Be free of panic attacks and performance anxiety with this simple 2-step technique…
For panic attacks or performance anxiety to occur, you need to keep your attention on something that causes you to have the unwanted thoughts and feelings. In such cases attention is fixated (tunnel awareness) either on the undesired aspect of the situation that’s unfolding, or the negative self-talk that’s running in our mind, or both. Inboth scenarios, the skill of open awareness immediately inhibits the body’s stress mode (fight or flight) and calms the mind.
By practicing the Open Awareness (OA) techniques regularly (at least once per day for a week), you will begin to find that you can drop into the state of OA quite swiftly and effortlessly. The more you practice it, the more it becomes your natural reflex in challenging situations (which is when you need it most).
2 steps to reduce panic and anxiety:
STEP 1: Open Awareness
For panic attacks or performance anxiety to occur, you need to keep your attention on the thing that causes you to have the unwanted thoughts and feelings. In such cases attention is fixated (tunnel awareness) either on the undesired aspect of the situation that’s unfolding, or the negative self talk that’s running in our mind, or both. In both scenarios, the skill of open awareness immediately inhibits the body’s stress mode (fight or flight) and calms the mind.
Applied open awareness is one the Authentic Self Empowerment skills. The optimal version of this skill to deal with both panic attacks and performance anxiety is the one that listeners are guided through in this audio recording. Once you have listened to the recording a few times and practiced it by yourself at least once per day for a week, then you will begin to find that you can drop into the state of open awareness quite swiftly and effortlessly. The more you practice it, the more it becomes your natural reflex in challenging situations (which is when you need it most).
STEP 2: Roll out the red carpet
In may seem counter-intuitive, but in this step you welcome each and every aspect of your current experience as it is. What we resist persists, so make sure that you are not resisting anything. I know it sounds crazy to welcome panic or anxiety, but trust me, this works! You simply imagine rolling out a red carpet and whole-heartedly welcome your experience like a VIP guest. Whatever symptom you are experiencing, let it be, welcome it! Doing this drains the energy from panic attacks and performance anxiety.
IMPORTANT:
The open awareness skill goes hand-in-hand with the red carpet metaphor. If you are in tunnel awareness then the red carpet metaphor might not be as effective.
Open awareness must be practiced in order for it to become embodied. Only once it is embodied does it become easy to apply in times of need. In each practice session first establish open awareness and then add in the red carpet metaphor (and make each practice session fun and light-hearted). Sooner or later you may find that what used to trigger those old panicky feelings begins to loose its grip on you, since your unconscious mind will know that you can easily deal with those triggers should they show up.
Summary:
STEP 1: Establish open awareness
STEP 2: Roll out the red carpet and welcome your experience like a VIP guest.
You might be surprised at how well this simple 2-step technique can work for you. It’s safe, effective and fun!
Note: Sometimes panic attacks or performance anxiety occur as a result of severe traumatic events in one’s past, for which there are additional steps required to heal the ‘root cause’. If you feel that your level of panic or anxiety is too intense to take care of yourself, then consider a private consultation with an Open Awareness facilitator.
Related article: To discover how Jevon used a technique like the one above to survive a medical crisis, read here.
