anxietyAre you suffering with panic attacks or waking up in the middle of the night with your heart palpitating unable to stop your mind from racing?  Many people experience and may even be overwhelmed by this type of anxiety. And since anxiety and SVT go hand in hand, below I share one of my favorite tools to help combat stress and get to the heart of the matter.

My belief is that anxiety pops up for a reason…its a teacher, a friend, who is telling us to pay attention to our feelings or something that we have been choosing to avoid. Maybe it’s time to take a new approach and “feel, deal and heal” the issue?

So, what can you do to get this process rolling?  Try journaling!

If your anxiety is waking you up at night or early in the morning…grab a pen and notebook and sit down and start writing!  Ask your anxiety questions…what is it trying to say?

What needs attention? What does it want you to hear and listen to or act on or let out? Tell it that you will listen to it for a half hour…it has your undivided attention…and let your pen start to write…Usually within one or two pages some of the real issues will begin to emerge….something you most likely have been avoiding, someone you are angry at, a mess you don’t know how to clean up…whatever it is…just listen. Give yourself permission to let it out on paper….give your soul a chance to speak.

Journaling gives you time to hear, time to connect, time to gain insight or make a plan, journaling is a way for you to tune in to yourself so you can hear the messages and feelings that we are all too busy to heal. Journaling is a way for us to communicate with our emotions, and needs. The writing process can help us to feel it and honor it ourselves and get the self-generated answers within. and know that its showing up to avoid a bigger health problem, or a louder wake up call that may be on the horizon.

I have been journaling my whole life…some times more than others….My journal is the first place I go when I need answers or want to hear my intuition. I have suffered from anxiety on many different levels throughout my life. There have been times when I couldn’t leave the house, to times when I was felt so free I was able to travel on a sailboat half way around the world. I know how crippling anxiety can be, but I also know that it’s here to teach you and guide you and that the sooner you make friends with it, the sooner it will move on and out of your life….