Make Friends with Anxiety
Dear Friend,
Have you watched Inside Out 2, the new Pixar animated movie?
I saw it last week and loved it!
The story is about a 13-year-old girl named Riley and all the new, more complex emotions she’s experiencing as she enters the teenage years.
It’s clever and funny, and also has a lot of great information about how our brains and emotions work.
One scene that has stayed with me is what happens when the character/emotion of Anxiety takes over Riley’s brain - not a pretty sight!
The movie makes the point that all emotions serve a purpose. Anxiety is meant to alert us to potential problems, but when it’s running the show we’re not in a place to make good decisions.
Something helpful I learned in a brain retraining program (called the Dynamic Neural Retraining System) is the value of compartmentalizing.
For example, if we’re feeling a lot of anxiety, we can set aside some time each day to really be with our anxiety, and ask it (maybe through journaling or talking with a friend) what it wants us to be aware of, such as:
What are my fears about this situation?
What are some possible scenarios and how would I handle them?
What is my worst fear and how would I handle that?
Is there anything I can do about this situation right now?
If there are some helpful actions, what is one step I can take today?
If it feels useful, you can schedule a date with Anxiety in your planner for every day.
And the rest of the time, focus on doing things that lift you up - that is the optimal way to take care of your mental and physical health, and be in the best possible state to take helpful actions and make good decisions.
I’m grateful to live in a time when so much is being learned and shared about how our brains and bodies work. I wish I had been able to watch the Inside Out movies when I was growing up!
If you watch Inside Out 2, hit reply and tell me your favorite part!
Love,
Liz
P.S. If you’re dealing with a serious and/or chronic physical or mental health challenge, being in a structured brain rewiring program can greatly help.
The teachers/programs that have made a huge difference for my health and happiness are:
Dynamic Neural Retraining System: www.retrainingthebrain.com
Primal Trust: www.primaltrust.org
Dr. Joe Dispenza: www.drjoedispenza.com
I don’t receive a commission from these programs, I just want everyone to know about them because of the truly groundbreaking work they are doing!
