Can you feel it?

Last night I had a pretty intense anxiety attack. I used to have anxiety attacks almost every night, but with coaching I have been able to cut them down quite a bit. Usually I wrestle with the anxiety for a bit and then get on FB to distract myself. I buffer the negative feeling so that I don't have to deal with it because it's uncomfortable. Which then means that I struggle with the anxiety for days after.

This one last night was a doozy. I decided to deal with it in a different way. I started getting curious with my anxiety. I asked myself where in my body I was feeling it. How it felt. Why I was feeling it. I told myself, this is an anxiety attack. I can handle an anxiety attack.

Guess what happened. It was really super hard. Feeling negative feelings is not fun. Eventually I was able to process the anxiety and go to sleep.

When I have used FB or Netflix to buffer my anxiety in the past, I was a nervous wreck for at least a week afterward. Today I feel zero anxiety. By not avoiding the feeling last night and really feeling it, I was able to fully process it and let it go.

Guys. It was amazing. By getting curious with my feelings and acknowledging them instead of just shoving them aside, I was able to get through it and move on. I dare you to try it!