Among the reasons the anxiety state is bewildering and so hard to get out of are the many paradoxes of anxiety. These puzzle us and make us think they have to be solved if we wish to recover. The truth is Continue reading “Paradoxes of Anxiety”
Category: Acceptance Method
Acceptance Method
Being Ourselves
There is a strength and a freedom in being ourselves, and not feeling like we have to conform and meet the expectations of others. It’s cool to be different, interesting to be unique, and amazingly gratifying to be our true selves. So why do we Continue reading “Being Ourselves”
Turn Down the Heat
Our minds tend to get twisted into knots as we try to unravel the mystery of the anxiety state, how we fell into it, and how we can get out of it. We tend to over-complicate our anxiety, but there is one thing and one thing only that Continue reading “Turn Down the Heat”
How to Treat our Symptoms, Thoughts and Feelings
Treating symptoms, thoughts and feelings (emotions) the right way is crucial to the recovery from anxiety. How we reacted to these in the past led us into the anxiety state. How we respond to them going forward determines whether we remain in the anxiety state or recover from anxiety.
There are very important differences Continue reading “How to Treat our Symptoms, Thoughts and Feelings”
Symptoms Too Intense to Accept
Early in the recovery journey it is common to despair when trying to practice the Acceptance Method, especially if symptoms are very intense. It can seem impossible to accept them, and nothing you try seems to lessen the intensity.
There are two common misconceptions at work here. Firstly, Continue reading “Symptoms Too Intense to Accept”
When We Stop Struggling, We Stop Suffering
Could our suffering be the result of how we react to our pain/discomfort rather than the pain itself? I believe so.
And if that is the case, then even when the symptoms are horrendous, our actual suffering would remain bearable if we surrendered instead of resisting. Continue reading “When We Stop Struggling, We Stop Suffering”
Acceptance vs. Putting Up With (Resignation)
It is never the case that we are either fully accepting, or not accepting at all. There are degrees of acceptance.
Initially in the anxiety state, we are pretty close to zero on the acceptance scale. We refuse to accept our symptoms and fight them with all our might. We just want them to leave right away and never come back. We don’t want to experience them for another second, and cannot imagine ever developing acceptance for them. Continue reading “Acceptance vs. Putting Up With (Resignation)”
Facing Anxiety
Here is a piece I wrote a few years ago during my recovery journey on “facing” the anxiety. It was a situation where I gained a deep, deep insight into what the act of facing was all about. Hopefully, it helps to illustrate what “facing” looks like from the inside. Continue reading “Facing Anxiety”
The Art of Accepting
There are many layers to acceptance, and we won’t master it in a day or a week. But we can get better at it quite quickly. The very first thing to know about the art of accepting is that we must give up our perfectionism. Continue reading “The Art of Accepting”
Acceptance-Based Approach to Recovery
The originator of the acceptance-based approach to recovery from anxiety and panic attacks was Dr. Claire Weekes, an Australian physician. Dr. Weekes developed the approach based on her own experience as an anxiety sufferer and her subsequent recovery. She wrote a number of popular books on anxiety, and for the final 30 years of her life dedicated herself to helping others recover from this condition. Continue reading “Acceptance-Based Approach to Recovery”