WEEK 11 – Find a container for anxiety

Tam Johnston

Wednesday Worry tips

Part of stopping the cycle of anxiety being constantly  present is to find a way to contain it.

Read on to discover how.

There are some circumstances in life that are naturally going to cause concern and of which we have no control over and there is no evident resolution. This can be especially prevalent when it comes to worrying about other people and the circumstances that they are or may be in. With these concerns we need to learn to find a way to contain them so that we can continue to function and keep ourselves well. If we don’t, we are constantly re-stimulating our nervous system and keeping our ‘fight and flight’ activated, trapping us in a cycle of anxiety.

Container technique

 Use the following technique to find a way to ‘contain’ our concerns, freeing up our nervous system the rest of the day to what is known as ‘down-regulate’.

You are going to be creating a ritual so select a time where you can spend 10 minutes per day reliably sitting and not being distracted. This is can be your time to focus on those thoughts and any other people that are involved.

Decide on a noise that is going to signify the start and the end of these 10 minutes.

Focus your mind wholly on the problems and worries with an emphasis on trying to work through a solution to them if that is possible, and when the time is up, it is over for the day.

Any worries that are out of your control and there is genuinely nothing you can do to affect them and get a different result, such as worrying about a relative that is abroad or someone that is sick, then use this time to acknowledge the worry.

When a thought comes at any other time you reply “yes, and I’ll worry about you at ‘X’ time again tomorrow”. Put it in that container (literally if you want to get one and add notes into it as they come up during the day, or metaphorically in your mind’s eye).  Contain it in time.

Wednesday worry tips series

Welcome to Wednesday worry tips and thanks for stopping by! Every week I’ll be sharing tips and nuggets to help with worry and anxiety – from the absolute basic foundations needed for our nervous system and brain to function at it’s best, how to calm your nervous system down when its been under duress, how to quieten and take back control of that busy mind and everything in between! I’ll be sharing tips, knowledge, strategies and techniques over the upcoming months so stay tuned if it’s helpful to you.

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TIPS IN THE SERIES

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