Finding Balance: Healing Anxiety Through Body and Spirit

    Many of us remember having hot flashes so intense that the mornings delivered little more than damp sheets. Unable to sleep, we’d toss and turn, finally getting up in a bad mood. It wasn’t just the lack of sleep and constant night sweats that were to blame—we simply didn’t feel good. Fog clouded our minds and our energy levels crashed. In some cases, we had less strength and less endurance. For most of us, these experiences are the reasons that we love hormone replacement therapy. Male or female, it provides more energy, better sleep, along with increased clarity and strength. We feel better overall. Who doesn’t want that?

Humans crave balance in life. Thanks to hormone therapy, we can find that relief. But balance isn’t merely physical. We also need spiritual balance. Fear, coupled with anxiety, is one of the most common habits that keeps us from connecting with our spiritual self. When we are anxious, we cannot find inner balance.

      Feeling fear is as natural to us as hearing our names. As toddlers, we learned to fear the basics: “Be careful! Don’t touch that, it’s hot! Don’t run or you will fall! We learned three important things about fear. First, we learned how to anticipate fear. Second, we learned that anticipating fear kept us safe. Third, we learned that if fear kept us safe, then fear was necessary and good. In other words, we were trained to think anxiously. At that time in our lives anticipating fear was good because it kept us safe, but we became so accustomed to fear that we didn’t notice when it became negative.

Fear is at the root of anxiety. Some people believe that anxiety does not affect them, yet they do worry and sometimes lose sleep. They ask, “is that anxiety?” “Yes,” I say. “It is.”

Anxiety is a physical response to a fearful thought or belief projected into the future. We create anxiety by imagining how future events can or will go wrong. We focus on these made-up episodes until our stomachs twist, and our hearts race and we cannot breathe. We swirl in fear and see only negative outcomes. We think, If I do this, then that will happen, and if that happens, then this will happen, and if…. Our imagined scenarios feel real. The anxiety created from fear of future can cause panic attacks that bring symptoms ranging from loss of sleep, simple internal jitters, and emotional meltdowns so severe that we cannot function. Meditation is a good way to combat fear and anxiety.

Matthieu Ricard, molecular scientist turned Buddist-Monk, said in a recent interview, “recent scientific studies show us that compassion meditation changes the chemical balance of the adult human brain.” Although the study in the benefits of meditation are not new, we know that a meditation practice of any kind will change the way we think. This is inspiring news because a five-minute daily practice can help us master anxious thinking. Removing anxiety creates harmony and helps us connect with our spiritual self. The following steps will stop an anxiety attack:

1.     Get present by focusing on your breath.

2.     Repeat the mantra, “in this moment I am safe.”

3.     Smile

Change anxious thinking with this exercise:

Begin your day with gratitude. Start by remembering three things you have that you are grateful for. It is important to re-create each item that we are grateful for in our mind. Let’s use a pet as an example. Imagine how the pet feels beneath your hands, its heartbeat, and its warm body against yours. Recall its smell, or look, or something about that pet that is special. Remember how having the pet brings you joy. Feel the love you have for this animal. Let yourself experience this love and gratitude. This is the most important part of the exercise, feeling grateful. After a few moments, move on to the next thing that you are grateful for. Each day find something new to be grateful for. Keep a calendar beside the bed and keep track each day that you begin with gratitude.

1. Find a comfortable place to sit or recline. Focus on your breath, inhaling and exhaling. Allow your face, neck, and shoulders to relax.

2. Bring your attention to the center of your chest. Gently tap the area with the fingertips of your non-dominate hand. Breathe into this space allowing it to expand and open. You may feel fluttering, tingling, or tightening. You may feel mild pain or begin to cry, any of these things are okay. Stay with your breath while focusing on the center of your chest. Breathe that energy for a few moments.

3. Focus on something that you are grateful for. It can be anything. Concentrate on how having the person, place, or thing, makes you feel. Allow your memory of what you have chosen to become present with you. Focus on how having it brings you happiness. Celebrate the joy, peace, comfort, and love it brings. Spend a few moments recreating your person, place, or thing, and FEEL gratitude flow from your chest outward. After a few moments, choose something new until you have focused on three different things. Give time to each issue of gratitude. When you are ready gently close your hands into a fist and hold the practice of gratitude with you throughout your day.

For a free step-by-step audio download for these exercises, visit www.nitalapinski.com and watch a free video on how to stop an anxiety attack.