Don’t let Anxiety scam you!

The experience of overwhelming anxiety is like being cold-called by a salesperson, let’s say on a Saturday evening at home, when you are otherwise feeling all relaxed, you’ve just made yourself a coffee or poured yourself that cheeky gin & tonic or fruity cider, whilst keenly searching Netflix looking for your next binge-watch.

Then suddenly piercing the serenity of your cosy living room is the shrill, high-pitched melodic ringtone and the ominous announcement of ‘unknown caller’ on your phone.

Your brain is like an old-fashioned switchboard operator (pre-frontal cortex part of your brain) who answers the cold-call, analyses and registers the potential danger that this is not in fact a family member or friend calling, so the operator automatically diverts and connects the cold-caller to your amygdala through an electrical circuit to the part of your brain that controls fear and anxiety.

Your amygdala then triggers a series of stress responses or nervous system arousals that connect your brain, spinal cord, and body in preparation for danger and during danger. When these responses are triggered, your body reacts with very uncomfortable symptoms like increased heart rate, heightened surveillance looking for other possible dangers, release of a hormone called adrenaline that helps your body prepare for stress, tunnel vision, flushing, sweating, racing thoughts, and the feeling of dread.

The salesperson cold-calling you from a company called ‘Anxiety Ltd’ reads out a familiar script to your amygdala only giving you three survival options: fight, flee or freeze. Fear and terror caused by the unexpected Anxiety Ltd cold-caller feels exactly the same physically as fear and terror caused by REAL dangerous situations – the physical reactions and bodily sensations feel the same.

 

Don’t be fooled or scammed!#

Your anxiety wants to trick you into believing you must run away, avoid or ‘flee’ whatever it is that is making you feel anxious! Out-smart the cold-caller interrupting your Netflix night in and get clever.

The trick is simply to know, learn, expect and accept without opinion or judgement that a cold-caller from Anxiety Ltd WILL call everybody regularly throughout our lifetimes often when we are least expecting it.

This is because we ALL experience the feeling of anxiety that, actually, can be very useful at times warning us when we are really in danger.

If you have been trying to avoid feeling anxious, this will most likely have made you feel more anxious and you might even be feeling afraid and anxious about feeling anxious! The trick is to learn that it can be OK to answer that cold-caller – don’t ignore or avoid the call.

The more times you answer the cold-caller, the less sensitive you can become towards experiencing anxiety. Eventually, after lots of perseverance and practice like anything in life, you can become more comfortable in your own skin as you learn to experience manageable amounts of anxiety in the present moment without becoming overwhelmed by it.

Book an appointment with me at Formby Counselling's contact page to start your journey to change the way you feel about anxiety – it can be your friend rather than your enemy.