Tag Archives: anxiety

Stress Management Exercises

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By Michael Logan

One on my favorite stress management exercises is to ask my counseling and anger management clients to imagine themselves getting up from a really good nights sleep, and to note how refreshed they feel as they pull the covers off, and move their body toward the next right thing to do.

We go through finding a number of descriptive words to describe how they are feeling and the hormonal bath they have going on, and the words that come up are refreshed, relaxed, comfortable, ect.

Then I ask them to imagine themselves as the pivot their body out from under the covers but before their feet touch the floor while still refreshed, to imagine having a large unpaid bill to deal with, and I ask them to again tell me what they feel, as they switch the thought from relaxing, refreshing sleep, to unpaid bill.

Most of those same clients report that the feeling switches to anxiety immediately, and they can go from relaxed to stressed out anxiety at the speed of a thought.

Then I ask them to imagine back to just waking up refreshed, and I ask them what happened to the stress feeling related to the unpaid bill and to a person, clients report that the stress is gone or greatly reduced.

That simple exercise illustrates two key components of stress management exercises, the speed at which my body works to prepare itself for a problem solving effort, or an actual emergency, and how thoughts impact physiology.

Paul Ekman,Ph.D. in his work on cataloging facial expressions reports that across cultures humans respond to a look of contempt with a powerful hormonal stew featuring hormones like adrenalin and cortisol in 1/25th second, which is about 2 and 1/2 times faster than I can blink my eyes, and that is without an interpretive thought.

So my stress management exercises must teach me to monitor the inside of my body frequently, so my powerful hormonal stews do not drive a behavior before I make a decision.

I like to call that process ‘awareness gives me choice’.

The next part of the stress management exercise that I mentioned above is to recognize the impact of thoughts on feelings.

My thought as I wake up is about how refreshed I am and the feeling state following that thought is quite comfortable, which changes to a quite uncomfortable feeling state when I switch my thought to the unpaid bill.

So to change my feeling back to a comfortable feeling means changing the thought, changing my breathing, or utilizing a technology like Heartmath, which is a biofeedback tool which teaches me to manage the time between heart beats.

Stress management tools, up until the discovery of the heart’s own nervous system, have always been about breathing and mindfulness, and they are effective, just not as effective as fast as Heartmath, or heart rate variability biofeedback.

I discovered heart rate variability biofeedback in an EEB Biofeedback listserve about 11 years ago, and determined to learn more about it. (EEG biofeedback works at a speed of HZ or cycles per second. If Heartmath could come close to that speed, what a powerful tool to have available).

I bought it and learned it in about 3 hours, or six 1/2 hour sessions. I have used it with clients since and have had only one client take more than 10 sessions to learn it.

Heart rate variability biofeedback actually combines the thinking and breathing technologies with computerized feedback, which allows you to manage the time between heart beats within a heart beat.

The new field of neurocardiology has determined that the heart has a brain of its own which learns and makes decisions independently of any other brain I have, and I can invoke that coherence on any given heart beat should I so chose.

With a tool like heart rate variability biofeedback, stress management exercises become proactive rather than reactive.

In other words, I can practice the easily learned heart rate variability biofeedback process anytime I want, perhaps every five minutes, for two whole heartbeats, to cue a very pleasant feeling good physiology which has some real impact on my brain, opening up the higher perceptual centers for high level brainstorming.

I think this physiology is akin to what Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi wrote about in his book called FLOW in 1993.

His book said to me that if we can determine the components of flow, then we can duplicate it on demand, and life flows.

Well, heart rate variability biofeedback gives me a quick and powerful tool to use on any given heart beat to relax my body and open my brain.

(It does not pay any bills, just changes my physiology.)

So now my stress management exercises involve regular thinking and breathing practices, which take as little time as two heart beats (I can feel it!)to change my inner physiology to coherence, and my body gets used to that, and does not tolerate unnecessary stress for long before reminding me to cue my coherence.

