One of the most frustrating aspects of anxiety is the lack of ability to shift your focus. When you are feeling anxious or having anxious thoughts, it feels like being trapped in a revolving door that is spinning too fast to get out. Today my wife sent me a link to listen to the song “Change Your Mind” by Sister Hazel along with the lyrics.
Changing your mind is not an easy task and if it was, people would not have anxiety. It takes practice, courage, and faith (religious or non-religious). In the song he asks “Did you ever think There might be another way? To just feel better, Just feel better about today”. If you are able to Change Your Mind and shift your focus, you will notice your anxiety subside and eventually go away. There are many ways you can accomplish this. One thing I typically use is a pattern breaker.
A pattern breaker is a word or phrase that you can either say in your head or outloud that is designed to get you to stop and slow down for a second. The next time you feel anxious try to say in your head “NO!”. At first you will only stop yourself for a second, but as you keep focusing on it and breaking the pattern, the revolving door in your head will slow down enough for you to walk out.
Another technique is distracting yourself. For some people it’s music or deep breathing or taking a walk. I like to exercise when I am stressed out and anxious. Exercising releases endorphins that help calm your body down and reduce pain. An added bonus is that while exercising and after, I feel a sense of accomplishment that I am doing good things for my body. When I am at work and am unable to go run a few miles I put on upbeat, positive music or motivational audio files such as The Secret and Get The Edge by Tony Robbins. You can actually watch the first 20 minutes of The Secret Here.
There are many techniques that are out there for anxiety. It doesn’t matter which ones work for you, rather it matters that you find a way to Change Your Mind. By shifting your focus and breaking out of the anxiety, you can focus on what is truly important to you. Think about how much time and energy you have given to anxiety and focus on all the great things in your life you are going to use it for now.
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus. ” -Alexander Graham Bell
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The Mental Gardener 
Hi,
I know exactly what you are talking about. The whole idea about freeing your mind of negative thoughts is what got us into Eldon Taylor’s InnerTalk subliminal affirmation self-empowerment cd’s. I listen to the music cd during my commute to & from work & I have found that positive thoughts get into my subconscious without even trying and I can see the positive effects on the way I live my life.
By: matterstomind on March 2, 2008
at 7:33 am