Do you often feel anxious?
Do you often feel stressed?
Does your stress / anxiety sometimes feel disproportionate to a rational list of what you have going on?
And do you then go a little further into the negative cycle of judging yourself because you think you should be able to cope? Or do you think everyone else copes better than you?
Well let me tell you a little secret...
Guess what, you're human!
Stress and anxiety are natural emotions, reactions our brain has when it feels under threat, and so cause us to go into fight, flight or freeze mode.
These reactions were designed to keep us safe - in caveman times!
Our brains pay a lot more attention to negative things - which may kill us - than positive things. Our brains naturally react a lot faster to perceived dangerous situations because that's what has kept the human race going!
Unfortunately, evolution has not managed to keep up with the times…
In 2022 we still react as if being approached by a tiger, and most of us naturally see more risks than opportunities
Stress and anxiety in 2022 are often based on two rather skewed sets of assumptions:
- Our brain's estimation of the level of the danger - which is often grossly exaggerated ⚡
- Our brain's estimation of our ability to cope - which is usually totally underestimated 😨
So when we encounter a situation where we perceive the danger to be high, and our ability to cope with it to be low, then guess what? We worry! We feel anxious and stressed!
The great thing is, now we know that, we get to recalibrate our brains!
Next time you feel your anxiety growing, ask yourself these question
1. What is the actual danger here?
Death? Or more like embarrassment, or feeling stupid, or not knowing an answer?
2. How likely is that to happen?
Death - extremely unlikely! Feeling human - well that might happen… Or you might feel valued, useful, insightful, brave…
3. And then what skills and experiences do I have that I could use to help with this now?
You will have so many! Think about your life so far - home, work, family, friends, leisure, etc
4. What have I seen other people do to survive - or even thrive - in similar situations?
This might be someone you know, or even someone famous - the point is, they are human just like you, and they can do it, so what do they do that you could learn from?
Now you can overrule your brain with much more accurate information - how much more empowering does that feel?
If you're ready to find out more, book a complimentary 30min introduction call with me today!