Realizing Insanity: Anxiety & Symptoms

Albert Einstein is often quoted for having the following definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.My question to the forum members here is this, how many of you realize the correlation between your anxiety and symptoms but yet can't stop obsessing over your symptoms which thus drives you to experience yet more symptoms? Insanity anyone? Realizing this relationship is the first step, but continuing to do everything in your life that led you to where you are now just leads you down the same path and never takes you to step 2, changing course! As many of you know I'm a big advocate for techniques like hypnosis, self-hypnosis, and meditation because they all allow you to get into an ultra-relaxed state of body and mind. Our normal waking state of consciousness happens with the brain in the beta range for wavelength. When you get into a mild state of hypnosis or meditation you slow those brainwaves down to the alpha range. A deep state is in the theta range, just before delta which is the sleep state. How many of you feel your thoughts going a mile a minute when you are experiencing stress or anxiety over your health, symptoms, or even in other areas of your life? You feel out of control and helpless, correct?Learn to slow your mind down! That is what it is all about really, mental discipline. The more you actively work at it, the easier it gets and the more in control of your state of consciousness becomes. Anxiety, stress, fear, and worry all become much less severe because you learn the discipline to center yourself. If you want to continue down the same old path and get frustrated that you aren't making any positive progress, feel free to experience insanity. I personally enjoy the empowerment that came along with learning mental discipline. There are so many resources out there to help people learn different techniques to do this. You can see a professional hypnotherapist, buy hypnosis CDs, play hypnosis videos on youtube, join meditation groups in your area, or even read books on the subject. Do something different and outside of the box if you've been on the same path for long enough to know that you aren't getting anywhere you want to be. Get off that path. Try something new. I just wanted to post this for those of you who seem to be stuck in a rut and may not even realize it. No matter what you do, the path you take is always ultimately up to you.Namaste.

Namaskar Secret agent man!!!... thanks for your post... YOU ARE ABSOLUTEY as my therapist told me yesterday, If you continue doing the same things and having the same thoughts you are gonna have the same results always. I know that with BFS is difficult because sometimes is so annoying feeling your body twitching here and there everiday all the day (or amost)... but we have to try. Now I am trying with meditation and another technique (I do not the name in english) but I hope it calms my mind. I am also thinking in new projects with music, something that I always wanted to do ) Nice day, Fabi

That is wonderful news Fabiola! I am glad to hear that you are venturing outside of your old 'programming' to actively change your future for the better. There was a huge life lesson in coping with BFS that I learned, and that was to move beyond my own ego, that part of all of us that wants to control the aspects of our life and constantly supplies new fears and worries about maintaining that control (which is ultimately unobtainable). This is why the ego is a black hole of need, attention, and drama when it is out of balance with the rest of you. You can never adequately satisfy the ego. A lot of people judge the ego to be a part of us that is evil or wrong, but this leads to an internal conflict. The ego is a part of who you are and thus cannot be eliminated or suppressed. The key, as always, is balance. Keep the ego in balance with your head and your heart and you will be at peace. Meditation allowed me to gain the perspective to not only realize this for myself, but provided me the means to obtain and maintain it. There is something about taking your conscious mind into the alpha and theta brainwave states that allows you to observe your own cause and effect relationships of thinking. Many times when we are caught up in living our daily lives we react certain ways to certain things without ever thinking about how this is helpful or harmful to our well-being. If you have a twitch for example you might automatically react with fear or frustration, negative emotions related to stress. In a deep state of self-reflection you can look at this reaction you have almost as if you are an outsider looking down at yourself. You ponder how this reaction is either helping or hurting you and you can intend to react a different way. When you come out of your meditation the next time you have a twitch you will suddenly realize that you have a choice, rather than just knee jerk reacting with fear or frustration. In this moment you can take the opportunity to capitalize on the path you intended in your state of self-reflection. Another example might be the next time somebody cuts you off on the highway. Rather than responding in anger or road raging, you can accept it, forgive and move on. Don't give petty things power over your happiness.Meditation has benefited my life in so many positive ways I can't adequately do it justice in a forum post. I used to think it would be boring, but instead found it incredibly rewarding. Keep doing what you are doing and you'll conquer your fear and worries.