To begin re-programming your mind, first decide what thoughts and beliefs you are holding that are responsible for your anxiety disorder. This might be obvious to you already. In the next sections we will cover many of the most common thought patterns that lead to anxiety. But you will probably also have some unique personal beliefs that need adjustment.
1) Reflect on things in your life that cause anxiety for you.
2) Consider the faulty thoughts behind the reactions, and decide what replacement thoughts you must assume in order to achieve the emotional result you desire.
3) You might consider an emotionally secure or confident person, and figure out what they must believe about themselves in order to be that way.
Everybody will have some personal thoughts and beliefs to change, and their own variations for new and empowering ones. When in doubt, the belief or thought to choose is the one that frees you from limitation, and gives you the most unlimited potential for growth, and the strongest foundation for overcoming anxiety disorder.
Your replacement thoughts don't have to be the complete opposite of your current ones. Be realistic, and the new beliefs will be easier to absorb. For example, if you're worried about an upcoming meeting where you have to speak, you don't necessarily have to say "I am a fantastic speaker", you might find it more empowering to instead say "I am a good speaker, but even if I make mistakes or forget my words, I will survive". Or rather than continuing to say to yourself "What if I mess up on the presentation", say "what if my presentation goes just fine?" Just simply acknowledging a positive possibility is an improvement. Positive thinking doesn't have to be overly enthusiastic and rosy - realistic is just fine.
With this is mind, write your new thoughts down in a list, so that you can read them to yourself at least once a day.
NOTE: Much of the information below has been revised in the MC2 Method, and replace with a more effective approach. If you have access to that program, we suggest using those techniques. If not, this is still a good starting point for overcoming anxiety disorder.
When creating your thought statements, begin each sentence with the word "I", and use the present tense. For example, say "I am a confident person now", rather than "I will be a confident person" or "I want to be a confident person". Your new thoughts should be implanted in your mind with the knowledge that you are a confident person NOW, not that you just want to be a confident person, or that you will be a confident person someday.
It also helps to make your affirmations specific to your situations. For example, if you feel anxiety about air travel, some new thoughts might be: "I am calm and confident while flying", or "If I feel fear during a flight, I know it's a normal reaction that I can handle."
Some practitioners also suggest phrasing all your affirmations in the positive. For example, the statement "I am confident" would be better than "I am no longer fearful". Personally, I feel that it's the overall energy and mental image that goes with the words that matters most, but I mention this in case you find it helpful for working through anxiety disorder.