I am literally managing my happiness/stress/distress/eustress/eustasis very frequently in short bursts, which takes into account the human orienting response.

Since the discovery of the heart’s own brain, the entire neuroscientific community has had its dogma overturned by the discovery of two capacities of the human brain, called neurogenesis and neuroplasticity.

Both capacities can be enhanced by attending to what are generally being called the ‘pillars of brain fitness’, or physical exercise, nutrition, including lots of omega 3 fatty acid, sleep, stress management, and novel learning experiences.

Neurogenesis is the term used to describe the growth of new neurons every day. However those new neurons do not survive prolonged exposure to stress hormones, which gives added importance to using stress management exercises to maximize the growth of new neurons, which migrate to the memory centers of your brain, making neurogenesis something I want to enhance.

The authors of Brainfit for Life describe this process in great detail.

So my stress management exercises and brain fitness combine with my personal and professional life very easily. Isn’t that having your cake and eating it too?

Michael S. Logan is a brain fitness expert, a counselor, a student of Chi Gong, and licensed one on one HeartMath provider. I enjoy the spiritual, the mythological, and psychological, and I am a late life father to Shane, 10, and Hannah Marie, 4, whose brains are so amazing. http://www.askmikethecounselor2.com

How To Cure Panic Attacks

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I had panic attacks on a regular basis for six years! I wish I had known then how easy it is to cure panic attacks once you know how.

A little background is needed here.

Panic and anxiety are very much the same. Not exactly, however, and they definitely vary in intensity.

Anxiety is a condition of apprehension caused by being afraid of a threat, imagined or real.

It is one of our most common emotions. It seems that everybody goes through it at different levels, over different things, and at different times in their life.

That’s anxiety. It’s fear. That’s pretty straightforward.

This whole thing is wrapped up in fear. It’s about fear and it’s caused by fear.

And fear is the “key” to this problem. To cure panic attacks it is necessary to get rid of the fear of the attacks returning.

It’s easy to learn not to fear panic attacks. I’ll bet you are glad to hear that.

Toward the end of my six year sojourn through the dark valley of anxiety and panic attacks I came up with a method that enabled me to shed my fear of the attacks.

I’ll never forget that day. What I did amounted to a subtle “shift” in my thinking in regards to panic attacks.

It kind of went this way (it’s been 30 years). I realized that I had been suffering through these attacks now for six years! Six long years.

I also recognized the fact that, although I had gone through hundreds of these attacks, I hadn’t been harmed, at least not physically, that I could see.

When I combined that fact with the regret that so much time and energy had been wasted, the net result, for me, intellectually, and in my gut, was that my fear of the attacks was replaced with anger.

Right then and there, in the absence of fear of these attacks I could feel their pull on me release and I knew they would never be back. That was thirty years ago and they have not returned.

I’m NOT recommending that you have to do it this way. The way I did it was created for me, by myself, through my experiences, over a six year period, and, I feel like I got lucky.

Still, I learned one thing I will never forget, and that one thing is the solution.

Once again, if you want to know how to cure panic attacks, the solution is to get rid of the fear of those attacks.

All you have to do is know how to do and then just do it.

Fortunately there are programs available that will show you exactly how to do it for yourself.

You can have your life back.

Copyright © 2009 Riley West

Find out how to cure panic attacks for yourself. You deserve it. And don’t miss out on the information at How To Cure Panic Attacks, one of the most popular posts on The Blog.

Personal Qualities Required To Be An Entrepreneur And Start Your Own Business

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By Terry Cartwright

A lack of skill, ability and experience in certain business areas need not be a barrier to success and starting your own business. The personal qualities exerted by a small business owner overcoming deficiencies over and over again are vital and present in many entrepreneurs much more so that specific technical knowledge.

Not everyone is a master of all business attributes in fact very few are. Certainly being a master of all is a fantastic position but unrealistic while certain personal qualities are essential to fight the inevitable battles to come. Business battles the successful entrepreneur wins.

