What is Anxiety?
It is the fear response to a real or imagined scenario. It is amplification of an ambiguous or actual situation to a slightly threatening one or full catastrophe. The imagined scenario is always worse than the real one. Anxiety is expressed as depression, restlessness, agitation, worry.
Anxiety arises when the mind gets attached to or fixated on something. It can afflict even great people. Dhṛtarāṣṭra could not be a just king because of his attachment to his son. Duryodhana could not be a good prince because of his attachment to adharma. Arjuna, the mighty warrior, was unable fight a just war because of his attachment to Bhīṣma and Droṇācārya.
Anxiety is caused as the future is unknown, Mind worries about result of the result (the consequences of failure), imagines and amplifies future scenarios, mostly the imagined scenario is negative, decides cannot handle negative scenarios and keeps fretting about it.
The result is Stress Response: Fight (Resist) – Flight (Run) – Freeze (Paralysis).
How to Overcome Anxiety – When anxiety strikes, divert mind & senses to slow down thoughts.
[a] 3-3-3. Turn your attention to 3 objects, 3 sounds, 3 body parts.
[b] 5-5-5-5 Inhale (count 5) – Hold (count 5) – Exhale (count 5) – Hold (count 5)
[c] 1-2-3-4-5 technique. Observe 1 sound – 2 touch sensations- 3 objects – 4 tastes – 5 odours.
Engage logic to fight anxiety.
How to Un- install Anxiety
Gain knowledge, find and apply solutions, accept consequences with the attitude of Prasad Buddhi.
Plan Future, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”
“I can’t do it. Remember CI2IC - Can I? to I Can – I Will – I Must.
Gain Knowledge of The Highest and make it your conviction.
Give up Attachment
I + I want = Attachment. We attach ourselves to objects, situations, relationships. I plus xxx = Happiness and I minus xxx = Sorrow
What is the solution?
1.Work for the Work’s sake, never for your sake.
2. Dedicate your work to a higher Ideal, the highest Cause.
3. Drop attachment to results. Expect but Accept. Remember MS Dhoni.
4. Do your best. Leave the rest.
5. Discriminate what you can change and what you cannot. If you can change something then Just Do It or Just Drop It.
Finally, don’t treat the symptoms, seek the cure. The future, whatever it holds, has to be accepted and faced. The strength to do so comes from anchoring oneself in Spiritual knowledge. Anchor yourself in spirituality without attachments. “It is not enough to be good. It is important to be spiritually good.” – Swami Chinmayananda.
The Lord says:
“mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi sannyasya – renounce all actions in Me.” Dedicate all your actions to a higher purpose, a greater Ideal. Focus the mind on the Self; the Self is ever in the Now. This is adhyātmacetasā – the mind centered on the Self. This is spiritual life.
“Spirituality is not a way to look at certain things. It is a way to look at all things.” – Swami Chinmayananda. Do this not for one day or occasionally, but all day, on all days.