Have you ever woken up feeling anxious?
Maybe you were going about your day, and anxiety or worry hit you out of nowhere.
What do you do when you’re anxious? Do you continue stressing? Or do you have a process to let the anxiety go?
Today is for you if you’ve ever felt phantom anxiety. Like you’re anxious, but you can’t pinpoint why or where it’s coming from. Maybe you wake up anxious, or it hits you out of nowhere, driving down the road, watching TV, or having a conversation.
In the last episode, I gave you three simple steps to release anxiety if you missed that episode, head over to episode 49 and then join me back here.
This week I want to give you another technique to release that phantom anxiety that hits you out of nowhere. It also compliments the process you learned in the last episode of exchanging your thoughts.
The other day husband asked me if I was okay. I stopped and noticed I was feeling anxiety in my body. I could feel a heavy sensation in my heart area. So I shared with him that I was feeling anxious, but I wasn’t sure why.
Phantom anxiety.
Even after awakening and examining my thoughts, I wasn’t sure what was bothering me.
Steps to get phantom anxiety to subside:
1. Scan Your Body and Label the Sensation
Where do you feel the anxiety in your body?
Are you using any nervous cues?
Notice the emotion. What’s the underlying feeling?
Notice your thoughts.
2. Acknowledge the feeling or thought.
“It’s okay, I’m just feeling fear, anxious, sad, frustrated…” etc.
3. Breathe through the feeling and release it
Bodily feelings last for 90 seconds. Beyond that, we choose to keep them or not.
4. Pivot to a new thought
These physical steps help you get the phantom anxiety to subside. Use them to let go of any negativity you’re feeling in your body.
Anxiety is fear in disguise. If you want to live a life free of fear, pick up my free resource, Three Habits to Live Fearlessly Free, at https://www.heatherlbunch.com/.
This worksheet will help you overcome the fear holding you back and help you stop the negative thoughts causing you anxiety.
Thanks a Bunch for listening.
Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free.
