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Valuable tips when you're facing life as it comes.
By Danielle Sax — Written on Oct 11, 2017
Almost two decades ago, I suffered from a debilitating stress-related illness, which was accompanied by serious anxiety attacks that would come out of nowhere. Even in the middle of the night, I would wake up in a sweat and a panic. My heart would beat almost out of my chest as if my life was in great danger.
Honestly, these anxiety periods would take up all my energy and they were never-ending. It felt scary and exhausting and the only thing doctors wanted me to do was to take my medication.
Nobody, in that "stone age" could tell me how to deal with this.
Today, I look at it from a totally different perspective.
I am grateful for the serious signals I got from my body to stop me from sacrificing myself and keeping myself in a consistent chronic stress alert level. Because of that serious anxiety, I have learned many lessons about life and there are a few that I want to share with you here.
Here are 3 life lessons to learn from someone coping with anxiety and survived:
1. Your breath is your most powerful life force and it is free.
Your breathing, and most preferably your abdominal breathing, is the best tool there is if you are having any stress, strain, or struggle. You can use at any given time in your life that you need it.
Focusing on your breath does not only bring down anxiety, it brings more into your body, instead of living in your head as most of us do the whole day long.
Instead of overthinking everything in life, we need to go into our belly and feel into it. Sinking into your lower body brings you a certain peace and balance. You feel more grounded, empowered and safe.
2. The more you focus on the problem, the bigger it gets.
Yes, if I focused on my anxiety, it would become even more debilitating and overwhelming. It is like that in daily life too. If you focus on what is not working in your life, you get more of it.
"Energy flows where your attention goes."
It is important to learn to switch your attention to the positive. If you change your focus onto something like singing a song or making your bucket list, you can interrupt the cycle of negativity and drama. It works, every time.
3. Know that "all is well" and "yes, you can".
In the middle of my anxiety attacks, I would say to myself a quote that I once read: "Accept this moment, without judgment or needless worry. Remind yourself that all is well and that you can handle whatever comes along."
It is a fact that accepting and going in the moment, gives you inner peace and changes the energy. Let’s be honest: "All is well and you can handle whatever comes along."
Yes, you can. Trust that after the rain, comes the sunshine, always.
These life lessons are simple and basic, but that makes them even more valuable. Because when you think about it, you can use them every single day of your life with whatever comes along.
Serious anxiety is a scary thing, but today I am grateful that they gave me so many lessons, insights, and inspiration to help others with their conscious self-care journey.
Be conscious of your self-care today!
Danielle Sax is a coach, mentor, speaker, and author. To discover more simple-but-powerful steps to activate more “conscious self-care” and stress-free living and set healthy boundaries for yourself, visit her website and download the "Free e-book and Checklist" to find out exactly where you stand in your boundary setting toward others and get the first action steps to finally say "no" to others and "yes" to yourself.
Watch Expert Lisa Steadman talk about how to live a stress-free life and find your happiness, instead.
This article was originally published at Danielle Sax. Reprinted with permission from the author.