An Anxiety Trick
The other night, after climbing into bed, my mind started whirring. One of the boys had a situation that was worrying me, work was especially busy and generalized anxiety was doing its thing. Then I remembered something…
In my twenties, I had seen a therapist for a few months, and she was so, so wise. One of the many pieces of advice she had given me? When my thoughts started going in circles and obsessing, and my worst-case-scenarios were escalating, I should picture a big red stop sign in my mind. STOP!
Just… STOP.
So, I tried the trick, and it really helped. How simple yet genius is that? Somehow having a visual cue like that can jolt you out of your thought process. I’ve used it a dozen times since then, when trying to fall asleep or walking around or whenever I need to just shut my damn brain off. I wanted to pass along to anyone else who wants to try it!
