A friend recently mentioned she was experiencing anxiety and that it was a regular occurrence. So, I thought I would let you know what I do when I am anxious:

When I am anxious I tune in to:

• Every twinge in my body:

My arm hurts…..perhaps I am having a heart attack!  I can’t catch my breath…..I probably have pneumonia!  My stomach is upset…..I probably have bird flu! And on and on.

• Every thought in my head: BOY this can be a wild ride – going everywhere from:

I am scared…..I hate these shoes…this house…this husband…this friend…..this paint on the walls…..this breeze in the trees…no one is ever going to love me…I don’t have any friends…I don’t like feeling like this…..whose crazy idea was it to even get me in this predicament? And back and forth and back again…..

• Every emotion that comes up:

Scared, afraid, terrified (and yes those are different emotions for me), sad, hysterical, happy, bemused, and on and on and on.

While I am tuning into all these happenings, I say (out loud if possible) “this is what it is like to be anxious”

Then I follow the trajectory of these happening as far as I can, just watching, just experiencing, just noticing.  Not doing anything else

Until…..

I come back into the present moment and say (again, out loud if possible) “that was my expression of anxiety today”

Then…..

I often go for a walk, find something I can transfer this anxiety into – a rock, a tree or the wind works wonders – I say “I need to leave this with you to be dissipated, I hope you will take it, and I will return the favor for you one day” (yep, that is me, talking with ‘inanimate’ objects)

Then, I might…..

find someone I can share the experience with.

Sharing this experience is NOT:

• To bitch about my anxiety
• A cry for someone else to “fix” me
• It is simply a sharing of my experience and unless I directly ask for this person’s insight, I want nothing more than to share my experience.

Then I go on about my day, more hopeful, more conscious of my place in the universe. 

We transfer energy unconsciously to the people around us on a regular basis, which then keeps the energy swirling through our lives again and again – as I transfer it to you, you later transfer it back to me, then me to you then you to me and round and round and round it goes.

Perhaps you could try my little practice the next time you are feeling anxious?

Transferring the energy is just that simple:

• Feel the energy through our body and/or mind and/or spirit
• Find something to transfer it to
• Ask for permission
• Let it go

What do I mean when I say “Let it go”? Simply tell yourself, out loud if you can: I will no longer carry this emotion/thought/feeling for THIS moment.

For the first thousand to a million times you do this you may think that nothing “real” is happening.   You know what? Go ahead and think that AND go ahead and do it.  You know what else?

Eventually, perhaps at that moment perhaps on the millionth time, something will shift and you will know that you did, finally, let something go.