Turning Anxiety Into A Resource. Good Practice Exercise

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Psychological searches are often filled with spontaneous, surprising clues - wonderful (almost mystical) discoveries on a given query topic. I will tell you about three, the most recent, most interesting results that have developed in the context of working with a special psychological practice to relieve anxiety.

I presented a description of this practice in one of the recent blogs. I will briefly talk about it again.

Practice of working with anxiety, fears and accumulated internal tension

1. The first thing we do is formulate our problematic request for the upcoming work.

2. Second, we associate our problem state with some kind of symbolic image.

3. Having expressed and figuratively associated our request, we leave it in the virtual space nearby.

4. We recall a certain resource situation in which we are extremely successful, fortunate and strong. A situation in which we are filled with powerful positive energies. We close our eyes and live it again, reminding ourselves of those experiences and emotions that we experienced in a memorable situation. We are trying to start these feelings again, to experience them again. It will be filled with them completely, completely.

5. We imagine somewhere next to us a kind of virtual amplifier (like a volume switch, sound switch). In this case, this amplifier will work as an amplifier of our experiences … Now, with the help of a virtual switch, we try to strengthen our inner emotions. We feel how the feelings generated through the resource memory increase their sound and become more expressive.

6. Imagine in the solar plexus area a kind of virtual sun - powerful, powerful, omnipotent. This sun will be the focus of our inner beautiful emotions. It is located in the heart, inner zone and radiates live, positive transmissions. We and all the space around is filled with light, strength, confidence, grace.

7. And now, without fear of anything, we put our problematic request (fear, insecurity, anxiety or accumulated tension) inside this sun and become witnesses of wonderful transformations: the space of love, blessing and good luck turns our problem into something very nice, safe, light and resourceful, there is no more fear, anxiety and tension. Our inner sun healed them, creating an amazing, magical miracle, producing them in a positive or neutral field.

8. We consolidate the result obtained. We gain clarity and confidence in solving the request problem.

9. We save our resource, we include it in the current content of life.

Case number 1

Request. The client (a very successful business woman) formulated the following request for the session: “To work out the current, increasingly intensifying and generally groundless anxiety”. She is worried only because last spring, following the example of the current period of her life, she was also very, very successful, but then, in the coming summer, she was unexpectedly stolen from a very expensive car, which was never found. The woman seemed to be "anchored", she is scared to relive a particularly successful (again coincidentally) spring business phase, followed by summer, accumulating and whipping up anxiety … She is frightened by the coincidence of seasonal dynamics. Particular success again falls on the spring. Spring naturally follows summer. And last summer grieved the woman extremely … And who knows what the current one is preparing?! …

The personification of anxiety. The woman imagined her anxiety as a small, nimble worm that haunted her. Having associated the anxiety state, we proceeded to the resource phase of the proposed practice - generating powerful self-confidence, strengthening a positive state of mind and launching an inner source of light, acceptance and goodness.

Moving the personified problem to the place of inner strength. Having moved the alarming worm into a powerful soulful sun, the woman was surprised to find that the worm had magically transformed into a beautiful angel. This transformation was a certain revelation for the woman (I will explain a little later). The client understood what she was really worried about, and by clarifying her anxious fears to herself in such a positive way, she let them go for good …

On the results of this work. In the previous two sessions, Lika (this client's name) had told me about a pregnant daughter-in-law who was expecting her first child. The son and daughter-in-law temporarily lived with Lika and the woman shared their hardships and concerns, especially going through the first pregnancy of her beloved daughter-in-law. During the practice, Lika realized that she was actually worried about her daughter-in-law - that is why she intuitively called her anxiety "a little worm", a human embryo at the first stages of its formation visually resembles a kind of "worm". But the worm naturally and remarkably turned, as it should be in such cases, into an angel. That is, it will be safely born in the near future to the delight of the grandmother and parents. In terms of time - presumably in the summer. It turns out that there is nothing to worry about. Summer promises a happy addition and the happiness of the birth of a woman's first grandson. Lika herself remarkably (and according to the expected circumstances very logically) predicted … This life period, apart from new, wonderful happiness in the upcoming summer season, did not foreshadow anything else … Anxiety left Lika completely without a trace …

Case number 2

Request. The female client, after a long maternity leave, intended to return to her professional activity, in which, shortly before pregnancy, she was extremely in demand and very, very successful. Until, according to the client, her boss began to maliciously harm her for competitive reasons. In the end, the boss called the woman for a frank conversation, explained to her the further undesirability of the woman in her position and forced her to quit her favorite job. The client had a hard time going through this life circumstance. Today's request for the session is related to anxiety about the upcoming return to work. The woman is afraid of possible ill will of employees, competition and confrontation similar to the past.

The personification of anxiety. The client's anxiety was firmly associated with the past boss.

Moving the personified problem to the place of inner strength. This alarming image was transformed in an amazing way, it suddenly disintegrated into 1000 beautiful fireworks sparks, from which there was a scent of celebration and victory.

On the results of this work. Olga (that was the name of the second client) suddenly realized that her previous sad experience was very, very resourceful for her: now she has nothing to fear - she already has an idea of such possible difficulties and now (if necessary) will be able to resist them, cope and not succumb to someone else pressure, harmful to her - now she will withstand and rise in her profession higher and further than the previous one. The unkind boss, whom she previously feared, became a useful teacher for her, and the situation with dismissal - a constructive lesson for the future. It was about this that the victorious salute communicated to her, intuitively caught by her subconscious in the work on the outlined practice. Olga let go of her anxiety and confidently set herself up for a quick and happy return to her beloved work.

Case number 3

Request. A young woman, 27 years old, also asked to work on anxiety about the future - inexplicable, difficult to comprehend at all.

Since this anxiety was not associated with any upcoming events that were immediate and understandable for the woman, I asked the client, in contrast to this state, to find in her past exactly the opposite feeling - confidence, stability. The answer came quickly: the woman felt confident in her school childhood, everything was clear, predictable and very comfortable there. Friends, parents, sisters, brothers - a sense of security, a large family, a stable life system.

At this point in time, a young couple with a child still lived with the woman's parents, but they were building their own country house, into which they thought to move in a year and a half … On the one hand, the woman looked forward to a long-awaited, separate life, on the other, she was worried for some reason …

Looking ahead, I will say that, according to the situation described, I assumed the existence of separation anxiety (the girl had to separate from her parents and start a separate, independent life on her territory; what kind of separate life the woman would not know, she never lived separately from her parents).

The personification of anxiety. The woman's anxiety was personified by a dirty spot inside. She managed to pull him out and leave him aside.

Moving the personified problem to the place of inner strength. After completing the phase of generating a powerful state of mind of confidence, positive, kindness, the woman placed an alarming spot in the place of inner strength. And the transformation that was carried out greatly pleased her: the woman saw how a dirty speck began to transform into something alive, soft and fluffy, reminiscent of a sprig of a blossoming willow … the kindest undertakings and events.

If we associate this transformation with the upcoming (albeit not soon) separation from parents (moving), then symbolic prompts promised Sophia the kindest and brightest changes. The client left me in an elated and cheerful mood, with a positive attitude towards the kindest and brightest future.

So, a short and easy psychological practice, which, of course, is most correct to carry out together with a psychologist, gives clients a stable, good mood and bright confidence in the future.

On this wonderful note, I invite everyone who wants to heal their mood to a psychological meeting with me. I will be glad to new clients! Certified psychologist - Alena Viktorovna Blishchenko.