Hi,
Thank you so much for joining me here today on Insight Timer.
My name is Crystal and I am an EFT tapping coach and guided meditation teacher.
I'd like to talk to you today about something we all experience at various points in our lives,
Discomfort.
Specifically the discomfort that comes with anxiety,
Hypochondria,
Or health anxiety and OCD.
These experiences can be incredibly challenging,
But today I want to share some perspectives and techniques that might help you to navigate them more effectively.
I personally am and have been working through all of these things,
So this is coming from a first-hand experience utilizing what I have learned and I wanted to share with you.
Let's start with the concept of radical acceptance.
This means accepting reality as it is without trying to change it.
It's about acknowledging the sensations in our body,
The feelings in our heart,
And the thoughts in our mind without judgment or resistance.
When we experience anxiety,
Health anxiety,
Or OCD,
Our instinct is often to fight these feelings or push them away.
However,
This resistance usually intensifies our discomfort.
What you resist persists.
Instead,
We can practice sitting with these sensations.
It's going to be really uncomfortable for the first few times that you do this,
But you can do it.
Let's try this together.
Close your eyes if you feel comfortable doing so,
And take a deep breath in through your nose if you can,
And then breathe out.
Notice where you feel any tension in your body.
It might be in your chest,
Your stomach,
Or your shoulders,
And just observe it without trying to change it.
Now,
I want you to set a timer for two minutes.
During these two minutes,
I want you to simply sit with the sensations you're experiencing.
Feel any tightness,
Tingling,
Heaviness,
Anxiety,
Nervousness,
Pulsing,
Racing heart,
Whatever sensations or emotions are coming up,
Any thoughts that are coming up.
Remind yourself these are just sensations.
These are just thoughts.
These are just feelings.
They are temporary,
And they do not define you.
Pause here for two minutes.
How did that feel?
It might have been pretty uncomfortable,
But that's okay.
The purpose of this exercise is to train our minds to coexist with discomfort without letting it control us.
Let's talk about feelings and thoughts.
Feelings are just that,
Feelings.
They are neither good and thoughts.
Feelings are just that,
Feelings.
They are neither good nor bad.
They just are.
Nothing has meaning until we give it meaning.
Similarly,
Thoughts are merely thoughts.
They do not have power over us unless we give it to them.
One helpful technique that I have learned is to externalize your thoughts and feelings by personifying them.
I call this the goblin technique.
Imagine your anxiety,
Your health anxiety,
Or your OCD as a little goblin.
This could be any little creature.
It can be a cute creature.
It can be an ugly creature.
Give your creature a name.
Maybe it's Nervous Ned or Worrying Wanda.
Visualize this creature when you start feeling overwhelmed by intrusive thoughts or sensations.
When your creature appears,
Acknowledge its presence.
Talk to it.
Ask,
What do you need from me?
Thank it for showing up.
That creature is trying to protect you and trying to keep you safe,
But a lot of times that creature is also dulling your shine.
It's making you afraid of the world even.
So it might sound silly but it helps you create a sense of separation between you and your thoughts or feelings.
It allows you to recognize that these intrusive thoughts and sensations are not a part of your core self.
They are just temporary visitors.
For example,
If your creature says it needs reassurance,
Acknowledge that need but also remind your creature,
Your goblin,
That you are in control.
You might say,
I understand that you want reassurance but I can handle this situation.
This dialogue can help reduce the power of those intrusive thoughts and create a more compassionate relationship with your inner experiences and it can help you bring your baseline of anxiety or panic or fear back down to a neutral position.
Remember,
The goal is not to eliminate the goblin but to change your relationship with it.
Over time,
And yes this takes time,
This is not a done overnight solution,
This takes time and practice and it's not always easy,
But we can learn from this and we can overcome.
Over time,
This practice can diminish the goblin's power over you and increase your resilience.
To sum up,
Sitting with the discomfort of anxiety,
Health anxiety,
And OCD and all the intrusive thoughts is not easy but it is possible.
By practicing radical acceptance,
Recognizing that sensations are just sensations,
Feelings are just feelings,
And thoughts are just thoughts,
We can begin to change our relationship with our discomfort.
Using tools like the two-minute timer,
Just set a timer for two minutes and sit with how you're feeling.
Once you start to get comfortable two minutes,
Increase it to three,
Four,
Five.
This technique takes practice but when you practice it,
You get better and better and better and the goblin technique even can provide practical ways to navigate these challenging experiences.
Remember,
They are experiences.
I encourage you to incorporate these practices into your daily routine.
The next time you feel overwhelmed,
Set that two-minute timer,
You can even go down to one,
30 seconds.
Start small and work your way up and sit with your sensation.
When intrusive thoughts arise,
Have a conversation with your little goblin,
Your creature.
With time and with practice,
You can develop a more peaceful and accepting relationship with your inner world.
Thank you so much for joining me today and I hope these techniques bring you some comfort and empowerment in your journey.
Cheers!
