I feel anxious for a period of time most days, and often multiple times per day. I know this is caused by my thoughts because when I can change them the feeling goes away.
I seem to have a lot of thoughts that cause anxiety. I really don’t like how anxiety feels in my body. I have got a model below, but my question is really about how I can better handle the feeling of anxiety. I am not always able to have the presence of mind to remember to allow the emotion rather than resisting it. I do often still act from anxiety. Resisting it makes it more intense and last longer and it uses a lot of my energy.
What could I be trying to do with the thought work here? Work on letting myself feel my feeling of anxiety? In writing this I am becoming aware that I have a lot of thoughts about how anxiety is bad and if I feel anxious I’m not managing my mind and can’t do my job well, interact with people in a positive way or get what I want in life. Could I focus on some of those thoughts first?
This morning I woke up and felt anxious about a question emailed to me last night.
Unintentional model
C: Bryan asked “can you get ingredients to the factory in time for a trial on 15th January”
T: There is more stuff that needs to be done and I don’t know what it is or if it can be done in time
F: Anxious
A: Get physically tense. Resist. Racing thoughts in my brain -> I can’t think coherently. Catastrophize about how this makes me a useless and worthless person.
R: I still don’t know what needs to be done or if it can be done in time
I got up and moved around and the anxious feeling went away and then my brain kind of naturally slipped into the intentional model below (it is one I have worked on before)
Intentional Model
C: SAME
T: I can figure out what needs to be done and if it can be done in time
F: Confident
A: Can think clearly. Make a list of what needs to be done. Plan how can be done and to find out if it can be done in time. Ask for help from the people that know more than me about certain aspects. Recognize what I can and cannot control getting done.
R: I do figure out what needs to be done and if it can be done in time
