Anxiety Self Help Treatment Made Easy

by Silvia Hartmann, PhD

What Is Anxiety?

A few simple facts

Anxiety is a form of fear that happens as a result of thoughts, rather than because of real immediate danger in the present environment.

People, unlike animals, can cause ADRENALINE to be produced in their own bodies in DIRECT RESPONSE TO a thought.

Because the thought and the environment are not the same (as it would be for a zebra which spots a lion), the action requisite to get rid of the adrenaline in the system doesn't happen (the zebra starts to run, which is why it needs the adrenaline shock injection in the first place!).

What happens in people is that they don't get rid of the adrenaline, so it builds up, and up - causing MORE thoughts which in turn trigger MORE adrenaline releases.

Symptoms Of Anxiety

Too much adrenaline in the body causes ALL the symptoms anxiety sufferers are so familiar with:

The typical changes in the heart rate associated with anxiety;
Body sensations like dry mouth and throat, trembling (like in shakey handwriting), sweating, flushing, chest pains and tightness in the chest, being unable to breathe properly;
Racing thoughts that spin out of control; paranoia and hallucinations;
Headaches (stress headaches, anxiety headaches), migraines;
Vision disturbances, dizzyness, inability to see things clearly or to interpret what is being seen correctly (like dyslexia or totally failing to make sense of numbers, maths, symbols, maps, etc.);
Digestive problems as digestion is shut down or reduced during adrenaline outbursts;
Eating problems such as sugar cravings (insulin reduces adrenaline in the blood), hunger pangs, and also loss of appetite on the other hand;
Hypervigilance or becoming overly sensitive to all sorts of sounds, sights, touches, tastes and smells;
Failure to be able to concentrate on the here-and-now, functional failures (performance anxiety) like clumsiness, erection problems, "blocks" (to writing, public speaking, social skills, learning etc. etc), forgetfulness;
Inability to focus on others, making good connections with others, attuning or relating to others;
Sleep disturbances, trouble getting to sleep, sleeping badly, feeling tired and worn out as a result - which makes all of the above even worse;

... and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Anxiety, in contrast to natural fear, is thereby a PHYSIOLOGICAL state of a body that is too full of adrenaline, and the mental or psychological problems and the behaviour problems and performance problems normally associated with high stress and anxiety are just a RESULT of that underlying problem.

Who suffers from anxiety?

People who have already a build up of adrenaline in their bodies have nowhere to go when a frightening thought strikes - their adrenaline levels spike into the red immediately and the longer they stay there, the worse all the symptoms of their anxiety will become, physical, mental and emotional.

This is the same for stressed and anxious children and babies as it is for adults. It is structural, human and entirely logical.

Any human who is stressed for too long, or has been stressed repeatedly severely (in war, bullying, abusive relationship), or is unable to escape an ongoing stressful environment (family, school, prison, army, work) will eventually show the symptoms of anxiety, some or many of them, depending on how severe the stress is they have been under, and for how long it has been going on.

The highest end and last-ditch "emergency defense" of high anxiety is to have a panic attack. The systems in the body (and mind, and energy system) become so chaotic that "something has to give". Panic attacks are "nature's restart button" on a computer that is blue screening.

If you have already experienced real panic attacks, I highly recommend Nicola Quinn's Life Without Panic Attacks and support group for panic attack sufferers HERE.

Is anxiety genetic?

A child reared by anxious parents will naturally be more anxious than a child reared by non-anxious parents. Although genetics may play a small part, environment and HOW this is being responded to is much, much more important than genetics.

Stressed and anxious people create a stressful atmosphere AROUND them, and those who look to their leadership for security (children with parents, workers with managers, soldiers with officers, students with teachers etc.) will likewise experience far more stress than if their leader or responsible adult was calmer and more in control of their environments.

It is far more important to remove excess stress hormones from the body quickly and as soon as possible than to wonder if there are any genetic components to being affected this way.

In other words, anxiety or adrenaline allergy is absolutely curable and at the very least, it can be MARKEDLY REDUCED.

What is the difference between social anxiety, separation anxiety, performance anxiety?

The only difference between any appearance of the symptoms of anxiety, regardless if this is a maths anxiety, sexual or social anxiety, an anxiety about dogs and cats, jury duty, test anxiety, or public speaking is the TRIGGER which causes the adrenaline spikes to go into the red.

