I’m sure many of you (if not all of you) remember the ‘Me Too’ movement which was initially voiced by sexual harassment survivor Tarana Burke to empower other women to come forward and break the silence. The ‘Me Too’ phrase has since become a #MeToo hashtag, and it has evolved and grown so much that the original message behind it sometimes gets lost.
#MeToo acknowledges that sexual violence sufferers are not alone and shouldn’t be ashamed. I believe that unless you have been a victim of sexual violence, it can be difficult to understand why shame is such a massive emotion for the victims. After all, isn’t it the perpetrator that should be ashamed of himself?
Now, there is another emotion that can cause a lot of shame to the people who suffer from it: Anxiety.
“Life is ten percent what you experience and ninety percent how you respond to it.
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WHAT TRIGGERS ANXIETY?
Many people who have experienced anxiety have most likely felt deeply embarrassed, mortified and ashamed about it. Because, why would you get panicky when speaking in front of your colleagues (or students!)? Why would you feel terrified to walk into a room filled with strangers? Why would you get heart palpitations just by talking about a certain subject?
Anxiety can leave you feeling flawed.
Anxiety can leave you feeling like a failure.
Instead of facing our fears, we avoid situations that trigger the anxiety because it's easier. And because we feel embarrassed and ashamed, we bottle it up and don’t speak to our friends about it.
Anxiety isn’t always triggered by events or situations in our life. Sure, it may have been the initial trigger and cause of your fear. However, more often than not, our own thoughts trigger a repeat panic attack. We worry too much about negative situations and outcomes that potentially could occur, but may never happen.
CHANGE YOUR THOUGHT PATTERNS
Anxiety is a little b!tch that creeps up to you from behind and taps you on the shoulder and says: guess what, I’m back! You haven’t managed to control those thoughts yet, have you? You haven’t stopped worrying yet, have you?
And guess what, she is probably right. If we can’t let go of certain thoughts or worries, we are feeding our anxiety and it will only continue to grow. Lucky for us there is something we can do to help reduce anxious thoughts and stop those panic attacks: we can change our thought patterns. How?
You can change your thinking habits by becoming more aware of them.
Your neural circuitry (your very clever brain network) operates on the principle ‘’survival of the busiest’’. The more you think certain thoughts, the stronger they become.
Your thoughts are NOT your reality. Your thoughts are not you. Your thoughts may not even be true.
In order to slow down and better manage your thought patterns, I invite you to:
Become aware of your thoughts that provoke anxiety, or thoughts in which you criticise yourself (I will never be able to do this. I am not good enough. I have to work harder, etc)
Stop dwelling on these thoughts by changing your scenery, by meditating or going for a walk, by phoning a friend, or by focussing on your breath instead.
Recognise your thoughts as an experience that you are having rather than taking them at face-value.
Observe your thoughts, don’t believe them.
Catch yourself thinking those thoughts before they drag you into the dark rabbit hole.
It will take a while to train your mind to be more aware of your thoughts and emotions. It will take practice to become and remain observant. Remember, practice makes it easier (not perfect).
Essentially, this is where the real yoga happens. Off the mat.
Any questions, you know where to find me.
See you on the mat. :)
Sab x