Through 2020, I am pretty sure you started looking for ways to reduce stress and anxiety in your life.
Most people experienced 2020 as a “tough” period. And for the optimists in the house, and since I tend to be optimistic too, let’s call it a “growing” period.
Regardless of what you may call 2020, I think we can all agree on this…
2020 must be remembered as the year when the world stood still.
Overnight, and globally, one country after the other started to shut down.
International travel halted, and many countries started to mandate masks, social distancing, and many other measures to combat a pandemic.
Dealing with all these sudden changes alone can cause even the most sane person to feel stress and anxiety.
Studies have shown that prolonged states of stress and anxiety have a long-term impact on our health and wellness.
As a war survivor, I had my fair share of living in stressful situations.
I can also tell you that living through those situations for 20+ years affected me terribly. I suffered from PTSD as well as having anxiety attacks regularly.
Because of that, I have trained myself not to be overtaken by PTSD flashbacks or anxiety attacks.
I learned through mindfulness relaxation techniques and reciting affirmation how to re-train my mind.
Knowing these things saved me in 2020. They also helped me keep my sanity during the pandemic by reducing the effect of life’s stress and anxiety on my mental wellness.
Seeing the increase in social media posts about the effect of lockdown and social distancing on people made it dawn on me that many people are not aware of how to reduce stress and anxiety during times of change.
Moreover, this graph from statista puts things into prospective when it comes to the toll stress takes on people.
You will find more infographics at Statista
How to reduce stress and anxiety triggered by change?
Having dealt with finding out how to reduce stress and anxiety’s effects in my life, I know how daunting of a task it can be!
Sifting through the thousands of conflicting information on managing stress and anxiety is certainly no fun.
Today, my intention is to help you by sharing with you one of the greatest ways to reduce stress and anxiety.
You see, there’s something exceptionally important that most people forget when it comes to health and wellness!
They keep forgetting that stress and anxiety have a direct impact on our overall physical health and emotional wellbeing.
Studies have shown that this is in fact undeniable!
So it’s key that you learn how to reduce stress and anxiety in your life.
I get it! Life is stressful, but that doesn’t mean you gotta buckle down and let life beat you down.
That’s when you can learn how to surf the waves of the ocean of life instead of being knocked down by them.
Naturally, there are tons of ways out there to help you deal with stress, from having a self-care day to using supplements to taking walks in nature. Clearly, there are lots of ways!
And truthfully, doing a little bit of research on reducing the effect of stress can easily overwhelm anyone.
So instead today, allow me to show you exactly what you can do to easily and reliably reduce your overall stress and anxiety levels.
All without having to lift a muscle.
Deal? Let’s go!
Allow me to introduce you to the Activation Affirmations Method.
This is a method that I adapted from learning from so many amazing teachers over the years.
This method combines using meditation and affirmation at once. All you need is to have a set of affirmations that feels right for you and the power of your imagination.
When I recite the affirmations, I visualize being bathed in white light. I imagine the affirmations I am using are getting activated by the white light and manifesting before my eyes.
This is a wonderful way to relax and be mindful.
On top of that, it’s very helpful in reducing the affect of stress and anxiety.
I am asked this question frequently:
Zane, why would you need Affirmations to reduce stress and anxiety?
See, most people are unaware of the truth that what you think about the most, you become.
That means if all you’re thinking about is stress and anxiety, then you’re literally training your mind to find reason to feel that way.
It’s a form of emotional addiction.
Now you’re probably thinking, “Ok, Zane, this makes sense but what affirmations have to do with that?”
Please allow me to elaborate!
The mind is very powerful. When the world around you is changing at a fast rate, the brain becomes reactive.
This triggers the fight-or-flight response in the brain. That’s the same response you’d activate if, let’s say, a lion chased you.
If you’re sitting on your couch watching the news, then what you are seeing triggers your brain.
We all know that the News hardly reports on the good stuff! Negativity and fear seems to be the name of the game in News-land!
So anytime you see the news, your brain thinks “a threat”, even if what you’re seeing is not happening to you, directly.
And during the pandemic, even I who hardly ever watch the news, paid a little attention just to be aware of what’s going on.
So as you can see, people’s stress and anxiety are getting triggered right and left by sudden changes.
It’s during times like that when you want to learn how to train your mind to be resilient.
Visualization meditation, and affirmations combined help you reset your mind every time you get triggered.
The secret behind the effectiveness of meditation and affirmations is a pure demonstration of how power the mind is!
