#149 – How can you disengage from anxiety?

If you've ever experienced a racing mind when trying to fall asleep, you know that it's only that: a racing mind. It doesn't mean you are racing.

How can you stop it?

Well, you can't stop the racing mind. But you can disengage from the thoughts, and then your mind'll stop by itself, like a wind-up toy car gradually slowing down as its spring unwinds. Or it'll at least leave you alone.

I experience this several days every month – around specific days in my menstrual cycle. The temptation is to follow the thought.

"Ah," I say to myself, "this is interesting" – an opening for an email, a solution to a problem, the response I'm going to give someone after what they said to me, a recipe.

Falling into the temptation means that I engage with that thought, trying to discover more about it, elaborate, find a conclusion.

But that leads to more knots, because seeing an opening, other thoughts pop up that also want to be engaged with. And there I am, tossing and turning, saying yes to all of them.

The solution is to disengage. Watch the thoughts and let them pass without touching them. You could say to the thought, "not now," or you can just leave it alone. (It's difficult and a regular meditation practice will help you get there).

Because you are not your thoughts, and you don't have any obligation towards them. You're the one observing the thoughts, and you're at choice about thinking them.

What will you gain when you're able to disengage from anxious thoughts?

Love,

Carolina