Reduce Anxiety by Asking Yourself This Question.
There is no quick way to beat anxiety. Anyone who is struggling with anxiety to one degree or another knows this. Many people, even at the best of times, worry strongly or excessively about everyday situations. And I would not classify 2020 as “the best of times.”
But sometimes, someone finds a way to rethink persistent – and often unfounded – anxious thoughts in a simple and practical way. For me this week it came from Twitter :
To learn more about anxiety or panic attacks, watch the video below:
The more I thought about this question – Who told you that? – the more situations I could apply it to, from big to minor anxieties.
My boss thinks I did a bad job on this project.
Who told you that?
My best friend hasn’t called me in a week; she’s mad at me.
Who told you that?
I am a terrible parent / brother / sister / partner / friend.
Who told you that?
I’m not strong enough, or good enough, or talented enough, or experienced enough.
Who told you that?
If you ask yourself about the source of the information, you will have to do a little internal fact-checking about your own concerns. He asks you to evaluate how you came to a certain conclusion, and perhaps you are overreacting or jumping to conclusions.
Yes, maybe your boss usually tells you how you did a great job at the end of a long project and this time they didn’t. There are many potential reasons that have nothing to do with how you did your shitty job – they are busy, they are distracted, they think you know you did a great job because you always do a great job!
Asking yourself to validate your own conclusion can be one way to assess whether your fear is really based on reality or whether you are reading more than you actually are.