Page 6: Seven Keys to Overcoming Anxiety

Train Your Body and Mind to Respond to Stress Differently

The fourth key to overcoming anxiety is to train your body and mind to respond to stress differently. You may be thinking: "Sure, but how do I do that?" You do this by repeatedly applying anxiety-reducing success techniques in your daily life.  

Conquering anxiety is about working smarter, not harder. ItÌs not willpower, talent or intelligence that conquers anxiety. ItÌs knowledge and consistently applying anxiety-reducing techniques in your daily life.

Overcoming anxiety requires two things: 1) reducing stressors by improving your external environment (how you eat, breathe, etc.); and 2) changing your internal environment (i.e. your thought patterns) so that you look at life in a less anxious way.

1) Improving your external environment means minimizing the physical stress that can trigger or heighten anxiety. This involves using strategies that help you change your eating, breathing, sleeping, and exercise habits to minimize anxiety. You may discover that some of what you thought was anxiety is really your bodyÌs reaction to being physically overloaded by unhealthy eating habits, breathing habits, and more. Once you take your body off of overload, youÌll likely find many that your physical symptoms lessen or even disappear.

2) Improving your internal environment involves learning to look at life differently using tools that help you transform your self-destructive thoughts into healthy ones. Doing these things will help you change how you see the world. Once you change how you think, you can deal with daily stressors calmly.  

When you practice anxiety-reducing techniques daily, over time you RETRAIN your body and mind to be more relaxed and react to stressors differently. That way, when stressors or anxious moments occur, youÌll have the tools to quickly transform your anxiety into tranquility.  

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