The Anxiety Cure – Thought Adjustment

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To begin reprogramming your mind, it a good idea to first determine what thoughts and beliefs you personally hold that are responsible for your anxiety. This might be obvious to you already. In the next sections we will cover some of the most common thought patterns that lead to anxiety. But you may have some unique personal beliefs that need adjustment. Reflect on things in your life that cause anxiety for you, consider the faulty thoughts behind the reactions, and decide what replacement thoughts you must assume in order to achieve the emotional result you desire. You might consider an emotionally secure or confident person, and figure out what they must believe about themselves in order to be that way. Everybody will have some personal thoughts and beliefs to change, and their own variations for new and empowering ones. When in doubt, the belief or thought to choose is the one that frees you from limitation, and gives you the most unlimited potential for growth. Initially, your replacement thoughts don't have to be the complete opposite of your current ones. Be realistic, and the new beliefs will be easier to absorb - simply acknowledging a positive possibility is an improvement. "Positive" thinking doesn't have to be overly enthusiastic... realistic is just fine.

Before moving on, let me remind you to not forget about your "listening" skills. Using "thought adjustment" to avoid emotions that you've already created, or emotions that are normal for the situation, is very difficult because it adds a fear or avoidance energy to the new thought -- which pretty much negates the effort. Therefore, be sure to keep practicing what you learned in Self Therapy "listening" as you move into this next section. When first getting started, it's actually best to perform a listening session before going over your thought adjustment list. This way you first overcome any tendency toward avoidance of your energies, affirm your ability to handle their presence, and don't make the mistake of using the thought exercises as a tool of suppressing emotions. Once you've managed anxiety and other feelings, you are then in the best position to program your mind with new beliefs.

So with that in mind, let's get started... In order to demonstrate the process of thought adjustment, we're now going to work on reversing some common thought patterns and behaviors that lead to increases in anxiety. The purpose of these sessions is to instill some thought patterns and beliefs as a foundation on which to start building your anxiety resistance. Of course, the intention is not to brainwash you into accepting beliefs that you don't agree with. If you should encounter any concept or thought that you're not comfortable with, simply ignore it and move on to the next.. And undoubtedly, you'll find some statements that don't apply to particular situations. They're all presented only as general healthy attitudes to hold, and assume that you're using good judgment in their application at all times.

For the upcoming exercises, find a private and comfortable environment, where you can work without distraction.

NEXT PAGE: Your first thought adjustment - the anti worry thought