One thought that immediately reduced my anxiety

Lately, when I’ve been anxious or stressed, here’s something I’ve been saying to myself:

Is anything actually wrong, outside of the swirling thoughts in my head?

And then I will empirically and freshly answer the question, by looking around me.

Katie Seaver, life coach, how to reduce anxiety immediately, how do I reduce anxiety and self doubt, managing anxiety, what to do when you feel like you're off track, how to deal with a lot of emotions, meditation for anxiety

Does that sound weird? Confusing? I’ll give a personal example: The last time I did this, a week ago, I was sitting in my living room, totally spun out and anxious about something.  

And then:

I looked at the blue-grey Ikea couch I was sitting on.
That was fine.

I looked around my living room, over to my table.
Nothing wrong with that – my husband was nearby. My kids were asleep in their cribs. The house was quiet.  

I wiggled my toes.
Nothing wrong there.
Arms and legs were fine, too.

Huh, I thought to myself. In this particular moment, on this particular Ikea couch, in my particular house… nothing is actually wrong.

Huh. Nothing is wrong right here and right now
.

And just like that…anxiety went from a 10 to a 6.5.
Not gone, but definitely…quieter.



Of course, I am not the first person in the universe to have this revelation (see also: the Buddha). But remembering to ask the question, and empirically looking for the answer, have helped me to calm the swirling waves of emotion + worry quite a bit lately.

I wonder if this reminder might help you, too.



As always, I’m rooting for you in the week ahead. You’ve got this.

Katie





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