A Thought About Anxiety

I recently read this statement: "Action is the antidote for anxiety." One of the key features of an anxious brain is avoidance; our survival brains are wired to flee danger, to be fearful of what could hurt us. We are grateful for this fear response when a car comes into our lane, when we are standing too close to a cliff edge, when it is pitch dark and we can't see what is behind us. When we worry, we are fearful. It truly is that simple. When you think about any current or past worry that you have, fear is always present. And so, if our fear response prompts us to 'flee' danger, we naturally try and avoid what is making us anxious. Unfortunately, this leads to rumination, as our body wants to feel safe and therefore prompts you to try and process it. So why is action important? Because it creates movement. It forces us to ask ourselves, "What am I worried about? Is there anything I can do about this worry right now?" When we attend to our worry by way of action, our bodies feel calmer and are reassured that we are on it. And it truly can be the smallest of decisions that help get us started. Be curious about your worries, be intentional on how to create movement on them. Settle on what you can't control and move in the direction of what you can. Action is the antidote for anxiety. Photo by Emma Simpson on Unsplash