My name is Hong Jeong, therapist in Downtown Los Angeles. Today I would like to talk to you about self-healing through your anxiety. You can deal with anxiety in a way that will ultimately help you become better or you can deal with anxiety in a way that can be harmful to your health. In this video, I would like to talk to you about how to safely respond to a moment of anxiety or panic so that you can use these moments to help build a better you. Let’s dive in.
Before we start, I’d like to welcome every self-healer out there to our channel. This is our second virtual therapy session on how to deal with anxiety. Through our session today, I’d like to offer you a concrete and actionable way of dealing with anxiety. We will be having a session here as if we were having a conversation and dialogue about the issues. I’m going to ask you a set of questions related to your potential anxiety and you can pause the video to think about your answers or process your feelings and thoughts. It would be a good idea to have a pen and paper handy so you can write down your answers and I would encourage you to say it out loud. I believe that speaking your answers aloud would be a good way for you to engage with the issues we are dealing with here.
Let’s start off by reviewing your progress from our last video and doing some upkeep.
Question #1
First, we talked about a helpful questionnaire to gauge anxiety called GAD-7. GAD-7 measures the severity of the signs of anxiety such as feeling nervous or restless, excessive worrying, having trouble sleeping, difficulty controlling your feelings, etc. There is a link to GAD-7 down below in the description box. Please take your time to fill out the form to see how you are doing.
Here is a link to GAD-7: https://www.integration.samhsa.gov/clinical-practice/gad708.19.08cartwright.pdf
So how did you score compared to the last time you took this test? What symptoms have increased or decreased? Some people like to think that anxiety is like worrying too much and others think that anxiety is more like feeling restless and fidgety. Anxiety is a very subjective feeling. I suggest you monitor the specific symptoms you are likely to experience and work on managing those specific symptoms.
Question #2
How would you describe your mood as of late? I would like you to describe your mood in your own words.
To be objective, how anxious would you say you felt on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 being emotionally and physically stable and 10 being a complete and utter anxious mess).
Question #3
We’ve also talked about the self-holding exercise. We use the self-holding exercise in order to monitor your body and allow your body to regulate uncomfortable sensations within your body.
Did you get to use the self-holding exercise? If so, when, where, why and how did you use the self-holding exercise?
After using the self-holding exercise, did you notice anything physically and/or emotionally? If so, what did you notice and how did you feel?
Question #4
In order to monitor your progress, I would like you to make a list of things I like to call life-giving points and life-draining points. Life-giving points are things that bring you joy and generally positive emotions. Life draining points are things that bring anxiety, stress, something you’re struggling with, and other negative emotions. It can be as important and significant as you’d like or as small and mundane as you’d like.
Can you tell me 2 life giving points and 2 life draining points from your life in the past week?
For me, going for a walk and dancing were life giving points and cleaning my room and sitting in traffic were life draining points.
Being able to contain anxiety and regulate it in your own creative way is essential when dealing with anxiety. Oftentimes, we’re trying to push away our anxiety. In our mind, we say, “I need to relax and I should not feel anxious...this is so bad...what if this happens?”
Our mind is so cluttered so it seems impossible to analyze what’s really happening. Have you heard of the term “mindfulness”? Simply put, mindfulness is about staying in the present moment-here and now. Oftentimes, we are operating on autopilot. We are so consumed by our thoughts or so focused on moving from point A to point B. We lose touch with our environment. Do you ever worry about problems at work, relationship issues, self-esteem issues, etc, to the point that you do not remember how you got home or you do not remember what you watched on tv? We often lose touch with what’s really happening around us instead of being in the moment which might have a negative impact on our lives.
I’d argue that anxiety is triggered by thoughts of uncertainty or perceived danger in the future. I noticed that a lot of my clients including myself get anxious when having a lot of hypothetical thoughts or what-if thoughts. What if I get a panic attack at work? What if he doesn't trust me? What if my boss wants to fire me? What if people judge me?
We want to get out of our mind and reconnect with the present moment. As the saying about mindfulness goes, mindfulness is “the awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, to the present moment without judgment.” Mindfulness takes conscious and purposeful attention to what’s happening in the present moment. In this process, we want to see things as they are. This is where a non-judgmental stance comes into play. You want to ask “Am I seeing a hand?” and not “Am I seeing an ugly hand?” A lot of times, the human brain likes to evaluate things.
Good or bad, fair or unfair, right or wrong, healthy or unhealthy, safe or unsafe are the perceptions or judgments that we use to survive. It is normal and at times important to have this judgmental or evaluative mindset. However, it depends on how we use this ability.
Now, let’s talk about mindfulness techniques.
I’d like to say that we need to be mindful and bodyful, in order to stay in the present moment.
The first technique is called the 5 senses exercise.
As long as we’re alive, our senses are up and running. Even during our sleep, our senses are still in operation.
In a moment of anxiety, I remove myself from the situation. If I’m at work, I go to the bathroom or my desk. If you’re in public, you can go somewhere quiet. It is important to find a neutral place to do this exercise first. Here are the simple steps to do this exercise in conjunction with the self-holding exercise.
Step #1 observe your body by using the self-holding exercise
Step #2 acknowledge 5 things you can see. Look around you and notice 5 things you have not noticed before. You can see trees, a pattern on the floor, the color of your chair, a bird outside. Let’s pay attention to 5 things you can see. You do not have to feel like you have to judge them or change them.
Step #3 Acknowledge 4 things you can touch. You can feel the texture of a chair you’re sitting in. You can touch a cup of cold water. Take a moment to notice 4 things you can touch.
Step #4 Acknowledge 3 things you can hear. Notice the sounds around you. You can hear traffic outside, the TV, the radio, people talking.
Step # 5 Acknowledge 2 things you can smell. You can smell your clothes, coffee, flowers, hand soap, grass.
Step # 6 Acknowledge 1 thing you can taste. You can taste coffee, gum, air, snacks. Notice all the sensations in your mouth.
Step #7
Be aware of what arises from paying attention with intent, in the present moment, and without judgment
Step #8
Lastly, scan your body again by using self-holding exercise and notice how you breathe.
*Anxiety is your body’s way of responding to perceived danger or threat. So, ask your body if you feel calm or if you are still anxious.
We’re not forcefully changing how we feel. Self-regulation begins with self-awareness. It is about buying time to check in with your body and environment. This is a great technique to regain a sense of safety and reorient yourself to what’s really happening in the present moment. The issues are in the tissues. So you get out of your mind and regulate your body first in the present moment.
Again, practice this exercise in a neutral setting. Later, you will be able to do this exercise while eating, walking, listening to music. (Don’t use etc. anymore) As you get more acquainted with this exercise, you can gradually increase the difficulty.
Set aside some time to monitor yourself physically and emotionally and practice this 5 sense exercise. As a result, you will be able to better understand and cope with your anxiety.
I hope you found our session helpful. Leave a comment if you have any questions or concerns. I’m also happy to hear your own ways of dealing with anxiety. Please share your techniques in the comments below.
Take care of yourself and do your healing every day.
If you need assistance with dealing with anxiety, please schedule a 20 minute free consultation with me.