Businesses that have grown and become medium sized and bigger are not reliant on the business owner entirely. Employees are engaged with specialist skills and abilities to develop and grow the business. A sole trader just starting out has to settle for a comfortable living or have the ability to grow the business to the point where more specialist abilities can be added to the business.

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Facing The Fear And Anxiety Of The Unknown

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By Stanley Popovich

Almost everybody worries about what will happen in the future. The prospect of not knowing if something good or bad will happen to you in the near future can produce a lot of fear and anxiety. As a result, here is a list of techniques and suggestions on how to manage this fear of dealing with the unknown.

Remember that no one can predict the future with one hundred percent certainty. Even if the thing that you feared does happen there are circumstances and factors that you can’t predict which can be used to your advantage. For instance, let’s say at your place of work that you miss the deadline for a project you have been working on for the last few months. Everything you feared is coming true. Suddenly, your boss comes to your office and tells you that the deadline is extended and that he forgot to tell you the day before. This unknown factor changes everything. Remember: we may be ninety-nine percent correct in predicting the future, but all it takes is for that one percent to make a world of difference.

Learn to take it one day at a time. Instead of worrying about how you will get through the rest of the week or coming month, try to focus on today. Each day can provide us with different opportunities to learn new things and that includes learning how to deal with your problems. When the time comes, hopefully you will have learned the skills to deal with your situation.

Sometimes, we can get anxious over a task that we will have to perform in the near future. When this happens, visualize yourself doing the task in your mind. For instance, you and your team have to play in the championship volleyball game in front of a large group of people in the next few days. Before the big day comes, imagine yourself playing the game in your mind. Imagine that you’re playing in front of a large audience. By playing the game in your mind, you will be better prepared to perform for real when the time comes. Self-Visualization is a great way to reduce the fear and stress of a coming situation and increase your self-confidence.

Remember take a deep breathe and try to find something to do to get your mind off of your anxieties and stresses. A person could take a walk, listen to some music, read the newspaper, watch TV, play on the computer or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things. This will distract you from your current worries.


A lot of times, our worrying can make the problem even worse. All the worrying in the world will not change anything. All you can do is to do your best each day, hope for the best, and when something does happen, take it in stride. If you still have trouble managing your anxiety of the future, then talking to a counselor or clergyman can be of great help.

There are ways to help manage your fear and all it takes is some effort to find those answers.

Stan Popovich is the author of “A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods” – an easy to read book that presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: http://www.managingfear.com/

One Way to Overcome Stress

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By Emma Wortt

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” Winston Churchill.

You have a problem. In order to solve it you’re going to need to make some changes. The thought of that is making you stressed, but the thought of leaving things as they are is even more stressful.

You want to make changes but you know that there are risks involved in doing so. Perhaps you’re thinking there’s someone who won’t approve or someone who may be upset. Maybe you’re wondering where you will find the time to make those much needed changes or you are telling yourself it’s not possible to improve the situation. Whatever you perceive as the risks involved in moving forward is making you anxious, and that is holding you back.

The first step in overcoming your challenge is to work out exactly what outcome you want.

Ask yourself:

In an ideal world how specifically do I want this situation to operate in the future?

The word ‘specifically’ is important here. Decide when you want the situation to have changed and then imagine yourself at that point in the future. Allow yourself to become immersed for a moment in that vision of the resolved issue. Write down now in detail and with clarity what will happen and what you will see, hear and feel when you have resolved this challenge.


The next step is to see this challenge in terms of who you are as a person.

Ask yourself:

Taking into consideration my personal and professional values; my work ethics; my peace of mind; my goals; – am I willing to continue to tolerate this situation as it is now?

Now ask:

What are the risks involved? What specifically am I anxious about? What is stopping me from sorting this out? Make a list.

Now one last question:

Is the outcome I want worth the risks involved in attaining it? If your answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’ then you can now start to work out your action plan to reach the goal.