It is important to understand that WHAT the trigger is doesn't mean ANYTHING about a person who suffers from anxiety disorders and their symptoms - the problem is ALWAYS that there is already a high underlying level of adrenaline rushing around their systems when they meet the trigger. They have nowhere to go, the adrenaline spikes go into the red and that's when the flare up happens.

Just as people can become accidentally phobic of just about anything at all, they can become extremely anxious about anything at all - this has little or nothing to do with REAL danger or any logical reasons and is mostly simply accidental.

New effective tools for coping with anxiety

Ideally, we don't want to think of "coping" with it, but to remove the problem and all the many symptoms altogether and get a HEALTHY ADRENALINE SYSTEM back into action.

In order to do this, systematic desensitisation is NOT a good option because we want to ELIMINATE THE FEAR RESPONSES, rather than to get used to more and more pain as we go on.

It is extremely important to remove excess adrenaline from our bodies as soon as possible, because serious, very serious long term health damage is the risk here, not to speak of the incredible psychological damage to self esteem, happiness, fulfilment and joy in life which is being caused by the adrenaline allergy systems.

Someone who suffers from anxiety is often very likely to view the future bleakly, feel themselves out of control and unable to achieve anything meaningful at all.

They have to cope with many physical and psychological symptoms, problems with substances, addictions and all sorts of limiting behaviours which naturally leads to becoming very depressed.

Stimulating, exciting, exhilarating, new and challenging events become rare in their lives because these would trigger the adrenaline spikes with their awful symptoms, so with so much fear and so little joy every day, it is no wonder that many people who suffer from anxiety symptoms and disorders get very, very depressed and unhappy on top of it all.

A Two Part Approach To End Anxiety Problems

When we consider any anxiety related disorder to be nothing more than an adrenalin allergy, we can know right away that the right methods of treating anxiety come in two parts.

1. A treatment for the high anxiety situations.

The high spikes of heavy adrenaline shots into an already overstressed system cause the most serious problems of them all, and so it is very, very natural and even extremely HEALTHY for any individual to AVOID situations which could cause these.

As anxieties can flare up at any time, become triggered by all sorts of environments and all kinds of thoughts and memories, the only real possibility of total avoidance is an absolute withdrawal from life - or death in other words. It is sad to consider that there were people who took that option, simply because they could not live with their anxiety/depression/ill health spirals any longer.

The natural and effective treatments for anxiety, or rather, for the adrenaline problems in the body which CAUSE the anxiety, is the same as what is needed for the second, and even more important aspect of people who suffer from adrenaline allergies, namely:

2. To reduce dramatically the BASE LEVELS OF STRESS they are under all the time.

This is the key to treating the adrenaline problems in the first place.

When we start with a baseline of a lot less anxiety, there is more room for real things to come in WITHOUT causing the dreaded anxiety spikes as the systems goes into the red, and thoughts spiral out of control, physical symptoms occur and behaviour and life falls apart.

This is a two pronged approach which will make a TREMENDOUS difference, especially in the long term, to anyone's levels of health, happiness and self esteem.

A Self Help Treatment Programme For Ending Anxiety

The very first rule:

STOP berating YOURSELF for suffering from an adrenaline allergy.

It is NOT your fault.

These things just happen in our society and the way we live, it is INCREDIBLY common and you KNOW just about everyone is "stressed out" most of the time.

The fact that you are afraid doesn't mean ANYTHING about you - you're not a coward, you don't suffer from having "no will power" and there's actually, nothing wrong with you at all. You are responding to YOUR situations EXACTLY like someone would who was in YOUR situation, and who happens to be - YOU.

Instead, stop for a moment and think how LUCKY you are to have found out about this in a way that can NOT be ignored, and so you are forced to sort this NOW, rather than spending your entire life running around in circles, never getting to experience what you really longed for, and then dying of a stroke or a heart attack a few years after you've "retired".

I am completely serious about this.

Adrenalin allergies are DEATHLY in every way, and I am incredibly glad that you will be spared the breakdowns of your health and happiness simply because you have really learned what this is, and you have a really good motivation to sort it out, once and for all.

The outcome of this programme is that you should become actually a happier, braver, MORE efficient and proactive person than those you are looking at right now and thinking that they've got it all sussed. "They" don't. They just don't know it like you and I do, and they will pay the price in many ways for not dealing with their "stress" here and now.

