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Like a Fly on the Ass of an Elephant
An Odd Technique I Use to Cope with Anxiety and Distress
I have what’s known as “generalized anxiety disorder.” As the name would suggest, it’s a diagnostic condition that is, by definition, unspecific.
In other words, my anxiety is not attached to or caused by a specific single event, problem or fear. No, no. That would be far too easily addressable.
My anxiety is ambiguous and amorphous in nature. It is “free-floating.” It’s like a rogue group of traveling cancer cells that can metastasize onto anything in my mind, multiply and corrupt.
My anxiety’s (mal)adaptive essence makes it quite confounding to battle. Whenever or wherever I think I have it boxed in or tamped down, it’s only a matter of time until it pops up again. Like an endless game of whack-a-mole.
My default pattern of thinking typically leads me to race off into the future, predicting what will occur (often with little, if any, evidence) and then conclude that a terrible outcome is inevitable.
That is, if I allow myself to buy into unhelpful thinking.
Today, my condition is much more manageable than it once was — thanks to years of therapy, disciplined practice and many great teachers. This story is about several techniques to…
