Free The Fear and Anxiety Solution by PhD Friedemann MD Schaub Page A

antelope, through a desperate move, manages to escape. Once the immediate danger is over, the antelope starts shaking vigorously, jumping up and down several times before it calmly trots off. You may have seen your dog launching into a full-body shake after a visit to the vet. I watch my cats doing the same every time I abruptly end their hunt for food by taking them off the kitchen counter. Originally I interpreted the cats’ shaking as an expression of disgust with me. Then I learned that the reason for this behavior is that animals are literally shaking off the anxiety and emotional charge that the previous, stressful situation created. By immediately getting the unwanted energy out of their system, they find closure and resolution with what happened. Once again, nature proves to be very clever.
    Babies or small children still exhibit this healthy instinct. It shows up in their boundless ability to express emotions without restraint the moment they’re born. As they grow up, this natural response of freely releasing emotions is no longer appreciated, and it’s discouraged by adults. Little boys are told to toughen up and stop crying. As a friend of mine said, “Once they hit kindergarten, they often adopt these blank expressions so as not to betray their emotions. They stand with their hands in their pockets, little tough guys. It’s heartbreaking.” Little girls also work very hard on not being perceived as oversensitive cry babies to avoid being teased or rejected. In school, children quickly learn that unless they sit still and suppress the sudden impulses to get up or speak up, they will have to face unpleasant consequences. Very early in their lives, they come to understand that it’s no longer appropriate to express or even notice emotions. To be accepted and fit in, they must learn how to squelch and suppress their feelings.
    Wouldn’t you agree that at least some of this pressure to emotionally conform also affected you? And isn’t it also true that as an adult you try to hide emotions such as anxiety or worries? Maybe it’s because you believe that to express them would be seen as a sign of weakness or that nobody would like to listen to your worries and fears. Maybe you decided to not think about your doubts so that you wouldn’t give them more attention. There are countless reasons to avoid feeling and expressing fear and anxiety, but the outcome remains the same: you build up a backlog of unresolved emotional energy.
    You’re probably asking yourself now, “Why is it so important to attend to and release these old emotions? Shouldn’t I focus on the present and the future?” I agree that spending too much time in the past can prevent us from fully experiencing the present. However, think of the energy it takes to suppress those emotions, to shove them down. It’s like pushing on a coiled spring—the harder you press, the greater the force of the spring that’s trying to bounce back at you. All this unresolved emotional baggage depletes your energy, weighs you down, makes you feel powerless, and can lead to severe physical problems. By releasing this stored anxiety, you’re not only freeing yourself from an emotional burden, you’re also recalibrating your subconscious mind, which allows you to be more flexible and resourceful in choosing your emotional responses.
    How do we get rid of stored fear and anxiety? In the next chapters, you will go through several processes that will allow you to easily and effectively release emotional baggage and create a clean slate on the subconscious and cellular levels.
ROOT CAUSE 3: SELF-LIMITING BELIEFS
    Self-limiting, unsupportive core beliefs are possibly the most important and, at the same time, most underrated causes of fear and anxiety. In general, core beliefs act as our personal laws of the universe. They shape how we view and feel about ourselves and the world, and they determine the choices we make and actions we take. The foundation of our core