Notice The Spiral

Welcome to Day 2 of the Anxiety Challenge with Martha Beck.

In this challenge,

You'll explore gentle and creative ways to calm your body,

Quiet your thoughts and ease anxious feelings.

Let's jump into today's session.

Hello and welcome back to Day 2 of the Anxiety Challenge here on Insight Timer.

Yesterday,

We practiced meeting anxiety with kindness,

Seeing it not as a monster but as a frightened little creature we can soothe.

Today we'll look at how anxious thoughts can feel like a fire alarm blaring in our minds.

And we'll practice gently walking away from that alarm into calmer spaces.

So first,

We need to understand that fear is healthy.

We all have healthy fear.

It's like a fire alarm.

It goes off when there's real physical danger.

And it gives us a burst of energy to either fight the danger or run away from it.

But anxiety is like a fire alarm that just keeps getting pulled,

Even when there is no danger.

And the thing that sets off the alarm is our ability to create frightening thoughts about things that aren't really present.

So we feel a pulse of worry when we're lying in bed at night and then immediately begin to think about or imagine terrible things that might or might not happen.

Now these thought stories,

These imaginary stories,

Feel to our animal brains as if they're real situations.

And so the fire alarm gets pulled.

The fear alarm gets pulled over and over and over as we lie there safe in bed.

And we feel terrified.

So now we're going to do an exercise that will help you turn off that blaring alarm and find some peace.

So get centered and relaxed.

Shake out any tension you might be carrying in your body.

Breathe deeply and gently.

And then bring to mind something that makes you a little bit anxious.

Not a major fear.

Something small.

Something fairly easy to fix.

We don't want to start you with your biggest fears right now.

We want to take baby steps and learn how to bring the anxiety down there so that you can then apply the exercise to larger and larger issues.

So think about something that makes you a little bit anxious.

And keep breathing slowly and steadily while you observe the way the anxiety feels.

In fact,

You might want to think silently of words that describe how the anxiety feels in your body and your emotions.

Words like tense,

Tight,

Pounding,

Spinning,

Racing,

Clenching.

See if you can notice and label these sensations while still breathing deeply.

This will help your body realize it's not actually in danger in the present moment.

So that regular breathing already gives a bit of separation between the compassionate witness in your mind and the part that is anxious.

Again,

A few deep breaths.

Hold the anxiety without needing to stop it.

Just observe it.

Now,

Notice any thoughts that tend to repeat in your mind related to the anxiety.

Worries about what could happen.

Scary scenarios.

Stories about bad things that have happened in the past or to other people.

And you may be able to see that these thoughts affect you as if they're actually happening.

And you'll feel the anxiety blaring more and more loudly as if that fire alarm keeps getting pulled over and over.

So now imagine that your body is a building.

And the fire alarm keeps getting pulled.

And the anxiety is rising and rising.

And then imagine that the part of you that's watching can simply turn and walk away from the building.

See yourself walking into trees or a beach or a grassy field with wildflowers in it.

Hear the alarm blaring behind you.

But put your focus on beauty,

On nature,

On the fact that you are in this moment safe.

Keep using your imagination not to create more images of terror.

But more images of beautiful,

Natural spaces and environments.

Explore them.

Develop them.

Smell the flowers.

Or the ocean.

Feel the sand between your toes.

And notice that your body begins to calm as your imagination turns away from imaginary situations that are torturing you to imaginary situations that are calming you.

You have a choice.

And you can spend your days turning toward what feels like peace.

Thought for today.

I only ever have to cope with what's happening to me right here,

Right now.

And I can always use my imagination to create thoughts that help me feel calm.

As we close today's practice,

What calming image or place helped you walk away from the blaring alarm?

Share your experience in the challenge forum.

Tomorrow,

In Day 3,

We'll explore how flipping our anxious thoughts into their opposites can open a doorway to peace.

I'll see you then.