The Core Anxiety Treatment

This is really simple and easy, and involves a special version of an Energy Therapies self help programme which is vaguely related to acupuncture, only you can do it with your own hands and fingertips instead, and it works not just on the body, but on the mind, on your emotions and on your thoughts, all together and all at the same time.

Our thoughts and our energy system (which is being treated in for example, acupuncture, acupressure, faith healing, energy healing, Reiki, meditation, Karate, Yoga, and many, many more likewise powerful and practical techniques) are LINKED.

When we think disturbing thoughts, our energy system becomes disturbed IMMEDIATELY - and that is what causes the adrenaline injections straight into our physical bodies.

Likewise, when our energy system runs calm an clear, our thoughts can't help but run calm and clear also.

The energy body and thought are one and the same, and the state of one reflects the state of the other.

In this way, thoughts don't impact the body directly, but VIA THE CONNECTOR of the energy system.

We might not be able to control our thoughts or calm them with ease, but we CAN CALM THE ENERGY SYSTEM and then the thoughts follow as they must.

This is the key to reducing the amount of adrenaline in our systems.

This is the key to being able to calm ourselves right down, so we get to sleep properly again, eat properly again, feel strong and healthy, and can handle surprise and the daily shocks of living easily as we flow swiftly from one experience to the other, like the weather changes outside as it must so the planet remains healthy.

Heart Healing

The most important energy system "organ" is the energy heart - this is the nuclear reactor at the center of the energy system. It powers all of the energy system and is intricately linked to every part of us - thought, physical body, meridians, the lot.

Get the Heart stabilised, and ALL YOUR SYSTEMS will be stronger, more powerful and work better.

People still pray and meditate to achieve "peace of mind" which is the same as "peace of energy system".

We are going to use this oldest of techniques as a general anxiety and adrenaline remover prescription, at least 3x a day, EVERY DAY, as our central stabilisation process.

Place both hands on your heart of energy.

Close your eyes and feel your hands.

Move the hand closest to your chest very lightly in a circle and take seven deep breaths in and out, counting down on the out breath aloud:

On Zero, open your eyes and continue with your day.

This takes only a minute but it gives your body a break, like a miniature holiday. Three such little holidays EVERY DAY will begin to take off some of the accumulated adrenaline and reduce your overall stress levels for the sake of 3 x 1 minute spend.

Do this regularly and you will find that it becomes EASIER AND EASIER to slow down, to calm down.

With practice, this simple gesture becomes a stabilisation ritual in moments of crisis as well.

For more information about "The Heart Of Energy", a special article on "Heart Healing for Men" and a free MP3 meditation download, follow the links.

Real Energy Body Healing

This next treatment is more specific and deals with the worst places where you can feel the physical results of your anxiety the most.

This is a real feeling in the body. For some it is the head; for others it is the throat, for others yet again, it can be chest, or stomach. Some people's hands or feet get very cold.

You know where you feel it FIRST and when you feel THAT body sensation (not an imagination or a thought, a real physical feeling!), your stress is already at dangerous levels.

Meridian Re-Balancing Full Treatment For Stress & Anxiety

Your thoughts, your energy system and your body are ONE system, so by treating our energy system and using our thoughts to "call off the emergency" we get the body to calm down and follow suit - the result is that the adrenaline slowly disappears and with it, the anxiety melts away.

When that happens, our thoughts become clearer as well and not only do we FEEL better, we can THINK and ACT better, too.

Example: Anxiety Symptom: Shakey Handwriting

Under stress, Tony, a student, would experience trembling from anxiety which would cause his hands to shake minutely and produce ragged, untidy and shakey handwriting. When he thought about it, he felt the first symptoms to know it was coming not in his hands but in his back and neck which would go "rock hard and solid, nearly painful". The shaking would follow soon after.

This is a classic example of how a part of the energy system, in this case located in Tony's back and shoulders, locked up and stopped the smooth flow of energy into his hands.

To treat this, Tony sat down at his writing desk and looked at something that he had written which was very shakey to bring on the symptoms of anxiety, in his case the locking up in his neck and shoulders.

Then he began the meridian balancing treatment, breathing in and out deeply on each meridian point and saying out aloud, "I want to repair that blockage in my neck, soften and flow."