Stress itself is not the problem. If you want growth and you want change then decide to tolerate the anxiety that will be inherent in it. As long as you continue to balance the risks involved against your desired outcome and who you are as a person your anxiety will begin to dissipate. Then instead of holding yourself back you will empower yourself to move forward.

© Emma Wortt of Em-powering Executives, 2008. All Rights Reserved.
Em-powering Executives help leaders and their teams to achieve excellence through executive coaching and training. To receive similar articles direct to your inbox, you can subscribe to the FREE monthly Em-powering Executives newsletter at http://www.em-poweringexecutives.co.uk

Overcome Negative Feelings – A Proven Technique From Real Life

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When you are aware of an unhelpful feeling or state of mind for the task(s) you have ahead, there is a powerful technique that you can use. Here’s a real-life example (I’ve put a summary at the end).

A few days ago I was working with a group of customer-service professionals. One of them, Hazel, was very nervous about a presentation she needed to make. Apart from making her very uncomfortable, her anxiety was limiting her fluency and her ability to think clearly.

It turned out that she felt the anxiety mainly in her stomach area – a severe case of the butterflies. I asked her to imagine taking the butterflies out in front of her body which she was able to do. The dialogue then went like this:

T: How are the butterflies moving?

H: In all directions.

T: If you were to see that the total movement is in one general direction, what would it be?

H: This way (indicating clockwise). T: OK. So they are moving clockwise at a certain speed. See if you can slow them down a little.

H: Yes, I can slow them down.

T: See if you can stop them moving.

H: (pause) Yes I can.

T: Great. Now see if you can get them to move the other way, anti-clockwise.

H: (pause) Yes.

T: How fast are they moving?

H: Quite slowly.

T: Now keep moving them anti-clockwise and make them faster – the same speed they were originally

H: OK – they are moving the same speed

T: Well done. Now put the butterflies back into the same place in your body

H: OK

T: How do you feel now?

H: It’s amazing! (She is obviously surprised) I feel great – not nervous at all!

As you may guess, Hazel went on to make an excellent presentation.

This technique is based on ‘spinning’ by Richard Bandler, one of the founders of NLP. As you can see, it is quick and easy to use. Here’s a summary:

1. Become aware of where the feeling is in your body

2. Imagine the feeling out in front of you at a comfortable distance

3. Check which way it is moving (it must be moving in some way otherwise you will no ability to feel it)

4. Slow the movement down

5. Now make the feeling move in the opposite direction

6. For extra effect, you can also change its colour to something more comfortable

7. When the feeling is moving at its original speed but still in the opposite direction, put it back into your body at the original location

You can have fun experimenting with ‘spinning’ by yourself or with a friend. Then when you need to use it on more pressing occasions, it will already be in your repertoire.

Trevor helps people who want to be energised, motivated and fulfilled, especially in their working lives. If you would like to receive regular articles like this one or get a FREE copy of Trevor’s ‘Passport To Inspiration’ simply sign-up at http://www.inspiration-at-work.co.uk

Stress and the Brain’s Response to It

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If you have been suffering the effects of stress over a continuous period, then there are definite physical consequences such as damage to the gastrointestinal tract, glandular system, skin or cardiovascular system as the body tries to cope with the incessant demands made on it. But it is not just in our body that stress manifests; prolonged stress also causes physical changes in the brain and these too can have profound effects.

Some of the more common symptoms of stress such as depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, fatigue and outbursts of crying for no reason are caused by a chemical malfunction in the brain. It can help to look at the way our brain chemicals function and are affected by stress so you know exactly what is happening to you.

Chemical Messengers: Since 1977 scientists have been able to find out about the inner workings of the brain through being able to penetrate into the very interior of single nerve cells. This work revealed that vital chemicals carry messages between brain cells which allow them to communicate with each other. Every day billions of such messages are being sent back and forth between the cells in the brain. There are two different kinds of messengers and the messages they carry are the complete opposite of each other.