You see, negative thoughts and emotions can have a negative impact on your life.
Why? Cause the mind is that powerful!
Remember, what you think about constantly affects how you feel constantly. And how you feel on a constant basis then affects your overall behavior and attitude.
That sounds pretty rough, doesn’t it?
Well, don’t you worry, because there’s a bright side to everything.
You can actually use this to your advantage. Think about it this way:
If negative thoughts can negatively impact your physical reality, then, by the same token, positive thoughts can have a hugely positive impact too!
And one way to to cultivate positive thoughts and reduce the affect of stress and anxiety is by using activation affirmations.
That’s exactly where the power of affirmations shine!
Affirmations serve a great role in modifying your regular “thought programming.”
In other words, affirmation-centered visualization meditation is much more than just repeating positive words over and over.
Affirmations, when done correctly, communicate with your subconscious mind. That’s the creative part of you.
Also, the subconscious is the storehouse of all your life experiences and is in charge of how you’re constantly feeling.
So, when doing affirmations, you’re sending new signals to your subconscious programming.
And, I don’t know about you, but I feel that this is so AWESOME! To be able to change your thought patterns and have that affect your overall life is so freaking AMAZING!
How affirmations help to reduce stress and anxiety?
1. Enhanced subconscious positive habit-building
When you practice positive affirmations combined with visualization, you start to imprint new images onto your subconscious mind.
The more you do that, the more your brain creates the neural pathways for positive thought programming. If you want to learn more about how that works, please watch this masterclass👇
2. Heightened awareness and mindfulness
Whenever you use affirmation and meditation, you shift your focus from thinking of the past or the future to being present.
Becoming present is at the root of being mindful.
Mindfulness has truly been a lifesaver for me whenever I feel a PTSD flashback or anxiety is bubbling up. I simply close my eyes, connect to my breath, and become aware of the present moment.
3. Increased levels of joy and satisfaction
When you practice activation affirmations, you increase your vibration.
Correspondingly, when you raise your vibration, you activate your higher vibrational emotions. I.e., love, joy, gratitude, and peace. (Please review the illustration below to see where you stand on the scale of consciousness)
As you can see, using affirmation is super positive!
It’s TRULY incredible how much of an impact a few simple affirmations can have!
To reduce stress and anxiety, start generating positive emotions using activation affirmations to replace the negativity.
Think of the mind as a storage unit in this scenario; to make room for the new and positive emotions, the mind has to clear out some old and negative emotions! How incredible is that?
This is great and all, but now we’ve got another problem…
Finding the Right Activation Affirmations
Remember when I shared earlier that I activate the affirmation by visualizing white light. I do that after I find the affirmations that resonate with me the most.
So, let me show you how to find the right affirmation for you.
When it comes to affirmations, there is no shortage. As a matter of fact, it’s quite the opposite! There are TONS, and I mean TONS of affirmations out there.
Some of them are probably aimed at reducing stress and anxiety, and they can work.
However, personally, I believe that to be truly effective, affirmations must be used in two ways:
- They must be personal: that means the affirmations mean something to you. If they don’t invoke emotions, then you’re just saying meaningless words.
- Used daily: make it a daily routine to activate your affirmations so you can build that positive thought pattern.
So no matter what affirmation you choose, make sure to keep the 2 above mentioned points in mind.
The following affirmations will help you cope with stress and anxiety:
- I choose to feel calm & peaceful.
- This too shall pass; all is working out for me in divine timing.
- I made it through before, and I can make it through again.
- With the power of faith in my heart, I can get through tough times.
- I am in charge of my anxiety; therefore, I choose to be strong.
- For as long as I am breathing, I know I am going to be okay.
- I am safe and protected in this present moment.
- My thoughts don’t control me; I choose what thoughts to entertain.
Remember to invoke emotions as you recite your chosen affirmations. Feel the feeling and be present with that feeling.
Thank you for investing your time in learning how to reduce stress and anxiety in your life.
And to take your practice to the next level, I have a gift for you. To help you in getting real results promptly,
I crafted an activation meditation to help you!
It’s called the Grateful Morning Meditation, and it’s FREE!
In summary, remember to cultivate a positive attitude in your everyday life if you want to reduce the effect of stress and anxiety in your life. And to manifest more abundance, joy, and inner peace, use activation meditations to do the work for you.
With Love, Light, and Gratitude,
Zane
Please let me know your thoughts about the article in the comments. I love interacting with the blog’s readers!
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