The Anxiety Conundrum
The Anxiety Conundrum
I have been ardently trying to tame my anxiety for the better part of the last couple of months. The inexplicability of this condition lies in my very belief of being helpless.
Through these attempts to tame, or better yet, channel this pervasive anxiety, I have come across some key realisations and self-conceived notions about my personality. It is somewhat liberating to acknowledge that a substantial portion of this anxiety in question is governed by long, unbroken periods of inactivity and perpetual inertia.
Here comes the tricky part, though: As much as I am tempted to simply throw in the much-overused literary and axiomatic phrase, “an empty mind is devil’s workshop”, I am, also, obliged to justify its placement in the said context. So here goes.
The phrase mentioned above is a trite axiom, yes. But when you find yourself struggling to break free from the clutches of a chaotic mind do you realise the only effective and accessible antidote you have at your disposal is action.
Note: This is not an attempt to oversimplify the process of overcoming anxiety. These views are purely personal, stemming from empirical learning.
Personal Insights:
As I rummaged through my mind for answers to solve the anxiety conundrum once and for all, I realised that it was filled with mountains of data thrown together in the most random manner. Data that contained recurring thought patterns, years of conditioned learning, irrevocable, self-fulfilling prophecies, assumptions, beliefs, a rigid worldview, and a heap of other stuff detrimental to shedding anxiety.
In simpler words, my mind was brimming with unimportant data that served me no good. I knew I needed to unlearn and relearn a good deal. It was through this tedious evaluation that I finally arrived at the foothill of a solution.
I knew I had to deploy a systematic approach to overcome the grips of anxiety, and to do so, I needed to plan.
It was precisely in this moment that I realised that taking action saves you from your unrealised self.
In the days that followed, I started planning my days in a way that served my end goal of substantially weakening my anxiety, if not fully conquering it. Here are my learnings along the way:
1. Make your inner voice work for you: We all have to indispensably live with this voice in our heads that refuses to shut up. At first, I thought I was insane until I realised so is everyone else. This voice not only verbalises your thoughts but also tricks you into sticking to your established comfort areas. You can rise above it by replacing complacency with action.
2. It’s never too late (excuse me for the cliché, but it is what it is!): Read the parentheses again. A hefty chunk of this anxiety can be traced back to the all-pervading belief that the field of fulfillment is open only for a specified time period. But I was again, proven wrong by principle. I came to terms with the fact that my anxiety had almost nothing to do with a pathological diagnosis, but was in fact, a direct result of an unstructured life. Building a step-by-step plan helped me even further to incorporate structure. This solidified the belief that the things which are inherently worthy take time and commitment. This, in turn, validated the second point for me. Read it again. (I’m sorry for doing this to you :P)
…To be continued.
If you want to rain critical feedback on me, please be generous in your critique. I cry easily. (If you know, you know)
Until next time!
Love & Light,
Swa
