Lately I have become more attuned to how much effort we can spend on trying to “manage” or “solve” the “problem” of anxiety. Anxiety, no doubt unpleasant, can deepen or become more entrenched if we try to control, sometimes our very efforts to solve the problem can take us deeper into the problem? The ability to solve problems can work very well in day-to-day logistical and other challenges, through it can backfire when it comes to our emotional life. An alternative way to approach anxiety can be through curiosity, opening up to the rhythms of anxiety in our body, listening. Although these stances can sound counter-intuitive and sometimes novel in the face of cultural conditioning around feelings, they can nonetheless offer us a new window to respond to anxiety versus react.
-Arsalan