Want To Let Go Of A Thought, Fear, Or Worry? Read This For The One Thing You Need To Know.

You're worried that you won't have enough money to pay the bills next month? Accept it.

You haven't been feeling well lately. You think you might have cancer and you only have a few months left to live. Maybe so. A lot of people die of illness.

Your partner has been distant. You keep thinking that they are having an affair with one of their coworkers. So what? You will be able to find someone else too.

Have you ever had a thought, worry, or concern take over your life? Maybe it was one that I mentioned. Maybe it was something else. Either way, it takes over your life. It's literally all you can think about.

You probably google signs and symptoms. Maybe you keep replaying a scenario in your head over and over. You keep making assumptions.

I have been in this situation for almost my whole life. It gets to to the point where you would do anything to have a peace of mind. To get your life back.

I know that my responses to the above scenarios sound harsh. But this, acceptance, has been a pivotal point in my life.

I believe one of the reasons that we keep obsessing over things is because of the uncertainty. Not necessarily the outcome itself. And this uncertainty causes us to conjure up the worst case scenarios. I guarantee that if one of those situations were true, we would handle it with courage and confidence. People do all the time.

If you really want to put your worries/obsessions or whatever you want to call them to rest, you need to do one thing: accept it. Yes, it's scary and yes, it takes a leap of faith. But just try it. Look at all the possible outcomes to your troubles (good and bad) and accept them. Tell yourself that if this is how it's going to be, you will handle it. Remind yourself that the world will not spin out of orbit if your fears come to fruition. Tell yourself you will worry about it once it actually happens (it usually doesn't). People are put in challenging situations all the time. You (and me) are no exception to that. You just got to deal with it.

Once you accept all the possible outcomes, anxiety about the unknown goes away. It has no choice but to. They are polar opposite ways of thinking and feeling.

Accepting the unknown outcome was what really allowed me to change my thought process. It gave me so much mental clarity. I never thought I would make it to this point. But I did and you can certainly can too.

I hope you find this helpful.

Ang

I wrote another article on a similar topic. You might find it helpful:
https://confessionsofanawakenedyouth.blogspot.ca/2017/04/do-you-have-repetitive-distressing.html

Do you have repetitive, distressing thoughts? Read this.

There you are. Minding your own business when a thought pops into your head. It could be anything. Then suddenly, a feeling of dread comes over you. The thought is ridiculous. You know that. But it will not leave you. For as long as I can remember, I had these crazy fear-inducing thoughts. They would never leave me! And when it finally did, another thought replaced it.

I remember feeling miserable in high school. I lost interest in just about everything. I felt little joy during Christmas or during other exciting times. I had a tightness in my chest and I remember going home from school with panic attacks. I believe I started to feel depressed.

I always hoped that this was a phase and that when I become an adult, it would go away. Well, in my early 20s these distressing thoughts still raced through my mind. Coincidentally, I majored in Psychology. And I do believe in every way that it was meant to be. I remember studying Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). A certain component of the disorder caught my attention. OCD may be characterized by intrusive, obsessive, and often disturbing thoughts.

I could write a book about my experiences and the sequence of events that helped me gain control of thoughts. Instead, I have complied a list of what helped bring me back to reality.

1. OCD is a mental illness

There is nothing actually wrong with you for having distressing thoughts. Just because you thought of your spouse getting into a car accident does not mean you want them to die. Understanding that this is a disorder helped me so much.

2. Acceptance

This one was scary for me. Let's say you're worried you have a terminal illness and you have 6 months left to live. Accept it. I would tell myself that whatever will be, will be and I will deal with it when (or if) it ever happens. Spoiler alert: it never happened.

3. The majority of what you dwell on don't actually happen.

Just know that not one of my obsessive thoughts ever became a reality. And 90 odd percent of obsessive thoughts do not become a reality.

4. Everyone's brains are weird

Everyone in the world has had weird thoughts pop in their head. You are not alone. But people with obsessive-compulsive tendencies will dwell on these thoughts. But your thoughts does not equate with reality. They... are... just... thoughts.

5. Talk to a professional

I know, it's awkward, "Hey doc. So, I had a thought of a baby's butt and now I'm worried I'm a pedophile". But talking to someone who understands may be the best thing that ever happened to you. I wish I had seen a professional. I could have put all this in the past a long time ago.

6. Your brain is like a muscle

Spend too much time fixated on a thought, and that thought will become stronger than even. This goes for recovery as well. Breaking bad habits takes time so don't expect a complete change overnight. Keep practicing and eventually you will be able to control your thoughts and anxiety.

Becoming worry-free was so surreal. I took on new interests and hobbies and excelled in school. Something I didn't do before because my thoughts would distract and drain me.

Do I still have OCD? No, I don’t think so. Thoughts and anxiety no longer negatively affect my daily life. Do I still have obsessive-compulsive tendencies? I do. But the more time that passes, the stronger I become.

I can't wait for you experience that moment when you realize you are finally on your way to becoming worry-free. And I hope this is the beginning for you, if you haven't started already. And when feel yourself sink back into your thoughts, I hope you remember something  I said and brings you back to reality. Back to living and just being happy.  

Angie