One of our favourite definitions of anxiety and worry is the hallucination of what might possibly go wrong in the future.
Most of the most successful people in the world think about what pitfalls may lay ahead, but they don’t dwell on them, they plan for them appropriately.
Anxiety – true anxiety, not just a mild fear or anticipation of the future, has chemicals involved in it, and anxiety is rampant in today’s world. Chemically, it is understood that anxiety is created by too much adrenaline and noradrenaline not enough serotonin and GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), putting the body into a state of hyper alertness awaiting the fight or flight mechanism to kick in.
We wonder however, which comes first? The imbalance of chemicals or unconscious programming that triggers the imbalance of chemical production.
From an NLP perspective, we can look at anxiety in a couple of ways. The first is simply biochemical – we can use the unconscious mind to trigger the creation and secretion of chemicals in the right balance. And secondly, we can reprogram the unconscious mind so that anxiety isn’t triggered in the first place.
From investigation with our clients and students, we can put the rise down to three things 1) the desire for instant gratification and 2) more comparisons with where people think they should be in life and 3) the fear of being judged. The second and third elements help to explain why social anxiety is on the rise.
When you learn NLP, you will be learning how to manage your state which will help you on a moment-to-moment basis to control your thoughts, feeling and actions. But, anxiety usually goes deeper than that. You will also learn how to identify unconscious patterns and programming that trigger anxiety in the first place, and you will find out how to change this programming to create a balanced emotional and chemical state, therefore reducing anxiety.
But reducing or getting rid of anxiety often isn’t enough. Along with your NLP tools you will also learn how to access and build personal resources such as self-belief, confidence, self-worth, positive regard, strength and resilience. We’ve found that these are key resources that are often not present when someone is overcome with anxiety.
With NLP, you can be more aware of the emotions you have and take proactive steps to create a state that is more beneficial to you in any moment – imagine that, living anxiety free. Finally.
