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CALM – Conquering Anxiety with the Linden Method
The Linden Method Newsletter
Issue 5
Hi Donald,
Welcome to CALM, Conquering Anxiety with the Linden Method .
This issue includes…
1. “ Reject anxiety management… Embrace anxiety elimination!” My anxiety was like a house guest that outstayed its welcome! All those years and all that effort I invested accommodating it, and making it feel at home! Crazy! So, do as I did… and kick it out using my Method!
2. Andy is a singer in a band. “Anxiety is never fun! But a career in entertainment is impossible to pursue when you have to work every day around your anxiety!” Find out how anxiety ruled Andy’s life for many years… and how he used The Linden Method to eliminate it so he could live h is dream!
3. “anxiety bites…”. My useful and inspiring audio tools! Download your FREE audio on how to eliminate anxiety using my Method. Why let anxiety CONTROL YOU… when using my Method, you can quickly start to CONTROL THE ANXIETY! Don’t manage… eliminate!
4 “What do YOU think?” Tell me what you think of CALM… suggestions, ideas and feedback are always welcome!
1. “Reject anxiety management… Embrace anxiety elimination!”
My son, Charlie, and I were recently watching one of those television shows featuring these really intelligent animals and their funny exploits. Charlie was giggling at the antics of a squirrel, as it calculated how best to tackle a series of progressively difficult challenges on what looked like a mini-assault course, each stage designed to test its ingenuity and mental agility. Of course, all the squirrel was interested in was the prize at the end of the trail… a cache of nuts!
To begin with the squirrel went for the most obvious route… and wasted a lot of time and energy in the pointless pursuit of trying to chew its way into the clear plastic box containing the nuts! But gradually the squirrel worked out that sheer force wasn’t the answer…
And so began a series of trial and error challenges which saw the squirrel work strategically back from its end goal - in order to ultimately achieve it! And eventually all it’s hard work paid off and it got the nuts!
I found myself thinking how incredible the brain is… so much so that even a tiny creature such as a squirrel can figure out how to problem solve and think strategically. So, consider the potential (often untapped!) of the human brain!
I got to thinking… One of the most consistent things I’ve come to realise over the years that I’ve been helping people with The Linden Method, is just how bright these anxiety sufferers are - without exception!
But ironically, I believe this sheer intelligence and strength of character combine to cause, and indeed perpetuate, their anxiety. What do I mean?
Anxiety sufferers are highly intelligent. Fact. I have seen some sufferers create the most elaborate coping mechanisms to help them manage their anxiety. They’d need to be incredibly bright to devise and integrate these coping strategies into their every day routine! It is so apparent that every sufferer, regardless of their academic achievements is at the high end of the Intelligence Quotient (IQ).
So, rather than eliminating the anxiety and robbing it of its power at its root, anxiety sufferers will invest time, intelligence, energy and imagination into creating the means of coping with life on a daily basis. What an incredible waste of ingenuity and intelligence!
Everyday issues, situations and routine trials that we normally take in our stride become major challenges to anxiety sufferers. Life can becomes a war, where the simplest of things can wear you down. In fact, it gets to the stage sometimes where anxiety sufferers fear their inability to cope more than they fear their anxiety.
So, people with anxiety draw upon vast mental resources in their daily battles to deal with these normal events. I see them do this every day – just as I used to. I’ve spoken with people who…
- · never go driving in certain weather conditions or along certain busy routes just in case something goes wrong with the car…
- · become tremendously superstitious and develop complex mantras which they must repeat continually - otherwise something awful might happen…
- · avoid certain places or events because of the fear they might get involved in some kind of commotion or incident or become the centre of attention…
- · place immense pressure on themselves to be the ‘perfect’ partner/son/wife/employee because they hate any kind of emotional confrontation…
- ALL of these people are - without exception – incredibly intelligent and brave. They also suffer with anxiety.
ALL of these people THINK they are exerting control over their condition by devising what appear to be rational coping strategies. This way they believe they are minimizing the chance of them becoming anxious and experiencing a panic attack. In reality all they are minimizing is their chance at leading a fulfilling life.
ALL of these people are MANAGING their anxiety instead of ELIMINATING it. And by simply trying to cope with it, they are severely limiting their lives because, believe me…
- · it’s not long before the anxious car driver avoids using the car in any weather or on any route… and often it’s simply a matter of time before he stops driving altogether…
- · the mantras provide no protection against the unexpected… they just begin to t ake control of you by becoming obsessions…
- · by avoiding crowded places, the anxious person may gradually develop feelings of paranoia or even extreme agoraphobia…
- · by avoiding confrontation by trying to be something you’re not and never will be – ie. ‘perfect’ – emotional pressure mounts and so confrontation becomes almost inevitable …
- You see, by failing to address the anxiety at its core, it will grow and grow and grow… ultimately affecting EVERY part of your life - NEGATIVELY!
