Anxious
Thinking
Visualization Tool for Ending Anxious Thinking and Intrusive
thoughts
Anxiety
causes an imbalance in your life whereby all of the mental
worry creates a top–heavy sensation. All of your focus
is moved from the center of your body to the head. Schools
of meditation often like to demonstrate an example of
this top–heavy imbalance by showing how easily the body
can lose its sense of center.
A
student is asked to come to the front of the group and
stand with his legs apart. The teacher then asks the student
to focus on a personal worry or concern. Once the student
is fixated on the worry‚ the teacher quietly moves to
the side of the student and tells him he is going to attempt
to push him over. The teacher pushes on the student’s
shoulder and is able to topple the student with relative
ease.
The
same student is then asked to forget the worry and focus
his attention on a grounding visualization. The teacher
once again attempts to topple the student but finds much
more resistance than previously. The student is grounded
firmly in place. The class is given this demonstration
to display how important it is to feel grounded and centered
in the present and not continuously caught in mental activity.
When caught in mental anxieties‚ a person can feel disconnected
from life as they go through life on autopilot.
Beating
Anxious Thinking
I am going to teach you a single visualization that is
separated into three parts. The purpose of the visualization
is to enable you to quickly clear mental stress‚ tension‚
and anxious thinking. The visualization can be used when
feeling stressed and is particularly useful when your
mind is racing with fearful‚ anxious thinking. There are
numerous such visualizations found in different self help
courses‚ but I have combined three of the most effective
ones and adapted them so that the resultant single visualization
can be used literally anywhere.
This
visualization process‚ when practiced frequently‚ is very
effective for eliminating deep–seated mental anxieties
or intrusive thoughts. To gain maximum benefit‚ the exercise
must be carried out for longer then 10 minutes at a time‚
as anything shorter will not bring noticeable results.
There is no right or wrong way to carry out the visualization.
Be intuitive with it and do not feel you are unable to
carry it out if you feel you are not very good at seeing
mental imagery. As long as your attention is on the exercise‚
you will gain benefit.
It
is best to do this exercise in a quiet place where you
won’t be disturbed‚ and then when you are more practiced
you will be able to get the same positive results in a
busier environment such as the workplace. You should notice
a calming effect on your state of mind along with a sensation
of mental release and relaxation.
Okay‚
let’s begin.
Alleviating
Anxious Thinking
Either sitting or standing‚ close your eyes and move your
attention to your breath. To become aware of your breathing‚
place one hand on your upper chest and one on your stomach.
Take a breath and let your stomach swell forward as you
breathe in and fall back gently as you breathe out. Take
the same depth of breath each time and try to get a steady
rhythm going. Your hand on your chest should have little
or no movement. Again‚ try to take the same depth of breath
each time you breathe in. This is called Diaphragmatic
Breathing.
When
you feel comfortable with this technique‚ try to slow
your breathing rate down by instituting a short pause
after you have breathed out and before you breathe in
again. Initially‚ it may feel as though you are not getting
enough air in‚ but with regular practice this slower rate
will soon start to feel comfortable.
It
is often helpful to develop a cycle where you count to
three when you breathe in‚ pause‚ and then count to three
when you breathe out (or 2‚ or 4 — whatever is comfortable
for you). This will also help you focus on your breathing
without any other thoughts coming into your mind. If you
are aware of other thoughts entering your mind‚ just let
them go and bring your attention back to counting and
breathing. Continue doing this for a few minutes. (If
you practice this‚ you will begin to strengthen the Diaphragmatic
Muscle‚ and it will start to work normally — leaving you
with a nice relaxed feeling all the time.)
Visualization
to Counter Anxious Thinking
Now move your attention to your feet. Try to really feel
your feet. See if you can feel each toe. Picture the base
of your feet and visualize roots growing slowly out through
your soles and down into the earth. The roots are growing
with quickening pace and are reaching deep into the soil
of the earth. You are now rooted firmly to the earth and
feel stable like a large oak or redwood tree. Stay with
this feeling of grounded safety and security for a few
moments.
Once
you have created a strong feeling or impression of being
grounded like a tree‚ I want you to visualize a cloud
of bright light forming way above you. A bolt of lightning
from the luminous cloud hits the crown of your head‚ and
that ignites a band of bright white light descending slowly
from your head all the way down your body‚ over your legs‚
and out past your toes. As the band of light passes over
you‚ feel it clearing your mental state. It is illuminating
your mind and clearing any rubbish that you may have been
thinking about. Repeat this image four or five times until
you feel a sense of clearing and release from any anxious
thinking.
In
finishing‚ see yourself standing under a large‚ luminescent
waterfall. The water is radiant and bubbling with vitality
and life. As you stand under the waterfall‚ you can feel
the water run over every inch of your body‚ soothing you
and instilling within you a sense of deep calm. Try to
taste the water. Open your mouth and let it run into your
mouth‚ refreshing you. Hear it as it bounces off the ground
around you. The water is life itself and it is washing
away stress and worry from your mind and body.
After
a moment‚ open your eyes.
Try
to use all of your senses when carrying out the visualization.
To make the pictures in your mind as real as possible‚
use your senses of touch‚ taste‚ and hearing. Feel the
water trickle down your body; hear the sound it makes
as it splashes over you.
The
more realistic the imagined scenarios‚ the more benefit
you will gain. Many people report very beneficial and
soothing results from using these simple visualizations
frequently. The mind is much like a muscle in that‚ in
order to relax‚ it needs to regularly release what it
is holding onto.
By
visualizing the different situations‚ you are allowing
your mind to release. It is like sending a message to
your brain that when you close your eyes and begin this
process it is time for letting go of anything that it
has been mentally holding onto‚ including anxious thinking.
To begin with‚ in order to train your mind how to let
go of the stress‚ it is important to practice this daily.
With practices‚ you can learn to release all stress within
minutes of starting the exercise. I recommend your daily
practice take place before going to bed‚ as that will
enable you to sleep more soundly.
Many
people do not do these visualizations in the bedroom but
some other room before going to bed. That way‚ when they
enter the bedroom and close the door‚ they are leaving
the mental stress and anxious thinking behind them.
Visualization
as a tool for dealing with mental stress is very effective.
If such visualization is carried out properly‚ you can
reach a deep feeling of inner calm. From experience‚ however‚
I do not find visualization work to be sufficient to end
a panic or anxiety attack (that is left to the One Move
technique which I teach as part of the Panic Away program)‚
but it is a very powerful support tool for ridding yourself
of general anxiety sensations.
That
concludes the two–pronged approach to dealing with anxious
thinking and thoughts.
With
practice‚ you find you go days without having anxious
thinking interrupt your life‚ and importantly‚ this significantly
reduces the level of general anxiety you feel.
The
“Panic Away” Program:
Proof At Last that Panic Attacks and Anxiety
Can be Eliminated For Good!
Article links (Summary)
Causes of panic
attacks discussed here
Public
Speaking and panic attacks discussed here
Agoraphobia
and panic attacks discussed here
Do you suffer panic
attacks driving?
Anxiety attack
symptoms discussed here
Panic attack symptoms
revealed here
Do you have Intrusive
Thoughts?
Do you suffer from anxious
thinking and intrusive thoughts?
Panic Attack Medication
discussed here
Generalized
Anxiety Disorder Discussed Here
Diet to
help Eliminate Anxiety Covered Here
Anxiety and
panic attack tips discussed here
Do you suffer from depersonalization?
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