after overcoming anxiety and panic attack issues.

But it’s actually about a lot more than getting on with your life after anxiety. The Getting Unstuck video coaching series is a blueprint for increasing self esteem, and re-defining who you are and what you are capable of (because we’re always capable of about 10x more than we realize!).

Since debuting last November, Getting Unstuck has won many die-hard fans, and helped many re-claim their life. Many of the most vocal supporters are people who had just come out of a traumatic time, like a divorce, job loss, physical illness, etc. And yes, quite a few have relied on this series to help put their lives back together after overcoming anxiety and panic attacks too, hence the nickname, “the post anxiety series.” =)

Through the end of February, both the “Getting Unstuck” series and our “Attitude is NOT Optional Series” (another favorite, especially for shy or “sensitive” people) are on sale. Get an instant 15% discount on either of these coaching programs (or both) when you order before March 1st. Just input the discount code W3760891 on the order page.

Check out both programs here: http://www.youniversellc.com/coaching-sessions.html

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I’ve been coaching anxiety and panic attacks sufferers for many years now, and one of the most common questions I hear is “where do panic attacks come from?”

Many people believe their panic attacks “come out of nowhere.” But in fact, this isn’t true. Panic attacks come from habits. More specifically, mental habits that we fall into over time unknowingly.

It sounds kind of strange, but the reality is that panic attacks are a “lifestyle issue.” They are the result of an imbalance in your life. This “imbalance” can be very subtle, almost unrecognizable, but it has very real and damaging results.

So how do you stop the panic attacks?

The way to prevent panic attacks (and other anxiety problems) is to deal with their root cause — the mental “environment” that allows them to flourish. This process has several steps, and I’ll be talking more about that over the next few weeks. But for today, let’s just focus our attention on one specific topic: Control Issues.

Anxiety and panic attacks are most often the result of trying to over-control your life, and situations. It’s an easy habit to fall into (I’ve been there). But fortunately, there IS a way out.

The first step is to build up your tolerance to situations that are slightly out of your control In the Easycalm Video Series, we start VERY small, taking gradual steps to build up tolerance over time.

The idea is to begin making a few easy lifestyle changes — changes that reduce your tendency to over-control situations. What we are actually doing is expanding your comfort zone. The more you follow the program, the stronger these “emotional muscles” get, until you are capable of letting go of control to a great extent, and being perfectly comfortable with that.

This approach breaks the chain of anxiety and panic attacks, freeing you to do things you want and need to do to live a happy life. Things that were previously WAY outside your comfort zone.

This concept is summed up perfectly by EasyCalm user Lucinda from Washington DC:

“EasyCalm has been an amazing resource for me. I’m back in control of my life finally without trying to over control everything.”

Get started with Easycalm today. The sooner you start this process, the sooner you are back to living the life you want to live. In a very real way, you become FREE again.

Read more real anxiety/panic attack stories and testimonials from Easycalm users here: http://www.easycalm.com/EasyCalm-Reviews-and-Testimonials.htm

Take care,
Jon

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In our ongoing attempt to provide as much help as possible for anxiety suffers, I’m proud to announce that we are now including my newest video coaching series, “Getting Unstuck” free with the EasyCalm anxiety video series. Getting Unstuck retails for $77,  but for a limited time it is included at no extra charge with EasyCalm. No strings attached and nothing else to buy.

“Getting Unstuck?” is the perfect companion series to EasyCalm in many ways–here’s why:

Anxiety doesn’t just cause fear and panic attacks, it also erodes self confidence and can create a very distorted self image. As a former anxiety and panic attack sufferer, I know how living with these problems can undermine your personal strength and create a “victim” mentality. The Getting Unstuck video series is designed to counteract this negative programming and help you take back your control and personal power.

Find out more about Getting Unstuck here: http://www.youniversellc.com/getting-unstuck.html

I’m also happy to announce that our new EasyCalm testimonial and reviews page is now live.  You can read about the experiences of others with EasyCalm and how they have overcome debilitating panic attacks, phobias and anxiety using this method The new testimonials/reviews page is located here: http://www.easycalm.com/EasyCalm-Reviews-and-Testimonials.htm

And finally, the first 26 minutes of the EasyCalm Series (session one) is now free on Youtube. If you haven’t already, check it out.

Thank you to all our loyal supporters, and don’t forget to friend me on Facebook!

All the best!
Jon
www.easycalm.com

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I recently posted a new video on my main YouTube channel about the doubts and fears some people have that they will be able to overcome their panic attacks and anxiety symptoms.  Many times, people will e-mail or contact me on my Facebook page asking if it is REALLY possible to overcome anxiety. As I point out in the video, the question almost seems absurd to me: of course you can overcome these things!!

Since launching the EasyCalm series 6 years ago, we’ve received thousands of success stories from users — people just like you and me who have managed to eliminate anxiety and panic attacks from their life.  And I’m not saying that the EasyCalm video series is the ONLY way to do this (just the best way in my humble opinion =) .

The fact is, people overcome all kinds of limitations.  Almost everyone knows someone who has fought back and overcome severe limitations and problems in their life. I mentioned a friend of mine in the video who was born with polio.  Despite beginning life with such a severe limitation, it has never limited him, and he has gone on to do amazing things and achieved great success in many different areas.

You CAN cure your anxiety and panic attacks and live a normal life.  I have done it, and thousands of other people have done it.  So why not you?  If you’ve had any doubts that it’s possible for you to overcome these problems decide right now that it is inevitable that you WILL overcome them!

If working as a personal development coach has taught me anything, it is that most people have no idea how powerful they are and the amazing things they are capable of.  Think about that the next time you have doubts.  Believe you can do it, and most often, you will make your beliefs into reality.

You can watch my latest motivational video “rant” on the EasyCalm series and overcoming anxiety here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFeqf7iYo48

All the very best!
Jon
www.easycalm.com

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