It’s a tragic waste of time and effort because I know that if anxiety sufferers focussed on ELIMINATING THE ANXIETY itself and STOPPED TRYING TO MANAGE IT BY FOCUSSING ON THE EXTERNAL SYMPTOMS… if they did that, they’d be able to just simply walk away from their daily battles totally unscathed, and with a renewed energy and enthusiasm to invest in living their life!
That’s why it makes me so angry to hear stories where people have been affected by anxi ety for years and years. Their whole lives have been dictated to by an unwanted guest that has outstayed its welcome! Kick that guest out!
The solution is so simple. It doesn't require effort, time or unwanted fear. It's so easy and actually quite enjoyable! The sense of fulfillment and relief is so fast and exciting.
So, you’re probably wondering - why did a program about squirrels get me thinking about you?! Please don’t take offence! Of course, the human brain is vastly more intelligent than that of a small mammal such as a squirrel!
I just remember as I watched the squirrel… feverishly working out how to use its body weight or its physical agility to open this or push that… constantly getting drawn into a longer and ever more complex trail of challenges… and all the while I was thinking, if it only knew the truth, all it had to do was click the button and slide open the box of nuts.
Simple… if you kno w how (and of course a thumb comes in useful too!)
AND THAT’S WHAT MADE ME THINK OF YOU!
It’s simple when you know how . And how do you know how…? Well, that’s the beauty of my Method. Like the squirrel, I did all that running around during my anxious years… (NO, I wasn't searching for my nuts!)... I was feverishly looking into every feasible remedy and every anxiety treatment… discarding this bit, making use of that… developing my Method over years SO NOW YOU DON’T HAVE TO WASTE THAT TIME AND ENERGY!
I am convinced that obsessing about your anxiety – just as the squirrel obsessed about his quest for the nuts – is ultimately harmful to you… not that it will make you ill, but that it will restrict your enjoyment of life. Yes you could spend time and effort and energy in managing your anxiety whilst you search or wait for a cure. But I believe that this will perpetuate your anxiety – not eliminate it. You’re intelligent enough to have devised ways of coping on a day to day basis – but is that what you really want?! Is ‘coping’ enough?!
I’m sure that, given the choice, the squirrel would rather have cut out all the strategies, all the problem solving, all the running around… if it had just been able to open the box and eat the nuts. What do you think?!
2. Andy’s story
Andy is a part-time singer with a band - with full-time aspirations! “Oh, it was always my dream to be in a band. My parents say I started singing before I could talk. I’d just wail along to songs on the radio! They couldn’t make a single word out and said it sounded awful!”
At school, Andy loved music and excelled on the piano. But it was the electric guitar that was his real passion. “I got my first Fender when I was seventeen and haven’t bothered with any other instrument since. I was playing in bands from age fifteen and never really spent any time studying. Music was – and is – everything to me.”
Everything was fine… until Andy became anxious. “I wasn’t aware I was anxious for a long time. I suppose at first I just put stuff down to my being a bit superstitious. Silly things really… like I’d tell the guys in the band that we had to perform the songs in a certain routine or set the stage out in a set way… otherwise I’d think the night would go wrong in some way. Pretty soon, it was getting out of hand. ”
Before it got better, Andy’s anxiety got a whole lot worse. Read more about how anxiety ruled Andy’s life… until he came across The Linden Method at: http://www.panic-anxiety.com/andysstory.asp
3. “anxiety bites… REJECT ANXIETY MANAGEMENT, EMBRACE ANXIETY ELIMINATION.”
With today’s issue of CALM, you can download “anxiety bites… REJECT ANXIETY MANAGEMENT, EMBRACE ANXIETY ELIMINATION.” Fed up with leading a life restricted by terms set out by your anxiety? DON’T!
Exclusive to CALM members, you can hear my ideas on how you can use my Method to CONTROL YOUR ANXIETY… RATHER THAN LETTING ANXIETY CONTROL YOU! You can download this by clicking here (3mb, windows wav format).
4. “What do YOU think?” Tell me what you think of CALM… please e-mail your thoughts and feedback to CALM@panic-anxiety.com
Take care and don’t forget to contact us should you need advice or support.
Regards
Charles Linden
www.anxiety-beater.com
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