This year my daughter finished her final year of high school and it astounded me the number of girls in her year level that were suffering anxiety. Is it the pressure of year 12 workload or is it something else? Looking around at my family, friends, my community and the people I see in my clinic, I think that things are only getting worse.
So many people are be affected by Stress and Anxiety and it can be a crippling condition. I can bang on about the pressures of o=modern day society and speculate on the possible reasons why, but I feel like the most beneficial advice I can offer to my readers is ways to deal with the anxiety: not just in the moment, but when you are actually feeling OK, so that you can become your own healer.
Here’s an excerpt from Psychology Today on a technique that involves compassion that resonated with me, because it is a technique I use with my clients, both myself giving this compassion and also coaching them on using it as a tool;
A surprising solution to all this stress and anxiety is compassion, “an open-hearted way of relating to the world that responds to the suffering of others with care, kindness, and helpful action” (Neff & Seppala, 2016, p. 189). Compassion also includes self-compassion, being kind to ourselves, especially when we make mistakes, treating ourselves as we would treat a dear friend (Neff, 2011).
Cultivating compassion helps relieve stress by reframing the way we see the world. As Dr. Doty explains, “Just teaching people to look at the world from a different perspective, teaching people how to understand that an event is an event and that a lot of suffering is caused when you attach emotional content to the event,” can expand our perspective to relieve our stress. Finally, realizing that we are not alone, that “everyone is suffering” transforms the way we perceive the people around us.
Exposure to nature on a regular basis is another tool that you can use to start to calm your nervous system and create calm pathways in your brain and body. I f you want to know more about this follow this link: Nature exposure for mental and physical health – The Natural Healer.
There are many other breathing and relaxation techniques I have explained in previous blogs and can send you links if you want further information.
Sound healing and sound baths are also very beneficial ways to deal with anxiety, as they help to begin resetting the stress response and improving your ability to manage emotions. If you are interested in experiencing this in a one-to-one or group setting, why not get in touch. The next group Sound and Energy Healing event will be held on January 12th, in Norman Park and if you book in before Christmas you will get the Early Bird Special. Why not make it a family affair and buy your whole family a gift of stress free rest and rejuvenation. Click here to book.
