Podcast Summary
Anxiety's Usefulness: Anxiety can serve a useful purpose by motivating us to take action or be more alert, but it's essential to understand the source and determine if it's based on a real threat or not.
Anxiety, while often seen as a negative emotion, can serve a useful purpose. Anxiety is a response to perceived threats, and in some cases, it can motivate us to take action or be more alert. However, it's essential to understand the source of our anxiety and not dismiss our thoughts, especially as women who are socialized not to trust ourselves. By examining the root cause of our anxiety, we can determine if it's serving us or if it's running amok. It's crucial to have a working fear response, as it can help us stay safe in dangerous situations. But when anxiety is not based on a real threat, it can be detrimental to our well-being. In today's podcast, we explored how to identify if anxiety is useful and how to manage it effectively.
Anxiety and motivation: Anxiety can hinder motivation and overall well-being by creating self-doubt, increasing stress, and hindering creativity and productivity. Instead, focus on intrinsic motivators to achieve goals.
While anxiety and fear were important evolutionarily to keep us alive, in the modern world, much of our anxiety comes from non-physical threats and can be harmful to our well-being. We may unconsciously believe that anxiety motivates us, but it can also create self-doubt, increase stress, and hinder creativity and productivity. Instead of relying on anxiety to motivate us, it's essential to recognize and challenge negative thought patterns and focus on intrinsic motivators to achieve our goals. By understanding the role of anxiety in our lives and learning healthier ways to cope, we can improve our overall well-being and live more fulfilling lives.
Threat response and anxiety: Our brains respond to real and imagined threats with anxiety and stress, leading to chronic stress if not managed. To reduce anxiety, we need to learn ways to change how our brains perceive and respond to potential threats.
Our brains are wired to respond to threats, real or imagined, with anxiety and stress. This response is useful when the threat is imminent and requires action, but it becomes problematic when we worry about potential or distant threats. Our brains produce the same response to these imagined threats as to real ones, leading to chronic stress. It's essential to learn how to manage our minds and calm down, as constant stress or denial and numbing out are not healthy solutions. The anxiety arises from the uncertainty of the future, and our brains want to feel reassured that threats have been resolved. To disarm the threat response, we need to find ways to change the way our brains perceive and respond to potential threats. By doing so, we can offer more to ourselves and others and contribute positively to the world.
Control vs. Resilience: Focusing on building belief in own capacity to cope and adapt instead of trying to control external situations leads to greater calm and bravery
Trying to outthink or control every situation in life can lead to anxiety and a sense of powerlessness. Instead, focusing on building our belief in our own capacity to cope and adapt can help us find deeper safety and peace. This means trusting ourselves to figure things out and understanding that some things are beyond our control. The anxiety we feel often stems from the belief that we must control external circumstances to feel safe or at peace. However, the opposite is true - letting go of this desire for control and embracing our resilience can lead to greater calm and bravery. Ultimately, our sense of meaning and dignity comes from how we show up for ourselves and others in the face of challenges, rather than from external circumstances.
Internal focus in challenging situations: Focusing on being the person we want to be during difficult times can help us feel grounded and in control, even when external circumstances are unfavorable.
Focusing too much on external circumstances beyond our control can make us feel powerless and scared, triggering a stress response. Instead, shifting our focus to who we want to be in challenging situations and taking effective action from that place can help us feel grounded and in control. This internal power doesn't depend on external circumstances being favorable but on our ability to choose who we want to be and how we want to show up. By defining success as being the person we want to be during difficult times, we can find motivation and purpose, even when faced with circumstances that seem insurmountable. It's essential to remember that not knowing how to be that person yet is not a character failing but an opportunity to learn and grow.
Thought work, femme mindset: Choosing to develop the skill of thought work enables personal growth and being the desired person, regardless of external circumstances. Joining the Feminist Self Help Society can deepen understanding and provide a supportive community.
Developing the skill of thought work allows you to be the person you want to be, regardless of external circumstances. This is a choice you can make for yourself. If you're enjoying the podcast and want to deepen your understanding of these concepts, consider joining the Feminist Self Help Society. This community and classroom offers individual help, advanced coaching tools, and a supportive space to explore thought work and femme mindset with like-minded individuals. It's my favorite place and I guarantee it will change your life. Visit www.unfuckyourbrain.com/society to join.