ChallengePartnersUSA is a club a music maker and I founded in 2020. I designed Challenge Cards, and when I cross paths with someone I sense might be interested in the club, I ask if they want to be a Challenge Partner, and if they agree, I select a card and give them a duplicate one. This week the card is Because, and the challenge is to find where in my life I believe I'm experiencing something because of outside influence.
I didn't have to look far. I acknowledged I had entered the outskirts of the Anxious Zone, and, scanning Reason Why Signs, I told myself I' was anxious because helping my brother with housing is stressful. This assessment keeps me in the when it's all over I can relax loop. Just grit my teeth until it's over. The challenge is to remove the because. I am anxious. Not because.
Interrupting anxiety loops is not about hunkering down and waiting until a situation passes. Instead, that strategic tactic strengthens the loops through covert suppression. And there wasn't just one I'm anxious because pattern. I encountered eight slightly different loops in the process of calling the Social Security Office to track down my brother's Social Security Verification Letter.
#1 I'm anxious because I won't know how to follow verbal cues. I'm anxious. I visualize my sole color grid.
#2 I'm anxious because I might get lost. I'm anxious. I press my heels deep into the earth for solid grounding.
#3 I'm anxious because I won't be able to get the ChatBot to understand what I want. I'm anxious. I visualize my diaphragm elevator descending upon inhale and ascending on exhale.
#4 I'm anxious because the wait music is too loud and triggers off near panic. I'm anxious, verging on panic. I turn the phone volume down and work on a writing project with the wait time in the background.
#5 I'm anxious because I won't know how to tell the customer service person what I want. I'm anxious. I visualize I'm paddling a canoe on a calm, beautiful river.
#6 I'm anxious because I will be shut down. I'm anxious. I lace my hands and press them above my head for a good stretch.
#7 I'm anxious because I won't be able to figure this problem out. I'm anxious. I get up and pace, swinging my arms, visualizing I'm hiking a beautiful trail.
#8 I'm anxious because I have to follow a new number and repeat the process. I'm anxious. I visualize reaching the mountain peak with my good friend, pausing to look at the amazing vista, and agreeing to do the same hike again soon.
By now, I'm on my path instead of placing myself on anxious suppression until I save my brother from his challenges.
