The movie “Patch Adams” introduced us to a pediatrician who wore the red, bulbous nose of a clown. No matter how strong your will or how Herculean your effort you cannot succeed at NOT thinking of that red, clown’s nose. It is likewise futile so strive to NOT feel anxious. You can, however, implement some dynamic strategies.
FIRST – (and this is the winner of the “no duh” award) find a psychologist for whom neurodivergent anxiety is their specialty. You could begin with this FREE data base https://NdTherapists.com .
SECOND – choose lifestyle therapies such as sleep hygiene, fresh air, sunshine, exercise, whole-food vegan meals, recreation, and socializing.
THIRD – avoid active concentration or contemplation for such things exhaust your prefrontal cortex and trigger your amygdala (the seat of aggression and anxiety)… yes, you could unleash even more anxiety which would be an irony worthy of O. Henry.
FOURTH – implement authentic techniques of mindfulness and meditation that rely upon your autonomic nervous system. For that could calm your anxious and aggressive amygdala as well as stimulate your empathetic anterior cingulate gyrus.
FIFTH – for those of us caught in the delirium of anxiety seated meditation could be far too stimulating. Better to replace it with brisk walking meditation. With your physician’s blessings you could walk for twenty, forty, or even sixty minuets every twelve hours or so. As you inhale you could silently and mentally recite “perceiving” and as you exhale you could (again) silently and mentally recite “releasing.” Dr. Thom Hartmann explores this in his book “Walking your Blues Away.”
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