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.

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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