You Are Not Your Anxiety

Hey there, it's Joy. Thanks for showing up. Today's practice will include some guided journaling prompts, so if you can, grab your journal or a piece of paper you can write on. Feel free to hit pause if you need to get your materials, and if journaling isn't available to you, you're welcome to just reflect mentally. I'd like to start with an important reminder. You are not your anxiety. It's something you have the power to work with, not fight with. Anxiety doesn't always look the same for everyone, and there isn't a one size fits all way to manage your anxiety. Finding what works for you is an important part of your self-care journey. And before we move forward, we do want to mention, if your anxiety is intense, persistent, and interrupts your daily life, consider reaching out to a mental health expert or asking your doctor for support. At Shine, a practice we love for managing anxiety is called the four Rs. The four Rs stand for relabeling, reattributing, refocusing, and revaluing, and they're a technique created by therapist Elizabeth Earnshaw to help you hit pause when anxious thoughts start to overwhelm you. Today, we'll work through all the four Rs together. Let's get started. Find yourself in a comfy position, whether that's sitting or standing. And gently close your eyes if you can. And take a deep breath in and out. Just breathe here for a few moments. Start to imagine a field of tall grass or golden wheat stretching out in front of you all the way to the horizon. Every time you inhale, imagine the wheat bends towards you, pulled by your breath. And every exhale, see the grass ripple as it gently bends away, pushed by the air you breathe out. Try to make your breaths slow and even so that you see the golden grass ripple away then towards you, back and forth. As you breathe in and out, hear the grass moving and feel the breeze as the grass bends and sways around you with each of your breaths. I'll give you some time to practice on your own. Great job. If you're journaling today, take a moment to open your eyes and return to the space you're in. If you're planning to reflect mentally, you can keep your eyes closed. We're going to work with an anxious thought you've had recently. So I want you to pick one that comes to mind. Look for a stressful what if that came up recently. Maybe about the week ahead or this season of your life. Make sure it's something you are comfortable working with today. If you don't wanna go there, you could make up something to work with, or reflect on a past anxiety that's since quieted. If you're writing, write that worry on your sheet of paper. I'll give you a moment Now, let's work with this worry using the four Rs. We'll start by relabeling. When you are in...