Anxiety: The Paradox
Anxiety can feel really out of whack when you are swamped with it. It is a paradox, meaning it will cause you to behave in exactly the opposite way of what would support your goals. And too much of it will put your physical body at risk. If the weight of responsibility and worry that you carry is too much, please reach out.
Anxiety produces the hormone cortisol in your body. Too much can cause inflammation, which leads to many chronic conditions and unwanted behaviors.
Anxiety In Action
- The shopper who abandons her cart in the middle of the aisle, struggling through a panic attack.
- The socially anxious person who wants to meet others, but can’t bring herself to speak with anyone at the party.
- The estranged parent of an adult child who is desperately trying to understand what happened, and grieves the loss of contact, but often ends up stuck in blame.
People often find that simply knowing anxiety has a hereditary component provides emotional relief. They also learn that anxiety has become their lifestyle habit, and that habits can be changed, which is also a welcome revelation.
And oh boy does our body loudly announce anxiety to us! We must learn how to respond to it differently. The emotion of anxiety is an evolutionary gift. It is our early warning system, but the message can get distorted over time.
When you understand the story you are telling yourself, then you have the ability to rewrite it.