Their function is to either encourage or inhibit our feelings and behaviour, the ‘positive’ messengers and the ‘negative’ messengers if you will. The positive ones send happy, uplifting and joyful messages and the negative messengers carry the less positive, less stimulating and sadder messages. The majority of our nerve centres receive input from both types of messengers and as long as this input is balanced between the two then everything runs along on an even keel. There are three positive messengers in the brain: serotonin, noradrenalin and dopamine and it is these brain chemicals that begin to malfunction when stress levels become more than we can handle comfortably. They each have quite different functions:

Serotonin is essential for ensuring you get a good night’s sleep and when we are stressed this is often the first change we notice. If serotonin is out of balance then restful sleep will elude you because it is responsible for the regulation of our internal body clock that makes sure the body is ready and receptive for sleep. The body clock lives at the very centre of the brain in the Pineal Gland and it is in there that serotonin is stored ready for use by the body. It is actually converted by the body into melatonin every day and then converted back again to serotonin over a 24 hour period and that is what decides your body clock.

This daily cycle is how your body chemistry is adjusted to a sleep and wake pattern so that when it is working optimally, the serotonin will make sure that each night you are drowsy and ready to sleep and maintains the sleep cycle throughout the night so that your sleep is deep and restful. It is the switch to melatonin each morning that means you wake up rested and refreshed.

Our Internal body clock: As well as regulating our sleep patterns, our body clock is also responsible for co-ordinating body temperature. Every 24 hours, your body temperature cycles from high to low, varying by as much as one degree. When it is time to wake up and be active, your body temperature rises slightly and when it is time to fall asleep it drops a little and again it is your body clock that regulates that temperature difference. Another vital element in sleep regulation is the hormone Cortisol, which is the body’s chief stress fighting hormone.

We have very high cortisol levels when we are in ‘fight or flight’ mode, but they normally drop dramatically at night as we relax and prepare for sleep. As with body temperature, the natural rise and fall of cortisol in the body must continue on it’s usual course throughout every 24 hours.

However, if you are constantly stressed then this cycle is disrupted and it becomes very difficult to get a proper restful night’s sleep.

Noradrenalin is responsible for setting the energy levels in the body, and is related to adrenalin. Noradrenalin is one of the positive messengers and is vital to a healthy nervous system. If levels of noradrenalin drop, we don’t have enough energy and feel tired and exhausted, with no enthusiasm to do anything. If you feel constantly exhausted and lethargic when stressed, it may be that your level of noradrenalin that is out of balance.

Dopamine is the third positive brain messenger and is responsible for both our pleasurable and painful feelings. We produce natural morphine-like molecules in our brains that are known as endorphins and they regulate our awareness of both pain and pleasure. Dopamine is found in the area of the brain next to where endorphins are released so if our dopamine messengers fail then our production of endorphins is also threatened.

It is stress that causes dopamine failure and if you notice that you are more sensitive to pain than usual that could be a signal that your dopamine messengers are not functioning fully. Dopamine is also responsible for the area of your brain that allows you to enjoy life. When stress interferes with dopamine function the pleasurable messages are no longer being transmitted and things that normally you find enjoyable become dull and uninteresting to you.

So we can see that when life is running according to plan the positive messages are able to keep up with our needs, but when we are under stress it appears that too many demands are placed on the positive messengers and their ability to keep up with the flow of messages to other cells seems to slow down.

If the stress continues, then the positive messages begin to fail. If this happens, then the important nerve centres receive more negative than positive messages and a state of brain chemical imbalance is present. This shift over to more negative than positive brain messengers being sent can result in a sense of being overwhelmed by life, anxious and unable to cope.

A common complaint in this situation is a lack of energy and enjoyment of life and often great problems in sleeping.

