The Science Behind the Law of Attraction Magazine October, 2015 | Page 4

How M edi t at i on
Can Hel p An x i et y
By Deepak Chopra, MD
Fear is a negative emotion unless you are facing an
actual threat and need to fight or flee. The usefulness
of fear is minimal in daily life, particularly in the form
of anxiety. Stressful events can produce short-term
anxiety in almost everyone, which disappears after
the event. But for an estimated 6.8 million Americans
with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), anxiety is a
chronic condition they can?t shut off. All of us know
people we accept as ?born worriers,? but in reality
being in a state of chronic anxiety can severely limit
their daily activity.
You probably know already if you worry excessively.
Almost nothing is free from worry, in fact, if you have
chronic anxiety, even the smallest thing can trigger it.
You find yourself with fearful thoughts about
finances, family, your health, and what?s happening at
work. Some days you?d rather hide under the covers.
The first thing to realize is that reality isn?t what?s
actually worrying you, but it?s your fixed habit of
mind that is causing you to respond to everything
with anxiety. Second, you need to look rationally at
the anxiety response and concede that you are not
improving it by feeling anxious. This seems obvious
to non-worriers, but somewhere inside, many ?born
worriers? believe they are taking care of situations
that others are overlooking, like whether they
remembered to lock up the house or turn off the gas
stove. Any trigger can provoke worry, so the question
is how to prevent this from happening.
Because of the mind-body connection, you should
also consider the physical side of anxiety. Even if you
have accepted worry as a tolerable trait, it exacts a
price in the form of insomnia, easy startle response,
fatigue, irritability, muscle tension, headaches,
inability to relax, trembling, twitching, feeling out of
breath, and various stomach and digestive problems.
If these persist for more than six months after
something bad has happened to you, a diagnosis of
GAD may be appropriate. Even if your symptoms are
manageable, you shouldn?t have to live this way.
Anticipating the worst, which has become a habit
even when no threat is in sight, distorts how you
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