Although I deal with anxiety, and I choose not to be defined by it, I deal with autism, therefore it can be difficult to control. Anxiety is something I manage.
Overthinking thoughts
Maybe you were an anxious child who is now an anxious adult, or maybe you’ve been through a bad experience and you developed anxiety later in life. But however, you have anxiety, it is possible that your mind is in continual overdrive.
Perceptions and Attitudes
Everything we think and feel is based on our perceptions and attitudes which are centred around anxiety. Anxiety is based on worries that may not necessarily happen. When it comes to worry, ask yourself what would be the worst thing that could happen, and if it does happen, how can you deal with it.
A Mindset that is Inflexible, Rigid and Concrete
We will all deal with anxiety differently, but the biggest issue around anxiety is our mindset. With autism it is not something you easily correct. To help with my anxiety, I look for scenarios that are either all-black or all-white. When it comes to anxiety, It's important to understand each situation in its wider context, without going into overdrive.
We can't Assume
We can't assume, instead we should think outside the box. For example, we assume our best friend isn’t turning up because of something we’ve said, when in fact she's got a problem with work and she’s having to work overtime, or it could be something has cropped up with a family member, and she didn’t manage to call.
Working with Logic
We tend to assume, but need to think that there will always be a logical reason. Nothing should be a worry until we know it's a worry and we have something to worry about – but that doesn't always stop the worry. If we can achieve that, it'll help us temporarily overcome how we feel, but the key is also in how we learn to handle it.
It's probably helpful for us to understand our fears, since that is what anxiety feeds on. I'm certainly guilty of anticipating the worst way too often.
Or perhaps I need to figure out what is real and what is not.
Thanks Tim. Yes, and you're right, but I am probably more guilty than you. Having autism makes it impossible for me to to separate fact from fiction.
How do you eventually get past that? I use my intuition and that works, but it's not always there when I need it.
I normally get past that by preparing myself to have a face-to-face confrontation with fear. I accept what could be.
Of course, I'm praying to the universe that I'm wrong at the same time.
Thanks Tim. I love your response.
Yes, 'preparing myself to have a face-to-face confrontation with fear.' Although it's not a conversation we want to have, it's the right thing to do.
Working through your permutations beforehand will help you understand whether you have anything to be fearful of and that will make it less scary.
Any outcome we haven't accommodated for, can leave us with a sense of trepidation and that's when we mentally run, but facing the music is always preferable to running. Our problems go with us, no one has an option on that.
The 'universe' will always try to help where it can, but it cannot always help. It usually depends on who else is involved and what they have done, and that changes the status quo.