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It is an abduction. A kidnapping. A hijacking. Anxiety just breaks through the front door of the brain in a home invasion of sorts and takes over. Nothing else can happen, it seems, but anxiety. We ruminate—thinking of the same scenario, trying on different ways of thinking of it, trying to strategize over and over and over again. We become paralyzed with fear, unable to do anything but stand stock still in startle mode.
We become stuck in compulsive behaviors that must be carried out, lest we become even more afraid. We remain stuck in paranoid ideas about what others can do to us. We move into the fight, flight, or freeze mode and stay there, sometimes for hours, sometimes for days.
Being held hostage by anxiety is one of the most uncomfortable and unpleasant feelings ever. We can walk through the day in a haze, not really attending to the essential realities of the day, because we are, instead, attending to the anxiety that is holding a gun to our heads. We are just going through the motions of living, rather than really living. And all the while, we are feeling this intense fear and thinking all manner of terrible, seemingly life-threatening thoughts.
Beyond medication, which is, in many cases, recommended, there are several other techniques that have been studied and are increasingly coming into common use to give us back control of our brains. Meditation is one—used every day, it can increase our sense of peace and give us a sense of empowerment. But many people find it “too hard” to meditate because they put so many constraints on it. They feel they have to sit in a certain position, and repeat certain mantras, and stop their thinking. But there is no one position that "works" better than others, and we get to choose our mantras if we use them.
Further, the thinking does not stop—it’s not supposed to. We can, however, sit quietly and just let the mind observe the thoughts as they pass by. Don’t identify with them, don’t try to stop and examine them, just say, “Oh, there I am thinking that thought.” As we practice that, we get further and further beyond thought so that we begin sitting now in the more peaceful place of the soul, or the Self.
But when we can’t meditate, or when we want to combine meditation with other practices, there is also mindfulness—just really tuning into the present and allowing yourself to be truly aware of that moment. What colors are on the walls, what does the room temperature feel like, what do your feet feel like as you walk, what does the wind feel like on your face? Mindfulness allows you to really be present with what is, instead of being kidnapped into all of the “what ifs,” all of the negative possibilities that anxiety wants us to stay stuck in.
Affirmations and mantras also work sometimes, though sometimes they must be combined with other things, such as medication, meditation, and/or mindfulness. Repeating a mantra or affirmation allows the brain time to move past old, false beliefs and begin to believe something truer: “I am worthy of a happy life”; “I am OK”; “Things are going to be okay, and when they are not, I’ll figure it out.” These are just a few examples. We can design our own.
Practicing yoga combines all of the above, so it is very helpful to many people, not only for its capacity to calm and soothe us, but it is also very helpful for the physical body. Some of the more Westernized versions are often aimed at aerobics—for the physical body more than for the calming of the mind. But each person gets to decide what works for him or her. The object, however, of the practice of yoga for the anxious person is to change those old, anxious brain patterns.
Certain spiritual practices, such as prayer and the reciting of certain comforting spiritual passages from various sacred texts, can also be very helpful. We want to be careful here not to recommend a certain religious practice—each person gets to pick the practices that are best for that individual. There are, in fact, some religious practices that might hijack the anxious brain into more anxiety—particularly those that are strong on punishment and weak on self-love.
All of the above practices give the abducted brain an escape plan. None of them will work overnight, but with practice, we can begin to see that the brain is changing—that our thoughts are less and less ruled by anxiety.
