Anxiety Help/Tips
It’s important to realize that anxiety is a condition that can be overcome with the right techniques. When experiencing anxiety, stop to consider that there is no immediate danger to you, and therefore there is no need to be ‘on guard’. Realizing that there is no immediate danger to you, and that you are safe, is a good way to start to eliminate anxious thoughts.
But anxiety is more than a state of mind, it is a behavioral condition that is reinforced by habits of thought. When you find yourself worrying about something, refocus your thoughts on something positive. Do this whenever the anxious thought manifests. By nipping anxious thoughts in the bud as soon as they begin you can start to develop new mental habits. And this is the key to beginning to overcome anxiety.
William James, the founder of the science of psychology and author of The Principles of Psychology wrote that the brain impulses are analogous to streams of water flowing down the face of a rock. At first the water flows randomly over the surface. But over time, the areas that offer the least resistance tend to be traveled more often. The paths tend to get cut deeper and deeper until they become the primary pathways for the water. This is how rivers are formed.
The same process, according to James, is at work in the brain. At first neural impulses travel randomly. But over time, and through experience, certain pathways become formed. These pathways are the biological basis of mental ‘habits’.
But, these mental habits can be changed by simply substituting new habits. In essence, you are redirecting or rerouting the flow of thought to different pathways.
