Thought Adjustment #1: The Anti Worry Thoughts

Home | Previous Page

For demonstration, please start by simply repeating the following phrases out loud:

• With my new skills, I no longer need to avoid, suppress or run from anxiety.
• When I feel anxiety arising, I can now just listen to it and be with it.
• I now know that I can handle any feeling that arises in my body

Now, do the same thing again - repeat the phrases out loud. HOWEVER, this time say them with the complete feeling that they are really true for you. Place your emphasis on the FEELING that matches the words, rather than just the words:

• With my new skills, I no longer need to avoid, suppress or run from anxiety.
• When I feel anxiety arising, I can now just listen to it and be with it.

While speaking such phrases out loud, it is very important that you try to create the inner feeling that the statements are in fact true for you now. Without generating the feeling, the words do not carry any energy, or "belief-changing-power". Repeat with this in mind:

• I now know that I can handle any feeling that arises in my body

Worry can be a beneficial survival mechanism, as it is worry that often motivates us to choose safer alternatives. But the excessive worry that causes anxiety usually provides little benefit, and can severely limit your ability to engage in normal activities. For example, some anxious people fear flying in airplanes. While flying does involve an element of physical danger, the amount of mental energy channeled into negative expectations usually far outweighs the amount of actual risk. Ask yourself, what is the realistic probability that your feared event will actually happen? Is it worth filling your head and coloring your experience with visions of catastrophe? Ironically, the imagined catastrophe for even more anxious people is a physically harmless event that could occur. This might revolve around fear of speaking, socializing, rejection, failure, embarrassment, loss, loneliness... The list goes on and on. Anxiety about such irrational fears, if not confronted, can really be devastating if it prevents us from taking action to achieve the type of life we desire. What we need in order to start moving beyond these self-limiting tendencies are replacement beliefs that give us a sense of self-control in all situations.

There is one belief in particular, one realization, that when fully internalized, will free you to live without excess anxiety, and to fully enjoy the life that you have available to you now: it is the realization that YOU CAN HANDLE IT. Whatever it is that you fear happening, Realize now that You Would Be Able to Handle It if it did happen. No matter how bad it is, you have a strong mind, you will be able to cope, you won't lose your sanity. You will survive.

In Self Therapy "listening", you already began working on your ability to be present with the feelings in your body. This is where confidence in your capacity to handle anything begins. Knowing that you can experience negative feelings like anxiety without avoidance is a powerful step in overcoming their limiting effects. In order to reinforce the confidence you are gaining from self-listening, that's why we've also made this the subject of our first thought adjustment session.

To continue on the initial 3 statements, please repeat the following phrases out loud with the strong and congruent feeling that they are already true for you now:

• I now accept all feelings that come to me. I let them come.
• Fearing emotions or body sensations only gives them power. I embrace feelings instead.
• I am willing to experience the full spectrum of human emotion.
• By being able to experience all emotions, I am now able to live more fully.
• When I feel fear. I just feel it. I am proud of my ability to tolerate and go through fear.
• I do not repress or run from my anxiety. I fully feel my anxiety and know that I can handle it.
• When I sense anxiety, I no longer run from it by seeking diversions.

Remember, for maximum impact, speak each thought with the belief that it is true already. The words don't matter all that much - it is the feeling that matters. This is what gives the thought power. Try to ignore the intellect which likes to argue with anything that does not conform to your belief system. You'll recognize the "intellect" -- it's that voice in your head saying "no you're not" every time you think a new thought about yourself. By concentrating your full awareness on the replacement thought with full belief and congruent feeling behind it, you will not leave any room for the intellect to interfere. In this way, you are bypassing the analytical intellect, and speaking directly to your subconscious mind. So speak your new thoughts with complete belief and deep emotion. Feel the words being spoken by every cell of your being. Project and sense the joy or whatever emotion you would expect to have if the condition where already attained. Know that the change is true for you already. As you take time everyday to read your new thoughts in this manner, the effects will accumulate and generating the feeling will become more natural. The intellect will soon become more accepting, and eventually the new thoughts and beliefs will replace the old ones.

NEXT PAGE: Thought Adjustment #2 - Stress Reduction Thoughts