Have you noticed how anxious everyone is lately? It seems that it is becoming more and more common for people to both be feeling anxiety and expressing it to people in their lives. There are many reasons for this.
I think people are more anxious in general because they have stressful jobs and busy lives and feel pressured to continue to achieve more and more for themselves and their families. Before awareness of this pattern surfaces, sometimes consciously and sometimes through some form of crisis, it can feel overwhelming, stressful and like there is no way out of the cycle.
I have seen, time and time again however, how this increasing anxiety is really something deeper. It is really an underlying call from your soul to come back into alignment. It is a whispering that continues to get louder and louder until it is heard. “Slow down” it says, “pay attention” it says, “what really matters to you?” it questions.
So, for me anxiety is a fun place to work on. And very cool that it is becoming more commonly discussed so that I can help people really understand what it is trying to help them with.
Anxiety is a call to wake up. To connect with your deeper wisdom. To stop doing things that are creating misalignment internally and start doing things that bring you closer to your truth. It is a powerful teacher, often creating so much discomfort that it is impossible to ignore.
This is something you asked for. Your higher self wants to live in integrity and authenticity. This anxiety you feel is your higher self letting you know that some things need to change. You didn’t do anything wrong, you were just unconscious of your truth.
As you become more conscious and aware of things in your life that need to change, but you are not making any moves to actually do the changing, anxiety will increase. Of course. This is a beautiful system that was designed to help you evolve.
You are not made to feel comfortable living unconsciously and out of alignment. Your natural state is one of flow and balance. You are meant to have a beautiful sense of who you really are and what you are meant to do. You are meant to learn to live as closely in alignment to this truth as is possible.
Every anxious moment is here to gently show you where you are not in alignment with this truth and guide you back to yourself. It is not here to punish you or make your life miserable, it is a teacher for you.
I have seen many cases in which anxiety is really a sign of an upcoming awakening. Here are some things to look for and a different perspective on what anxiety is here to awaken you to in your life.
Anxiety helps you get in touch with your real feelings:
Many of us, much of the time are in our brains instead of actually feeling our feelings. This leads to us feeling anxious because the majority of our thoughts are negative and fear based. We then tend to think we are anxious because our brains are telling us so.
Part of what anxiety is here to help us awaken to is the truth of how we really feel. This is usually different from what our mind is telling us.
One of the first practices I recommend to my clients with anxiety is meditation. This is helpful for so many reasons, but one of the most important is to help them get out of their minds and into their bodies.
Only once we are able to get beyond the thinking mind are we able to understand what we really feel and therefore what we need to make us happy.
Anxiety lets you know when your ego is activated:
Part of the awakening process is practicing awareness of your thoughts. By beginning to practice meditation as well as mindful awareness of your thoughts throughout the day, it becomes easier to separate true emotions from ego based thoughts.
The ego is so sweet and wants to help us, but is very misguided. It is the part of us that feels victimized and wants revenge. It is the part that is scared of everything. It is the part that tells us we couldn’t possibly accomplish x y or z. It is the part that says we need to keep pushing and accumulating things in order to be happy.
Of course none of these thoughts are really true. It is really easy to be fooled though. Especially if nobody around you thinks any differently and you don’t see any alternative. They can feel very intense and very real.
The gift of anxiety here is that it highlights when the ego is activated. In order to continue to evolve consciously we have to start with awareness. So this feeling of anxiety is here to help us to be aware of the ego activation and to gently shift and release it every time.
This helps us continue to evolve consciously as well as to know more clearly how to move forward authentically.
Anxiety highlights where change needs to take place:
By practicing feeling your truth instead of your mind, and recognizing ego fear based thoughts, you can begin to become clearer on what needs to change.
This often doesn’t feel good. We have a lot of defense mechanisms in place to keep us from really feeling and knowing our truth because it’s scary! It means we might have to make big changes in our lives.
Starting to pay close attention to where and when you feel the energy of anxiety will highlight those places that need to transform.
Without this gift of anxiety we would go through life numb and asleep, never becoming aware of the discomfort that can lead us to transformation and expansion.
I have seen many examples of anxiety being a transformative experience for people’s lives. I invite you to look for the gifts in it as well, and allow it to teach you some powerful lessons on your journey of awakening.
Read more about Anxiety Treatment with Shana Olmstead.
Shana Olmstead, Intuitive Consultant
I see my life purpose as helping people to awaken to the truth of their divine nature, the powerful spiritual beings that they are. I have assisted hundreds of clients in my therapy practice to wake up to the understanding that we are all made of source energy, and are here to increase our consciousness and joy to help the evolution everyone on the planet. I am so excited and inspired to continue helping people through their own awakening! Contact me to schedule an appointment in person in Kirkland, Washington or for a phone or video consultation wherever you are located.
