The Anxiety/Panic Attack Journal

Just a quick comment today:

I recently overheard someone discussing a big change in their life, and they described it as “making a choice to move out of the darkness, and get back into the Sun.” I thought, “what a great line,” but also, “what an accurate way of describing a transformation in life.”

We always make a choice. For many years my choice was to feel like a victim, and to focus on anxiety, panic attacks, and fear. When I began making a different choice, I began to see different results in my life. I chose to get back into the Sun (literally–I live in St Augustine, Florida), and my new choice brought new results.

What side of the street are YOU choosing to walk on? The dark side or the sunny side? Even in our toughest times, both sides are still there. You always have a choice.

 Take care,

Jon
www.easycalm.com (The Anxiety Coaching Videos Series)

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Anxiety attacks suck. We all know that. But you know, the way you choose to live your life can “set the stage” for anxiety and panic attacks, or…it can make these things less likely to occur. This comment is not meant to “blame” anyone, but rather, to encourage us all to take responsibility for the choices we make. For example, you can’t expect to make much progress with your anxiety if you are not eating right, not getting any exercise, drinking heavily or otherwise neglecting your body. The decisions you make in these areas do affect your mental state.

 Likewise, think about what you are giving your attention to in your everyday life. Do you watch lots of “slasher” films or scary,  overly-dramatic TV shows? You can’t expect to feel peaceful and centered if you are focusing lots of attention on these kinds of “anxiety-heavy” programs. In fact, an informal poll I took once indicated that anxiety sufferers tend to watch more TV than people with no history of anxiety. Of course this poll was not scientific, just a random sample of clients I’ve worked with, but the results certainly were interesting…

 The first step in overcoming anxiety and panic attacks is to take responsibility, and beginning TODAY,  take some action (no matter how small) to improve your situation. Watch less crap on TV, exercise a bit more, even just drink an extra glass of water each day! All of these “little things” quickly add up to a big change in how you feel. Your day-to-day choices do matter. Start today–start now!

 Take care,
Jon Mercer, MA
www.easycalm.com

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It’s been pointed out many times that I speak a lot about “positive thinking, self acceptance and gratitude, but what do these things really have to do with anxiety and/or panic attacks? Some ask, “Isn’t anxiety a physical or medical problem more than an issue of what you think about?”

Actually, anxiety and panic are really based on just one thing: your thoughts.

That’s why what you think is such a big deal. Everything we do in life begins as a thought, a way of looking at the world, a belief or intuition, and it is this habitual way of thinking forms our attitude. Attitudes determine what we focus on and what we ignore (filter out) in our day-to-day lives, and this is the real power we have over anxiety and panic attacks.

As someone once pointed out, “the thought is the ancestor of all action.” This point is so obvious I have never heard anyone try to argue against it. Thought determines your attitude, what you believe, what you fear, what you respect, what you do, what you don’t do, even who you are! It may be a cliché, but it’s still true: attitude really is everything.

A mistake I’ve made about a zillion times* is feeling that it was more important to act than to get my thoughts together (after all, I am male J). But action alone will get you nowhere fast. Your thoughts and attitude MUST be in harmony with your actions to accomplish much in life. That’s why the humble thought gets so much attention in personal development.

That’s also why I spend a ridiculous amount of time (in some people’s eyes) working with individuals on their attitude—their habitual way of thinking. It is the only place to start to achieve anything worthwhile—like freedom from anxiety and panic attacks.

A program or video series (like the EasyCalm Anxiety Coaching Videos: www.easycalm.com) can help you a lot with techniques and exercises, but don’t overlook the power of the humble thought as well. Personally, I read, watch and listen to every “positive thinking” resource I can find and I consider it a very worthwhile investment. From the results I see in my own life, I know how much difference this makes, so I encourage everyone dealing with anxiety and panic attack issues to “delve into” the world of personal development and positive thinking. In my experience, it can only help–and sometimes, much more than you might think.

Talk to you soon,

Jon Mercer

www.easycalm.com

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Thanks for visiting the new Blog. I’ll be posting updates regularly so be sure to bookmark us. Also don’t forget to visit out homepage www.easycalm.com for anxiety resources and coaching.

Take care,

Jon Mercer

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