AnnA is the author of the practical ebook full of tips and resources called ‘How To Handle Stress.’ For more information and news of her special bonus report on Attitude and Illness, visit http://www.sortingstressout.com If your stress comes from procrastination, then email AnnA for your free resource of 52 Ways to deal with a habit that can damage your health, and happinesss. Contact AnnA via her main website at http://www.catalystonline.co.uk

7 Ways to Soothe your Shyness

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1213581_cool_monkeyShy people instinctively know that they are missing out. Shyness equals lost opportunities, less pleasure and fewer social connections. Shyness can be crippling but there are tried and tested ways to make it a thing of the past.
When I was fifteen I was shy. I recall an attractive girl attempting to engage me in conversation. My shyness made me focus on me instead of her. I heard my own voice but not hers and I thought about what I was trying to say instead of what she was trying to say.

The formula for shyness is “too much focus on the self” plus anxiety. To make it even more unpleasant, sometimes when you are feeling shy you experience physical sensations which ‘hijack’ your calm logical self.

My pulse raced, my mouth dried up and I felt like the village idiot! I couldn’t think what to say so I said nothing apart from making barely audible grunting noises! Cary Grant eat your heart out! When I detected pity in her eyes (or was it contempt, or boredom) I mumbled my excuse and got out of there. I hated being shy and was determined to change it.

How shyness is developed and maintained

Shyness really is a combination of social anxiety and social conditioning. To overcome shyness you need to learn to relax socially. This enables you to direct your attention away from yourself and gives you the space to practice certain conversational skills. In most cases, the heightened emotions of socializing when young simply condition the sufferer to respond to social events with fear, instead of excitement and pleasure.

Relaxed socializing is so pleasurable, not to say productive, but it is an advantage denied to many until they learn to relax. To start reducing your own shyness, I want you to absorb the following tips and ideas and start to put them into practice:

1) Think about the way you feel and behave around familiar people you are comfortable and spontaneous around. It’s that feeling transferred to new people and situations that equates to your emerging social confidence.

2) Focus your attention away from yourself. Sure, you can think a little bit about how you are coming across, but if all your focus is on your own words and feelings then you might as well be by yourself. Notice what other people are wearing and make a mental note, listen to their conversation, imagine where they might live, make a point of remembering names. Not only does this give you more to talk about, it also ‘dilutes’ social anxiety leaving you feeling calmer.

3) Ask people open questions. Many people like to talk about themselves and will find you interesting if you find them interesting. Ask questions that require more than a ‘yes’/’no’ response such as ‘What do you like about this place?’ rather than: ‘Do you like this place?’ Once they’ve answered use ‘add-on’ questions connected to the first such as: ‘What other places do you like in this city…?’ Next you can express your views. This is a great way to get the conversation going. If the conversation doesn’t ‘take’ then no matter, you’ve done your bit.

4) Stop trusting your imagination so much! Have you ever had an imaginary picture in your mind of a holiday destination only to arrive and find the reality is different from the way you had imagined? That’s how reliable imagination is. Stop imagining what others think. I do lots of public speaking and I’ve long since stopped trying to second guess what others think of me – it’s just too painful. Besides, what a person thinks about you has a lot more to do with who they are than who you are.

5) Stop using ‘all or nothing’ thinking. The ‘completely this/completely that’ style of thought occurs when you are emotional. People who are depressed, angry or anxious see reality in terms of differing extremes, simplistic all or nothing terms. An angry person is ‘right’ and you are ‘wrong’; the depressed person feels like a ‘failure’ while others are a ‘success’. In reality, life is composed of infinite gray areas. So stop fearing that you might say the ‘wrong’ thing! Or that people will ‘hate’ you. Once you start to relax more socially you’ll notice much less black or white thinking because anxiety actually causes you to think in all or nothing terms.

6) Take your time. You don’t have to blurt things out. Ask questions and if questions are asked of you can take time to consider your response (within reason). Don’t just blurt out what you think might be the ‘right’ answer. A slow answer is a relaxed answer.

7) Finally, use hypnotic rehearsal. Hypnosis is the quickest way to change your instinctive/emotional response to any situation. Only think about meeting others when your mind and body is relaxed. This conditions you to associate relaxation with being around new people. In fact you’ll find that when you relax deeply enough often enough whilst hypnotically rehearsing being comfortable around others you’ll reach the point where you just can’t be shy any more! This is what I call a ‘happy inability!’

