Anxiety thoughts and feelings can be all-consuming when your mental health is suffering. In this blog, I share with you what I learnt on my journey with anxiety.
Anxiety thoughts and feelings can be all-consuming when your mental health is suffering. In this blog, I share with you what I learnt on my journey with anxiety.
When your mental health is suffering, the anxious thoughts and feelings are loud and constant. Today we’ll talk about what inner voices are and why they are lying to you.
You are going to learn my tops tips for recognising anxiety thoughts and how to best deal with them.
This post is about why Anxiety Thoughts and Feelings are lying to you.
(Note/Disclaimer: This is just research completed by me and what I used to help myself, I do not have any medical qualifications and recommend you talk with your doctor)
Anxiety thoughts and feelings are lying to you.
Thoughts, inner voice or internal monologue.
You know those thoughts you hear in your head that appear like your biggest bully, and that bully seems like it’s you?
The thoughts go something along the lines of…
‘I’m ugly’ | ‘That’s too much for me’ | ‘I’m useless’ | ‘I can’t do that’ | ‘I’m fat’ | ‘It’s all going to go wrong’ | ‘I’m stupid’ | ‘I can’t do this’ | ‘I’m going to mess it up’ | ‘I shouldn’t even try’ | ‘It’s all too much’.
Not only does it hurt your feelings, just like when a bully would say things. But it also makes you believe them to be true because it can seem like it’s your own voice telling you.
A plethora of studies have been done on what our inner thoughts actually are. Because everyone experiences their inner thoughts differently it’s hard to say exactly what’s normal and what isn’t when it comes to our inner voice. Whether we experience it all day or only occasionally. Can we hear our inner voice or do we see it?
Studies based on self-reports vary so much, researchers have many different answers.
One thing we do know is that those inner thoughts can become predominately negative.
Healthline notes:
“A critical inner voice may develop during times of extreme stress. It’s also sometimes seen in mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression. In such cases, your mind may engage in negative self-talk by criticizing the way you work, socialize, participate in family circles, and more.”
From the many self-help books I’ve read over the years, I have learnt that your thoughts aren’t actually 100% you. Your subconscious is doing multiple things at once and occasionally a thought will be thrown your way for you to hear. Now just because I know this doesn’t mean I use this information wisely.
When Anxiety is over for tea.
I started to pay attention to when I feel like me, or the times when Anxiety is with me. There’s a different feeling and if you’ve experienced either, you’ll know.
I started asking my body how it feels, if it is calm, I am me. If there’s something questionable or off, anxiety or depression are with me.
Not only do I pay attention to how I feel physically but I also pay attention to my thoughts. Over time of experiencing both, I’ve learnt that anxiety and depression lie. When they talk to you, they sound like you, they feel like your thoughts so you believe them to be true. Those thoughts about being unworthy, not ready. But those thoughts aren’t you.
If I hear a thought that I wouldn’t say to my friend, I choose for it not to be me.
It’s not you.
This is definitely an easier-said-than-done moment. But if you catch yourself thinking something that makes you feel less valuable than you really are (and trust me you are). Take a second to listen but realise that you unknowingly invited anxiety, depression, or both over for tea. They are uninvited guests, but every tea party has to end at some point.
Having this awareness about when I feel like me and when it is anxiety gives me strength. It feels like anxiety hasn’t taken complete control. I can listen to it, but I don’t need to become it.
This helps my self-esteem when I feel like myself. When I feel at peace and calm, I appreciate being me. Which lifts my spirits more because I feel stronger against anxiety and depression. On the road to recovery, they don’t always have control over me all of the time, and there’s strength in that.
So separate yourself from anxiety, and be aware when it is talking to you, and when it is in control of your feelings. When this happens know you are not you right now, anxiety is over for tea. They will leave, and soon you will be you again feeling at peace.
Anxiety can be loud.
This is why you need to be strong with your affirmations. Your voice needs to talk back to anxiety stronger than you can hear it. Sometimes if you try to talk back to anxiety it creates more of an argument in your head. Like arguing with a friend who has a different opinion to you. This can sometimes cause you to waiver on your opinions.
So when anxiety is at the tea party, let it speak, but you only need to listen. You don’t need to believe it.
You can respond with ‘You’re lying’ or ‘I don’t receive that.’ Once you feel more like yourself, begin your positive affirmations to yourself. It’s great to place positive affirmations around the house too. This way you read them subconsciously but they are still heard by you and anxiety.
When you start feeling stronger in yourself, you can talk back to anxiety tell it it’s lying and say your affirmations.
I promise once you can remove yourself from the thought, you will get stronger and anxiety will enjoy your company less and less until it is no longer there. You might feel far from this at the moment, and that’s okay, do what you can at the moment.
To recap.
- Separate yourself from the thought.
- Understand it’s not you. Anxiety and depression are here for tea.
- If you’re strong enough, speak back. If you aren’t ready, wait until their voices are a little quieter and then start your affirmations.
- You will get stronger. Anxiety will get weaker. Depression will get weaker.
This post was all about how Anxiety Thoughts and Feelings are lying to you.
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