Free Microsoft Word - At Last A Life Final Copy 16-03-09 by Maureen

quickly and get the rest your tired body so
    craves.

    What do you do then?

    I found an explanation for the reason why I felt like I did and I
    believed it. This in itself brought a lot of my fears to a halt. I realised
    that these scary thoughts would continue to come for a while. Not
    only did my anxiety bring them, it had also become my habit to think
    them, but I learned that all I needed to do was to pay them no
    respect. I saw them for what they were - just thoughts, brought on by
    anxiety and habit. They were not important.
    I know that giving little respect to a thought that seems so bad and
    comes with such force is hard, but realise it is only the state you are

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    in that magnifies them and makes them seem important. Accept they
    are only thoughts that hold no power and can do you no harm. Just
    let all negative, destructive thoughts float away. Smile at them if you
    like. You have total control over how much respect you pay them.
    Do not try and get rid off scary thoughts or stop them coming. By
    doing this, you are telling them that they are important, which they
    are not. I often get asked ‘How I do I stop thinking in a certain way’.
    My reply is “DON’T try”. If it’s not important whether your thoughts
    are scary or not, why try to stop them. The way to lose them is to
    give them their space. Fighting thoughts and trying to rid yourself of
    them is the wrong thing to do. It is a battle you will lose for sure.
    Some people say they only have to hear something on the news
    about a new illness and they are convinced they have it. Many can't
    understand why they get such a reaction to some bad news which
    may not even concern them. The answer to this is simple and sums
    this chapter up. Your body is just in a sensitised state at the moment
    and this is the only reason that thoughts exaggerate themselves.
    This section from an email sums up what I am trying to say.

    Hi Paul, I understand now about the need to not let thoughts
    bother me or doubt and question them. Whatever goes on in
    my head is fine. I realise that in my present state I SHOULD
    have anxious thoughts, I am anxious after all. I have learnt to
    not accept the thought as truth and accept it as just a
    thought brought on by my anxious state. Thank you for your
    explanation.

    I also explained that when anxiety fades, so do the anxious
    thoughts, but the above is exactly what I wanted to hear. It just
    needed an explanation that he could understand and relate to.

    The following explanation came on my blog from a lady I had been
    helping. She had recovered and decided to post how she managed
    to get over this particular symptom of anxiety.

    I understand now that all that we are doing is tuning into our
    over active imagination, which has probably always been
    there and popped various thoughts into our mind, but in the

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    past we’ve always ignored them. It’s as if once you have
    suffered from anxiety you listen to every negative thought
    and then question why it’s there and why it won’t go away,
    whereas if you just ignore it, it actually does goes away.

    What I am trying to say to give some help and support to
    people is try not to over analyse everything, question every
    thought, or worry what’s wrong with you. There is actually
    nothing wrong with any of us, we’re all human and naturally
    experience thoughts, feelings, and moods, so just accept
    them and try not to question then or consider them as being
    weird.

    I receive a lot of visits to my site from ladies who have recently been
    through a pregnancy and then go on to suffer with irrational
    thoughts. This lady is now fully recovered. Here is her story:

    I understand now that a negative reaction to just one thought
    can lead you into a downward spiral of obsessive thinking. It
    did for me. I was 7 months pregnant at the time and had
    never encountered anything like it before in my life/nor with
    my first child who was 9 at the time.
    I was on bed rest for