“A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.” – Aesop

The Battle

Anxiety is a worthy opponent.  You try to punch him down and every time you think you have him knocked out he gets right back up.

Do you get into the ring battling it out in a constant fight for your serenity every day and every night?  Do you wish you could stop your racing thoughts and just be calm, even if for one hour?

I’m here to tell you it’s possible.  You CAN knock out your anxiety and not only knock it out but keep it out.

We all suffer from anxiety from time to time.  Anxiety can appear before a test, during a job interview, prior to a date or anytime you are facing something new and possibly threatening. Anxiety is normal. It is the body’s reaction to “fight or flight” and it serves a purpose.

However, when anxiety becomes constant and all-consuming it is no longer serving a purpose and in fact has probably taken over your thoughts and taken over your life.

There is absolutely NO way to think yourself out of it.  Sure, medicine can help with acute symptoms, but seriously, who wants to be on medication?  Who really reaps the benefits of long term medication use? I can assure you it isn’t you.

Over the years the medical community has begun to classify nearly everything as a disorder.  If you have a disorder it implies that this is something not only diagnosable, but fixable and of course they have the medicine to fix you.

Naturally, it will cost you, but they have it. I’m here to tell you that the cost is more than you would think and you don’t need to rely on medicine to curb your anxiety.  I’m not a psychiatrist, so I can only speak from my own perspective but if I can do it so can you.

The Fix

I was on anti-depressants for nearly 10 years. It was suggested that I take anti-anxiety medication on numerous occasions but I always refused.

One day I got tired of being anxious. That was it. I couldn’t’ take it anymore.  I decided to try something new.  I began meditating.

Meditation has done more for me than I ever imagined it would.  But, how exactly does meditation knock out anxiety?

Anxiety can sneak up anytime, all day, every day. If you do not have time to meditate or can’t go somewhere quiet I suggest doing this. Close your eyes. Take a DEEP breath in and a DEEP breath out. You can concentrate on your breathing or you can tell yourself, ‘I am okay. I am safe” or whatever mantra works for you.

The key is not in thinking it away. The key is in the breathing. Breathe in for 10 seconds and hold for 5 seconds and breathe out for 10 seconds and repeat. If you can’t breathe out loud then breath through your nostrils for the same time frame.

Do this once per day, do this all day, every day. Do it as much as you need. Get in the habit of focusing on your breathing and just do it. The change will be amazing. The anxiety may still creep up, but you have the capacity to knock it back down. The power to change is within you.

Why It Works

Breathing techniques move you out of your head and into your body. Allowing yourself to sit with your feelings and let them go will be one of the most life changing experiences you will ever undertake.

When I was first starting out I had to focus on my breathing and my anxiety/feelings of stress every 30 minutes or so. Over time the anxiety started to slip away. No longer was it a constant battle for control over my mind.

Yes, I still get anxiety from time to time and this will happen and is completely natural so don’t beat yourself up if it comes back. The difference will be that this time you have tools to combat your worthy opponent.

If you are undergoing an extremely stressful period try breathing and focusing as much as you can throughout the day. Really focus on what you are feeling and try to distance yourself from the feeling. It is not a truth. It is not a fact. It is only a feeling.

Meditation and breathing techniques (which are intertwined) work because they get you out of your head, out of your self absorbed state and into a peaceful more relaxed understanding of your surroundings.

If you do not feel safe. If you feel scared. If you feel anxious. If you feel like running. Stop. Close your eyes. Breathe. Observe your feelings as being outside of you and realize that they are not you. They are not really in existence, but are something you have created in your mind.

I’m not kidding when I say I had constant anxiety every night all night and every day all day. Using meditation and breathing techniques on a regular basis changed this. Just try it, because what do you have to lose?