The Anxiety/Panic Attack Journal

Generalized anxiety is probably the most common type of anxiety issue in the world, and it’s what I like to call a “lifestyle anxiety.” That is to say that, generalized anxiety not only affects your lifestyle, but it is actually caused by your lifestyle…

You see, generalized anxiety builds up over time, through a series of small, seemingly trivial habits that are adopted. Soon, these anxiety producing habits simply become part of your “lifestyle,” and many times the individual is completely unaware they even have them!

An example of this is breathing issues related to anxiety (shortness of breath/ tight chest feelings). These sensations can sometimes be caused by a very subtle contraction of the chest, stomach and back muscles. So subtle in fact, that you may not even be aware you are doing it. But over time this habit of tightening up the muscles in the torso can produce a feeling of tightness in the chest and even mimic the symptoms of asthma. If you’ve ever experienced breathing difficulties and the doctors can find no physical cause, you could be dealing with this “tight muscle” phenomenon (always see your doctor first for any breathing problems).

Now, a common question I receive is, how does EasyCalm work in cases of generalized  anxiety like these?  I want to briefly explain two important ways that EasyCalm works to eliminate these issues:

 1. The EasyCalm Series (www.easycalm.com) works by changing your lifestyle in small but significant ways. It is about introducing new habits and daily routines that are NOT conducive to anxiety at all, to promote a calmer, more “take it as it comes” state of mind. Rather than trying to get you to “stop” doing something, or changing the habits you already have, the EasyCalm Series works by instilling new habits that effectively cancel out the old (anxiety causing) ones. In my experience this is THE WAY to overcome generalized anxiety, no matter how long you have dealt with it or which specific anxiety symptoms you may have. We have many, many success stories that demostrate how EasyCalm works so well in this regard.
 
2. To explain point number two I have to let you in on a little “secret” that took me 20 years to figure out, and completely changed my life. Ready? Here it is: anxiety is not a condition, it is a SYMPTOM.

Generalized anxiety is a symptom of an emotional imbalance in your life. And by dealing with the underlying control issues and unresolved conflict that build up over time, emotional balance can be restored, freeing you of the anxiety symptoms. It sounds pretty simple, right. That’s because it is simple, but not always obvious. Especially when some MDs and mental health practicioners still persist in the antiquated notion of referring to generalized anxiety as a “disorder” or a “condition,” even though modern research suggests this not the case at all.
 
A good example is the obsessive mind ”chatter” that many anxiety sufferers have (obesessive thoughts). It is actually nothing but a learned habit, and by shaking up your daily routine (the series shows you how) you can replace this habit with one that is more beneficial to you. Remember, any habit you learn can also be unlearned. There is nothing genetic or permanent about a habit (even those that cause generalized anxiety). It is simply a way of thinking or acting that has been repeated often enough to become habitualized.
 
In a nutshell, approaching generalized anxiety as a symptom, not a condition, is the key difference of our method, and it’s why EasyCalm works to stop generalized anxiety, even when many other programs fail.

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It came to my attention long ago that many anxiety sufferers tend to focus inward (on the self) to an unhealthy extent. I have been as guilty of this as anyone, and developing the habit of “outward focus” made a huge difference in my life, and helped eliminate the symptoms of generalized anxiety that I struggled wiuth for so many years. In fact, practicing focusing your attention on others is one of the best tips for generalized anxiety. The way to get started is to think about how you can help others, and what you can do to make someone’s situation better. It is ironic that focusing on helping others ends up making us happier and calmer too, but you know what they say, “Life gives to the givers and takes from the takers.”

 What can you GIVE?

Normally, when we are stuck on the “hamster wheel” of obsessive thoughts and anxiety, other peoples problems are the furthest thing from our minds. We tend to be all wrapped up in how WE can feel better, and what WE need. But by turning this focus around 180 degrees, we can end up helping both other people AND ourselves. Generalized anxiety doesn’t really thrive in a mind that is focused on giving and helping others — at least not for long.

None of this is meant to imply that generalized anxiety sufferers are selfish or uncaring — far from it. But it does imply that many (if not most) people dealing with these issues tend to fall into the trap of “thinking too much,” and particularly, thinking of themselves and their state of mind too much.

Right now, at this moment, you know someone who could use your help, attention, understanding, affection or encouragement. We all do. Why not try a little experiment: the next time you begin feeling anxious, try turning your attention to this person, and what YOU can do to help them. I’m not suggesting you put other peoples needs ahead of your own all the time,  or forget to take good care of yourself;  just that you reduce the amount of time and energy you spend dealing with your own issues, and focus more of this attention on someone else’s situation, and positive steps you can take to help them.

 Helping others is the best way to help ourselves

I will freely admit that working with other people to reduce the stress and generalized anxiety in their life has helped me too. Sometimes, even writing an email to someone or a blog post like this will help remind me to focus outward more, and to turn my attention to others, and what I can do to to help them. Giving of yourself is a powerful tonic for generalized anxiety (and many other problems). Forgive the cliche, but another old saying just came to mind:

“You only get what you give”

Take care,
Jon

www.easycalm.com

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It’s the “new thing” in the world of anxiety, and it’s hitting hard; it’s called “eco-anxiety” or “enviro-angst.” According to Medill Reports at Northwestern University, a growing number of people are turning their lives around to become more environmentally conscious because they are experiencing extreme anxiety about the condition of our planet.

These people sometimes worry about the environment to the point where they have a hard time throwing anything out; they worry about the toxins around them; the world’s water supplies or the emissions from their car. Some worry so much that they go to extreme measures to try to avoid hurting the environment.

Caring about the environment is not a bad thing, and there are a lot of different measures that we all need to implement in order to do our part in keeping the planet in good shape. Excessive worrying and anxiety related to the environment however, is not the same as caring. “Eco-anxiety,” like most other kinds of anxiety is not really about what you might be afraid of. Eco-anxiety is about control, or more specifically lack thereof.

Worrying about something that is outside of your control and thinking that your life is in danger are both classic anxiety symptoms. Just as a lot of people are afraid of someone breaking into their house to hurt them because they hear about this kind of stuff on the news all the time, people are now afraid because they keep hearing more and more about the severe state the environment is in.

I’m not saying the planet is not going through a rough time at the moment, but as more people wake up to what is going on, the trend is gradually turning. There are a lot of things we can all do to help the environment, and we have a responsibility to do them. It is important to keep yourself informed on what you can do to make a difference, but worrying is not one of them.

Rather than watching the new and focusing on what is wrong about the situation, focus on all the little things you can do in your everyday life to help. I you suffer from “eco-anxiety”, chances are it’s not the first time you have experienced anxiety but rather that you just transferred your anxiety from something else you used to worry about. Remember that at the end of the day, you are not helping the environment by feeling anxious. Being informed helps; being scared doesn’t.

JM
www.easycalm.com

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