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Handling worries
as "noise"
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Worries, like panic, take on a life of their own. When you have
charted a path to walk and the noise of unhelpful thoughts follows
you, then it is time to shake them. You must first take a firm
stand against the worries: "These thoughts aren't
helpful. I'm not going to let them control me." You can't be
wishy-washy about this decision.
For instance, if you believe that every
panic attack is a potential heart attack, you must settle this issue
before you can move forward against panic. Many people make this
mistake. They have all their medical evaluations, ruling out any heart
problem. They feel reassured. But each time symptoms begin, they say,
"I think this is just anxiety." Underneath that
thought is, (" . . . but it could be a heart
attack.") A stronger voice is, "I'm going to treat these
symptoms as anxiety. I've gotten a clean bill of health. I'm willing
to risk the slight chance that this is something else."
You will now learn about five
ways to handle worries that are noise: stopping them,
postponing them, modifying them in two ways and, surprisingly, increasing
them.
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