Typically when people think of anxiety or anxiety disorder they don’t think about paranoia at the same time. But if your anxiety has been severe enough for a prolonged period of time you can certainly develop mild to moderate forms of paranoid thinking. Today’s podcast is about telling you what that means and how to stop it.

First though, I want to point out that just because you have paranoid thoughts this does not in any way make you crazy. Instead, being paranoid is more a symptom of being wrapped up in your thoughts and concerns. It’s you being way too concerned with what might happen.

Secondly, the reason you need to stop being paranoid is because paranoid thoughts feed your anxiety, which make your fears seem entrenched and more dangerous. This in turn will only make things worse.

I had a great time producing this edition of the Anxiety Guru Show and hope that you benefit from it.

Side-note:

There is a great book by Dr. George Weinberg entitled Self Creation. This book is a must have for any anxiety sufferer but especially for those that suffer from paranoid thoughts. Inside this book there is even a chapter entitled How to Stop Being a Paranoid that deals exclusively with this issue.

On today’s podcast I explore whether or not herbs can make you better and how anxiety is always mind screwing you.

In this podcast I survey herbs like Valerian, St. John’s Wort, Lavender tea, and Marijuana. There are of course tons more herbs we could talk about, but I picked these because they are easy to find and easy to find information on. The whole idea behind this podcast was to give you a cursory introduction to these herbs – including their benefits and drawbacks.

On a side note, somebody recently asked me why I don’t make more podcast and the answer should be of some interest to you. The reason why I don’t produce more podcast is because if I don’t receive emailed topics and questions or if I have nothing new to say, nothing gets produced.

I hate when I read or listen to something that is complete crap, so I try to avoid producing garbage content that doesn’t help anyone. If on the other hand, I get contacted with an interesting question or topic, bam! Instant podcast. See these things take time to put together and I refuse to waste your time or my own time with nonsensical drivel.

Note: Do you have a question you want explored on my next podcast? Email me at info@anxietyguru.net.

Today’s podcast is strictly meant to provide you with a bit of a motivational kick in the pants. See, anxiety and depression can so easily – and understandably – bring you down and cause hopelessness and despair. But, despite this, you can certainly counter all the negative feelings and thoughts that anxiety conjures up, as long as your head is in the right place.  I hope this podcast will help you get in the right frame of mind, so that you can begin the process of freeing yourself from all of your anxiety issues.

Music by: 101 Title: Rock & Roll Pills

Today’s podcast is a direct result of two questions I received from Anxiety Guru readers. The questions were related to panic attacks and the acceptance of anxiety. I think both of these issues are important and understanding them can help you cope with your anxiety more effectively.

I began by discussing the fight or flight response because I’ve always thought that if you understood the fight or flight response, then you would understand all of your anxiety symptoms. This type of understanding leads to less fear and worry, because you’ll know what is happening when you’re in a panic, and you won’t be reduced to just your best guess about what anxiety might do to you.

The second issue I tackle is acceptance. It’s true that lots of people throw this word around a lot and generally don’t explain what it means. So, I tried to break down what the acceptance of anxiety is and the importance of trying to achieve it.

Ultimately, I think the most crucial part of today’s message was that it is important to know your opponent (anxiety) and yourself (acceptance) in your quest to break the chains of anxiety. You have to do more than just complain about your symptoms, you have to understand where they come from and learn different skills to cope with them. You also have to come to terms with anxiety and not engage in a never ending battle with it. Knowing these two things well will reduce anxiety.

The readers that prompted this podcast I think are on the right path. Because they did more than just complain, they sought answers. Answers that will, over time, teach them to live a full life despite the  occasional hardships caused by anxiety.

Hopefully this short podcast can help you gain a bit more perspective into what it takes to lower the amount of stress and anxiety in your life.

P.S.

If you can’t see the mp3 player please click the download link below.

An assumption is a mental leap you take without looking around first.  They’re also taken for granted, and it’s this easy-going acceptance of them that contributes to much of your anxiety.

I would never trash assumption itself because it serves a critical role.  It can help you make decisions when you don’t have all the facts, and also helps to remove mental hurdles that could otherwise complicate decision making.  For example, when you’re driving down the highway you have to assume, to some extent, that other drivers aren’t going to run you off the road.  By assuming this you can clear your mind a bit and not drive like a nervous wreck.

This doesn’t mean that you’re not cautious or keeping an eye out but that you’re a lot more relaxed because of the assumption you’ve made.  Assumptions aren’t always made blindly, either.  Past experience informs many of the assumptions you make on a daily basis.  But using the past to evaluate the present makes things tricky.

The problem for the anxious person is that the act of assuming in connection with things that make us nervous is filled with psychological peril.  This is because many of those assumptions are just plain wrong, based on exaggeration, and parade around in our minds dressed as facts.

In the “real world”, as we just discovered, assumption is a useful tool.  But in “anxiety world” assumption is the gateway to panic.  Let’s take a look at some example assumptions that can lead to anxiety and panic.

1. Trigger: Chest pain –> Assumption: Heart attack –> Result: Panic.

2. Trigger: Crowds –> Assumption: Enclosure, suffocation –> Result: Panic.

3. Trigger: Headache –> Assumption: Brain Tumor –> Result: Panic.

These are just a few examples but there are many many more.  And they are almost all related to the fear of death, insanity, or loss of control.

A few weeks ago I spoke about the “mind shift” that occurs just seconds before you slip into anxiety or panic.  Well, anxiety-driven assumptions act like a bridge between a state of normalcy and pure anxiety, much like phrases that signal a potential disaster like, “Oh no!”

But why must we make assumptions that bring us to this point?  Honestly it’s not something we enjoy, but to some degree it is a decision we make.  An assumption of impending disaster is our best guess about what might happen based on how we feel.

Because of past experience we tend to make sweeping generalizations and just figure that if it happened once a certain way, it will happen exactly the same way again in the future.  But of course this is a thinking error that turns into a self fulfilling prophecy from hell.

To stop assuming that you’re going to die every time you feel a twitch or bump you have to take two steps.

1. Awareness – You have to slow down and be aware that when you’re making the switch from “regular you” to “panicked you” that you’re engaged in assumption.  Question the plausibility of the assumption and stop it cold.

2. Patience – Whatever is scaring the daylights out of you isn’t going to leave you immediately.  As you question the assumption, you also need to wait patiently.  It may take several minutes, but if you know you’re jumping to conclusions AND you give your rational mind a chance to catch up to your fear, you will experience a reduction in anxiety.

Let’s not forget that fear and anxiety travel at the speed of light (at least it seems like it) and it sometimes takes a minute for you to realize that you’re not really in any danger.  Once your rational mind is aware of what’s going on you’ll be able to talk yourself down and eventually relax.  So suspend conclusions about what might happen, even as you experience an uncomfortable symptom, to buy yourself the time you need.

The processes behind all this can be somewhat confusing, but the reaction to an assumption is not.  You won’t always be able to stop anxiety and panic from taking hold, but I can guarantee that you will reduce their frequency if you just pay attention to what you’re thinking.  Be a little more mindful and patient and you’ll see what I mean.

SIDE-NOTE: The problem of assumption is one that plagues many anxiety sufferers but it really is only part of a bigger problem.  As a result, for the last two months I have been working on an e-book to tackle this very problem in detail.  It will be roughly 50 pages dedicated to helping you stop anxious thinking.  It’s way more than a blog post and it should be available in 6-8 weeks.

For a more detailed explanation of how assumptions influence your anxiety, listen to the podcast below.