How Anxiety Lies to You and Ways to Rise Above
It can be difficult to distinguish between the truth and anxiety’s deception. Many of us are unable to distinguish between our “anxiety” and “wise” voices. Anxiety’s lies instill uncertainty, worry, and trepidation—even when there is no evidence to support these emotions.
Paradoxically, we may be more prone to anxiety’s unfounded assertions because of it. It’s easier to assume that your worst-case scenarios are true if you already have unusual bodily sensations, question whether you’re crazy, and think at a mile a minute. Anxiety triumphs once more.
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So, where does anxiety reside? And how do you confront yourself with reality?
How Is Your Anxiety Lying To You?
Anxiety alters your internal compass, making it more difficult to detect its lies. It is also capable of producing self-fulfilling prophecies.
Anxiety can alter how your brain works
The amygdala is a brain area associated with your anxious experience and responses. Anxious people have an overactive and larger amygdala, which makes it simpler to have a stress response following an event. Your worry may be putting you in a physiological loop where you exaggerate threats.
Anxiety leads to cognitive distortions
Cognitive distortions occur when your brain over or under-exaggerates information received. Anxiety, for example, can make you believe that a little error is a lasting failure. Anxiety, on the other hand, can cause you to minimize positive input, so you never recognize when you’ve done a good job.
Anxiety makes you believe you’re in danger even when you’re not
When we are anxious, our brains are continually hunting for hazards. We may avoid new experiences, career prospects, and social gatherings because they make us feel threatened. However, avoiding people out of fear is also ineffective. CBT and DBT techniques can help you learn to recognize true risk and develop self-preservation skills.
Anxiety makes you believe you are less valuable than other people
We may be concerned that asking for assistance will make others feel burdened or that they will think less of us. We may be afraid of getting in trouble for asking for what we are entitled to.
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Anxiety tells you that you’re a failure when all you’ve done is make a mistake
The desire for control is the basis of worry. There is more control in KNOWING that you are a failure than in believing that you might mess up at any time. To avoid feeling like a failure, we must accept that there are some things over which we have no control.
Anxiety makes you feel like you’re not a lovely person
Anxiety might lead us to believe that we are awful individuals. It instills in us feelings of hatred and self-doubt. It inhibits our ability to achieve anything we’ve ever sought. This is without a doubt the biggest misconception because we believe that if we work hard enough, success will come to us.
How To Rise Above Your Anxiety Lying To You
Relieve stress and investigate the lie. Get that extra energy out first; it’s a great way to relax. Perform jumping jacks, violently shake your arms, legs, and body, or stair climb for a few minutes.
As a further stage, begin observing your thoughts. Consider yourself an observer, monitoring your thoughts like a slideshow.
Back to reality: Anxiety’s black-and-white thinking denies the reality of grey zones in life, frequently compelling you to believe one of two lies. Life can be difficult and hazy at times, and no one can know everything with total clarity.
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Use self-compassion and a clear perspective to go forward: You must reflect on your cognitive processes to form opinions or make judgments with clarity. Then proceed to show kindness to yourself. Disconnect from your rushing thoughts, accept yourself as you are, and recognize your worth in the face of anxiety and its lies.
Conclusion
It is very normal to have nervous thoughts, and the goal is not to reduce your anxiety. However, being conscious of anxiety will make you less prone to its lies.
You may counteract your anxiety’s bad thoughts by recognizing when it is lying to you.
Then you will be able to defy the lies that your worry is trying to convince you of. Remember, no matter how persistent they are, they are not true.
