Anxiety Support Group
Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...
Some of my more respected brothers and sisters-in-healing give prayers of thanks when life presents them with problems. ! ! !WTF! ! ! Are you thankful for the babies dying of neglect and starvation, too? What other mean tricks do you have in your perv closet?
Still. . . These are some of the most serene and generous folks I have ever encountered, living lives I admire more easily than I admire the beauty of a glorious sunset or the songs of birds in flight. How do you accomplish that? Not a one of them had the Easy Street childhoods I associated with peace and serenity.
This morning's read from the meditation reader, "Courage to Channge" discusses that very subject. Thought I'd share, gently edited to fit the group ettiquetes inside this forum.
Begin quote
Flying down a hill on a bicycle, I always feel tremendously alive, in perfect balance. Psychotherapy helps me to balance my life as if it were a ride on a bike and to carry that vitality into each day, especialy when I appply the slogan, "Live and Let Live."
I try to embrace whatever life brings, with all its joys and sorrows, for it all has something to offer me. I made that discovery in a support group meetig when someone asked, "What would happen if I started thanking God when problems occurred?" At first I had to force myself to say, "Thank you, God," through clenhed teeth. By and by, my teeth unlocked and I replaced self-pity with gratitude. I truly began to live.
When I live my own life to the utmost, it is easier to let others live theirs. Aliveness is mine. I pray others are blessed with it, too.
Today's reminder
I want the very best for thoose I love. I am growing to appreciate the joy of fully participating in life. And I choose to allow others to enjoy this sometimes difficult but rewarding blessing of learning from all their experiences. Today I will ive and let live.
"It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end." ~Ursula LeGuin
End quote
Personally, "Live and Let Live" comes quite naturally, at safe social distances, of course. 1/4 mile to the end of the driveway, folks. Still, the healing mysteries are whispering that the principle can be applied when I take the risk of allowing people to come close enough to touch my life.
Open discussion. Thoughts, experience, opines and copy/paste wisdom welcome.
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I did the dumbest thing today. I charged my earbuds, unplugged the block and put the block in my little bag instead of the earbuds. I wasn't happy about that when I got to the gym. What a dummy!
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Ever since I stopped doing therapy because of insurance, I've been feeling that old tense and irritable sense of anxiety and stress. I hate that. I was making so many strides and changes during therapy, my therapist would acknowledge all of my progress and accomplishments, and I miss that reassurance. Today I thought about it, and I made those changes! She would always tell me that I chose to...
I give thanks for being able to successfully work through the problems, and prayers for what is challenging in the moment.
Once I started to embrace the "I am responsible for what I say, do, act, react, and respond" and it is NOT my problem to change what others say, do, act, react, and respond, I began to see how the "Live and Let Live" would give me a better balance.
I appreciate your willingness to edit to meet the etiquette for anxiety board discussion. It truly makes a positive difference for everyone.
You have raised an interesting discussion.
Works in progress. . .
Those gentle edits are I tool I refined in group therapy sessions on "Reframing." Little things really can make big diffs. They help me resist the temptation to throw proverbial babies out with the bath water.
If someone asks for help, and I am able to do so safely, I will help, from a distance.
I stay away from any involvement as much as possible.
Respect for my well-being, and respect for other's well-being means I stay to myself and my business and the same goes for them and their business.
What people do when they are outside of my 'bubble' belongs to them.
Here's to finding the balance that works for your well-being.
'Tis endlessly amazing to me how many perspective shifts can play in to a single focal point. The kaleidscope of life? Chaos Theories in action?
Between my early speech defect and the geophysical/social instability of my childhood, keeping my distance is more natural than potty training to me. I had to learn that it is okay to risk getting close.
Yup, what people do when they are outside my bubble belongs to them, but I can still trust that life is bigger than my bubble.
Always that question of balance. . .
I've also been trying to address some irrational beliefs that I've got... chiefly, that we, or at least I, am supposed to feel happy and relaxed all of the time and that if I'm not feeling that way something is "wrong". So, this has also been giving me the change to try and alter, or reframe, my perspective around what feeling "normal" is. And, news flash, it's not feeling all serene all the time. I chased that idea for years through drug use, and I've tried to chase it in a healthier way with meds, but I'm finally coming to the understanding that that is part of my problem. Maybe a big part. I don't feel serene, so something must be wrong, and I get anxious about the fact that I don't feel serene and what is wrong and how do I fix it and on and on. When, the reality is, that feeling uncomfortable or uncertain or "just a little off" is probably much closer to a neutral state of being and serenity comes from learning to be okay with that.
Thanks for sharing Arfie, this is a rich topic of discussion.
Some of life's greatest blessings are unanswered prayers. ~Garth Brooks
Reframing has been quite useful in settling allot of my resentments, but I never thought to ply gratitude to that challenge. Hm-m-m-m. . . Thanks for the high fiber chew. Chewing. . .
Then I get to shoulding around. . . All those things I **should** be but never seem to be able. In my dictionary, that fits nicely under "Irrational Beliefs." I is what I is, no matter how shouldy I get over ^it^.
But if the gods of should are listening, I should be rich and beautiful, too.
That feeling of 'neutral' is something we are not used to having, so when it happens unexpectedly outside of the 'bubble', I've had to remind myself to breathe, pause, and stop and appreciate that moment. The more it happens, the easier it is to venture further and explore more risky places of interest.
You are rich and beautiful!
I'm holding out for the kind of rich and beautiful bankers and politicians respect.
I've put allot of therapy work into inserting some consideration between think and say. I wonder if consideration could be called, "Neutral."
" If you ain't got nothing nice to say don't say nothing at all" No salt needed there. Lol
Your just a person that expresses her feelings.
I don't see anything wrong with that. At least everyone knows where they stand. If their still standing. Lol
You are a beautiful person from the inside and out.
And being rich, Can we win the lottery any time soon?
Keep being who you are. I admire your honesty and the way you express yourself. Your words are priceless.
"Ears open. Mouth shut" fits better on that small link I have between think and say.
I have yet to buy my first lottery ticket. I call those puppies, "Fool's Tax." I pay enough taxes already, thank you, kindly. I'm generally not afraid of taking a risk, even here in safety driven Coronaville, but that isn't the same thing as gambling or paying fool's tax.