Anxiety is a normal human experience — we all feel anxious or afraid sometimes — but excessive or chronic anxiety can wear us down and be detrimental to our long-term happiness and health. Plus, many of us are anxious about things that we don’t actually need to be anxious about.
In my Wednesday meditation and talk from April 3, I shared some ideas on how to prevent and release needless anxiety.
Some key points that I covered this week are:
- We can feel undisturbed, undefended, and uncontracted in the moment — which is what we meditated on.
- In order to receive the present moment without fear, we have to recognize that the brain is a prediction machine and can be stuck in predictions, especially regarding fear.
- The scientific understanding of how the brain generalizes fear, including the biological and neurological mechanisms involved.
- Strategies for preventing and managing overgeneralized fear, including mindfulness, self-compassion, and self-awareness practices.
I hope you find it helpful. You are welcome to join my free Wednesday Meditations – which are open to everyone!
