ANXIETY: Acknowledgement as a tool for disarming a demon...

Hello all!

I have been living and even thriving at times with anxiety for about 7 years. I wanted share a very powerful practice that I have employed to ward off mild anxiety and even extreme panic attacks. Regardless of your age, religious preference or walk of life I think the principle of this excessive can help you with your walk with anxiety.

A while back I purchased a book called "Radical Acceptance" by Tara Brach. One story in particular stood out to me. It is a tale of when the Buddha reached enlightenment. He had faced a demon named "Mara" at some point and the demon kept appearing to him. Instead of casting the demon away or acting violently he simply acknowledged Mara's presence and even invited him to sit for tea! His implementation words "I see you Mara," were enough to disarm the demon. This same concept is repeated through many religions and folklore... I found it to be so powerful because the very idea that simply acknowledging a "demon"(or an emotion or a phobia or a fear) can help you rationalize it  and "disarm" it.

Let me try and explain how I've tried to employ this in my own life in regads to anxiety. I have always "battled" anxiety...viewing it as an enemy...something to be feared, hated and overcome at ALL costs. The second I even began to feel the tightening in the chest I would panic thinking "oh no...here it comes again!!!" The very thought of the anxiety would manifest exactly what I feared! A full fledged panic attack. I got to the point where if I even felt a tingle in my hand (which could be anything) I would start pacing around.....singing to distract myself...put on music....ANYTHING to "fight" my anxiety. I would ever tell myself "I'm not having anxjet I can't have anxiety I DONT HAVE ANXIETY!!!!"

When I read the section about the Buddha inviting Mara to tea, something clicked in my head. I spent so much timeasier fearing and fighting my anxiety that I always made it worse. When I read the part about acknowledging whatever you are feeling and actually naming it, I decided to give it a try

(Why not, I've tried everything else whathat the heck) so I sat in my room and CALMLY verbally acknowledged my emotions....."Hello anxiety, hello fear of death, hello feeling lonely." And really named exactly what I was feeling at the time. Something amazing happened. As I was able to name precisely what I was experiencing, and in my own way "inviting it to tea", it seemed to lessen. The more I practiced this the easier it became and at times even completely eradicated whatever was plaguing me at the time.

We spend so much time fighting....we anxiety people are always in fight or flight. Slowing down to verbally acknowledge what you're feeking or what is before you is more powerful than I ever could ha email imagined. It feels goofy and awkward at first....that goes away. I realized that no matter what I am feeling at whatever time it is OK to feel that feeling. I hope this helps some of you...give it a try! You won't regret it.

-T

I'm a glad you think so! It really helps me.

xo

This is actually a very common tool to fighting anxiety.  It's really cool that you put your own twist to it

I've read books that say that fighting anxiety only makes it worse. The more you try to push it away, the harder it fights back.  And it's very true.  I'm still trying to teach myself to accept the anxiety as it comes, and the fact that it -will- go away.  It always does.