What to do with Anxiety in Your Body - Break the Anxiety Cycle 24/30

Relieve anxiety in your body with proven techniques to calm the nervous system—learn how to manage physical anxiety symptoms and break the anxiety cycle.
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It’s common that when you feel anxiety, you have uncomfortable sensations in your body. An upset stomach, tight muscles, cold or sweaty palms, a headache, or fast breathing or heart rate.

Our natural tendency is to try to make these feelings go away. To run from our body’s messages, to distract ourselves, to stay busy, to avoid these feelings in any way we can or to try to force them to change.
And while this can work in the short term, or might feel less uncomfortable in the short term, it actually perpetuates the cycle, training your body to be more keyed up, more avoidant, and essentially afraid of itself in addition to whatever outside thing you were worried about. So, what can you do instead? In this video you’ll learn what to do with anxious sensations in your body.

OK, so your tendency is to escape, to perpetuate the anxiety cycle by avoiding your own body’s messages and sensations. But the more we struggle against our sensations, the worse they usually feel. That’s because we’re essentially telling our brain that these sensations are dangerous, that this feeling is going to harm us. That's not working, so, instead, let’s slow down. And do the opposite.
Let’s lean in.
Sit with it
Get curious
Soften into it.
Review Willingness
PEACE: Present, Explore, Accept, Curious, Expand

00:00 Intro
01:04 What To Do With Anxiety In Your Body
02:46 Cultivate Compassion And Make Space For Anxiety

Click the link below to access the transcript:
https://therapyinanutshell.com/anxiety-in-your-body/

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Join Therapy in a Nutshell’s membership and get instant access to all 10 life-changing courses, live weekly Q&As, and a supportive community for just $27/month. Learn how to manage anxiety, process trauma, regulate emotions, and build lasting resilience. Take small, powerful steps toward healing and a richer, more meaningful life. Start your journey today! https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership

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Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.
In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.
And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe

If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services.
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