Fleeing

I woke up feeling really anxious. I was having a flight or flight moment. After thinking about it, I realized I had “anxiety producing” doctor’s  appointment tomorrow,  (not all doctor appointments are anxiety producing).  So before I go down the path of negativity about myself, I need to push the pause button and remember that every time I go to this type of an appointment, sick or well, I have the same flight or fright reaction.  Rather than going after myself I need to accept that what is happening is normal for me.

Now comes the tricky part, once a flight or flight reaction is activated what can I do to mix it up a bit so it’s not so powerful. The first thought is to try to dodge the flight or flight reaction.  But I know from experience that the anxiety will not go away until the event that has triggered it is over.

At this point it is only about reminding myself that what I am feeling is not appropriate to the actual situation I’m facing.  However, this is hard when the thought tide is going the other direction.  Here is the potential plan of attack: I will put up a sign  saying “flight or fright” has been triggered. With that knowledge I can then be reminded to do things that distract my thought stream.  Meditation is a beginning. From there, I can start tapping my leg.  For some   reason unknown to me when I tap something, my thought pattern is disrupted.  However, the most successful  technique is  practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness is to stay in the moment. Like right now I’m writing.