I now love meeting new people and suspect that my current social confidence would be unrecognizable to my fifteen year old self.

Copyright © 2009 Uncommon Knowledge Ltd

Former ‘shy guy’ Mark Tyrrell is Creative Director of Uncommon Knowledge Ltd and regularly demonstrates his lack of shyness to audiences of hundreds. He teaches people how to use hypnosis and sensible psychology to lower anxiety and improve confidence. He has helped create a hypnosis session so that others can overcome shyness as he did: http://www.hypnosisdownloads.com/downloads/self_improvement/overcoming_shyness.html

Creatively Stressed: Anxiety is NOT the Enemy!

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1194315_plasterYou’re obsessed. You’re obsessed with your work, your craft. You think about your art, your character, painting, sculpture, upcoming tour, or screenplay seemingly every waking minute of every day. Heck, you even dream about it!

This fiendish infatuation with your craft, the passion that drives you to get out of bed in the morning is a wonderful gift. Why is it, then, that this fixation on what makes the earth move for you can also stop you dead in your tracks? Cold. Left abandoned by the “What if’s” or “I’m not enough’s” or any version of “I can’t because”.

What starts as a life-affirming energizer bunny within you becomes a taunting dragon that tortures you day in and day out. You feel like there is no escape. If you walk away from what your heart is calling you to become you trade desire for a lifetime of despair. Anxiety.

What is anxiety? Anxiety is worry, anticipation for a future misfortune. Anxiety is irrational fear. Rational fear is real. You fear fire if you’re in a burning house because fire will deliver great harm to you if you just sit there. Irrational fear is worry that your house might burn to the ground as you sleep when there is no sign of fire, no observable hint of a pending fire, as you rest your head on your pillow. Irrational fear is despair over potential bad reviews of your work. You spend your days in desperate anxiety over what you think will be a career, or life-ending, dose of criticism. You believe that your future will be ruined if your performance or creation doesn’t meet with high approval and reward. You think your life will be meaningless; you will have no value or purpose.


And, in your anxiety, you are stuck. You’re frozen on your path like the proverbial deer in the headlights. You Find Excuses And Reasons (F.E.A.R.) to put off moments of judgment. You never finish your painting, screenplay or composition. You blow off your audition because you think your boss won’t let you have the afternoon off. And then you beat yourself up over your procrastination and missed opportunity. And what you fear becomes even more real to you.

Nonsense!

Your anxiety can work for you! Anxiety is just a signal. It is a signal to your Higher Self that you are about to stretch out of your current comfort zone; about to grow. You are about to enter into unknown territory and that ego within you, the Inner Critic, is spooked. Just observe. Notice when your Inner Critic, the voice that delivers your self-doubt and fear, is freaked out. Know that in that moment you have a choice. You can give your personal power over to your Inner Critic, let him lead your choice and stay right where you are where it is ‘safe’. Or, you can recognize that you are about to take one giant step closer to the actualization of your dream.

Remind your egoic Inner Critic that whatever happens, you will be safe. If you are booed off the stage, publicly humiliated by an art critic or your screenplay is tossed in the round file you are still you. You still have meaning and purpose. And you get to learn something from that experience. These lessons are gifts for they are what ultimately deliver what you desire – the masterful expression of your full potential. Look around you. Those you admire got to where they are through a path of stretching, learning, growing, and mastering their craft. So can you.

Choose to maintain your personal power. Know that what you fear is also what you are here to do. There is only one way to mitigate your anxiety and that is to do the thing that makes you anxious!

Copyright © 2009 Valery Satterwhite

Valery is an Artist Mindset Mentor and Coach who helps creative people get out of their own way so that they can overcome the struggles that come packaged with the life of a visual & performing artist. Clients learn how to express their full potential to create more passionately, profoundly, productively and profitably. Empower the Wizard Within to actualize your full creative potential. http://www.InnerWizard.com Get Free Empowerment tips!