Like many people with chronic illness, I really suffered from health anxiety.
It was so easy to set me off and so hard to bring me back to logic once I’d already started spiraling.
When we are in a heightened emotional state (fear) the logic center in the brain shuts off. This is so we react out of survival, instead of wasting time thinking.
From a survival standpoint, it’s brilliant. From a modern day, overstimulated, hyperaroused nervous system standpoint, it gets old.
I remember arguing with my husband that I knew it didn’t seem logical, but it felt like such a real fear to me.
Whether it was a tumor, a blood clot, a heart attack. The symptom felt real enough to trigger an emergent response in my body, and even if my brain knew it wasn’t likely, it didn’t matter.
My nervous system had been conditioned to feel like I was always in danger. It wasn’t only things around me (environment, food, people) that set it off, it was also my own symptoms that would set it off.
I know what it’s like.
And I also know the way out of it. Reprogramming the nervous system to switch back into rest & digest, while addressing the subconscious triggers is what got me out of being stuck in fight/flight/freeze.
In the moment, I would use these: Sour candies (think warheads), deep breathing exercises (in for 4, out for 8), and blocking my sternum and diaphragm, it helps me focus my breath. You want to do things that get you out of your mind and into your body. You need to feel grounded. And yes- hugs and weighted blankets help too!
My waitlist for “Fearless Freedom Formula” is open for 4 more days! If you’re ready to leave anxiety behind and change your life, sign up in my bio!
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