Halfway through the session he could feel the blockage softening and "running down his arms, back and shoulders like warm water". As soon as this happened, he also took a big sigh of relief, that turned nearly into a yawn.

When the session was finished, he felt calm and clear and the work itself did no longer frighten him.

Here is how to do the full meridian balancing treatment, step by step.

1. Find the place in your body that shows your anxiety the most. That is where the energy blockage lies which stops on the physical level the adrenalin from dispersing properly and flowing away.

2. Focus on that place, put your hands on your heart in the Heart Healing posture.

Say out aloud, "I want to repair this blockage (and then name where it is, in your stomach, in your head, in your back, in your throat etc.)"

Breathe in and out deeply and then say it again, three times in all.

Remember to breathe in and out deeply each time.

Main Meridian Balancing Points Diagram For Anxiety Self Help Protocol 3. Now place two fingers on the following points, one after the other.

- Make a tiny circle with your fingertips there.

- Breathe in and out deeply.

- Say, "I want to repair this blockage in my (...)

- Breathe in and out deeply.

Then move on to the next point and do it again.

4. Finish once more in the Heart Healing position with three deep breaths in and out, but don't say the statement again.

This time listen in to yourself to find out how calm you are now.

If you wish, you can repeat the treatment up to three times.

This is a special calming and adrenaline reducing version of the EFT Emotional Freedom Techniques protocol. For more information about using EFT for other things, please refer to Adventures In EFT by Silvia Hartmann. For panic attack help please see Life Without Panic Attacks by Nicola Quinn.

Super Quick Treatment for Anxious Thoughts and Every Day

People who suffer from anxiety induced by an adrenalin allergy experience adrenaline shots or "spikes" at many times during the day. As soon as this happens, we need to treat it right away, there and then, with the following quick meridian clearer.

Here, we tap rhythmically on the meridian points under the eye, switching from side to side, and simply think or say, "Adrenalin allergy" until we can take a sigh of relief which is our sign that the tension and the adrenalin is receding.

NB: Don't wait for big spikes to happen and before you are really anxious.

Use this super quick treatment immediately and as soon as you notice the "spike" has occurred.

You can do this anywhere, even in public, and in conjunction with the other treatments, it is quickly effective and PREVENTS THE OVERALL BUILD UP that causes the real deep anxiety in the end.

So it is very important to treat yourself right away when you are noticing a spike:

Whilst watching TV (movies AND news, and anything else that makes you anxious, even an advertisement can!)
In traffic or whilst driving (you only need one hand)
Out and about when shopping, or even before you leave the house and think about going out;
In school and exam situations;
When dealing with mail, or whilst on the telephone;
In social situations where you notice an anxiety spike.

Example: Social Anxiety

Kathy, a high school student, was extremely anxious of social situations such as parties but also had a hard time with being by herself in the library, or walking into the dining hall. She had been doing the full treatments for about a week when an important party came up and she decided to go.

She had to treat herself with the full treatment at the thought once, then the quick treatment was sufficient to help her decide what to wear, to get her dressed, made up, out of the house and during the travel to the venue.

When she arrived at the venue, she became very anxious, went to the ladies room and treated herself there, especially concentrating on her lower abdomen, which felt extremely hot and painful. This settled her enough to be able to rejoin the party, and she was able to stay and even talk and dance a little with the help of a few surreptitious taps under her eye.

She was delighted with her progress and now is actively looking forward to a class picnic "so I can practice until I feel really comfortable all the time, and this awful anxiety is finally behind me!"

In Conclusion:

The above protocols are tried and tested with many, many people and help significantly reduce overall levels of anxiety, even for people who suffer from chronic anxiety and have done so for a long time.

Please USE these ideas and especially, TAKE NOTICE of how you feel, all the time and most importantly, in the beginning as you learn how to use these excellent, time honoured approaches regularly in your every day life.

All you really need to do is to REDUCE THE LEVELS OF ADRENALINE in your system to feel better, think more clearly, sleep better and get all the benefits of more self confidence in many different situations.

Focus on that and do the best you can; take GOOD CARE OF YOURSELF and you will get the benefits in the end.

Anti-Anxiety Pattern by Silvia Hartmann from http://Sidereus.org, All Rights Reserved 2004.
Please feel free to print, copy, translate and distribute this pattern as long as it is:
FREE of charge and The Copyright Notice is included.

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