The Anxiety Trap

Today, I want to talk to you about the anxiety trap. You can replace the word, or the state of the emotion of anxiety, with pretty much any other emotion or state as per your own challenges for the purpose of this message.

I see with a lot of my anxious clients and students that when we tap to release the anxiety, more anxiety comes up. Normally it's about the question or the feeling of "who am I without this? How am I going to function without this because it's been such a prevalent part of my life for so long?"

The anxiety trap means that you tap to clear it and even more anxiety bubbles up, because you're not sure who you are without it. The same would apply to any emotion or state that you have been in consistently for a long time. For example, if you look at addictions and things you want to give up, like smoking and drinking and shopping etc.

This is especially true for things like comfort eating, smoking, comfort, drinking - you know, those two glasses of wine after work, sometimes that is somebody's the way they feel it's their only me-time, and it's like a treat for otherwise relatively thankless tasks that just deplete them. However, we know that the ongoing health benefits of that are few and far between. If you had two glasses of wine a night, every night, you'll be going over the recommended limits and your body wouldn't feel very good. Yet still, we do it. I'm sure you can see how you can replace the term anxiety, and what you're thinking about, with anything else that you have potentially carried struggled with that's been a part of your life for so long, that you don't know who you are without.

So here is my tip for you today. If there is something that you want to move away from / move through / process, and replace with something more supportive, more empowering, then be prepared for more to come up when you imagine not being that way anymore.

To make this real for you, I'm going to guide you through a tapping and I hope that this is really useful. Just tap along and follow me starting on the side of the hand -

Even though I want to release all this anxiety, I accept myself anyway.

Even though I want to move through to a more empowered state on a regular basis, I accept how I feel right now.

Even though this anxiety has been with me for a long time, and I'm not even sure if I can release it, I choose to honor exactly how I feel in this moment.

And let's go round the points -

This anxiety I know that it's stunting my growth.

I know it's stopping me doing the things I want to do.

And I can't seem to shift it.

And when I think about shifting it and clearing it

A whole new level of anxiety rears its head

Because now I'm anxious about who I would be without this anxiety

I don't recognize what that would feel like

So there's a good chance my brain doesn't think that it's safe

And so I acknowledge that as hard as it can be

My brain is keeping me in this state

Because it feels more comfortable

Than not knowing who I am

And not knowing what's next for me

Because at least with my anxiety

I can predict predict what's going to happen in the next moment

Predict how I will behave and react

And be able to do that brings me a level of comfort

Even if it doesn't feel like it in the moment

So I wonder if it's possible

That I could choose to relax and explore my identity

To see what would feel like a really good next step

Once I've moved away from this anxiety

There's no pressure to be suddenly extroverted

Or to suddenly be putting myself out there everywhere

I can take this at my own pace

I don't have to make it so hard on myself

And I realise that my body is addicted

To the charge of all the negative emotions

That come with anxiety

And so I acknowledge

That the more I tap

And soothe my nervous system

As I edge towards an anxiety free life

The more comfortable I will become

With the possible new me.

And that feels exciting and scary at the same time

And I know that fear is just excitement without the breath.

It's the same process in the body.

So I choose to breathe and relax.

Whilst I'm thinking about releasing my anxiety

I choose to breathe and release any fears

About what that might mean for me

Relaxing and releasing

Relaxing and letting go of any fear

Relaxing and releasing my whole body

Whilst thinking about embracing an anxiety free life

Relaxing and acknowledging

That there's a whole new world out there for me

Relaxing and embracing all versions of me

Throughout all time and space

All right, come to a stop. Take a nice deep breath.

I think I even needed that one. We all get a little bit of anxiety here and there about "Am I doing this right? Is this who I need to be? Am I missing something?" It never stops, right? But if you do suffer with chronic anxiety, then I definitely would recommend that you start Tapping on it, because the more you can relax and regulate while you are thinking about becoming somebody else or a different version of you, the sooner you will transform this.

I hope this was useful for you. Please do feel free to share this video or message, wherever you've consumed it. I look forward to seeing you again really soon.

Take care,

Emma

Categories: : Business Growth, Coaching, Emotional Health, Energy Work