Russ Harris, MD uses a metaphor to describe recovering from panic and anxiety struggles called the “struggle switch”. With mental health problems worsening, it is important to learn how to respond to fear more wisely in order to live with more vitality. When we struggle to rid ourselves unsuccessfully from anxiety over time, it often feels like we are doing something wrong. We shouldn’t feel this nervous about something this small/old/petty/unlikely. Yet, we find our minds and bodies undergoing a kind of torture process with feelings of panic, dread, and fear of the unknown.
Are we struggling with anxiety or open to anxiety?
We don’t often think of a burden as a blessing, and anxiety can certainly feel like a burden. As you feel your anxiety coming on, do you ever feel anxious about it? It is common for us to feel anxious about anxiety, and then begin to feel a wave of emotions such as anger, sadness, guilt, and more because of our initial feelings of anxiety.
Dr. Russ Harris calls this the “Struggle Switch” of anxiety. In the video below, Dr. Harris explains how anxiety triggers our struggle switch, which leads to cascading emotions and more challenges. However, he also explains how gaining control over the struggle switch allows us freedom from anxiety and its accompanying feelings.
Changing our relationship with anxiety
As we seek to accept our anxiety and keep the struggle switch turned off, we need to change our relationship with it. Rather than needlessly running (i.e. over-working), hiding (i.e. staring at social media endlessly) or fighting (i.e. substance abuse) with anxiety, we learn skills to manage anxiety in a healthy way.
Changing our relationship with anxiety takes practice. Working with a skilled therapist, you will learn the skills that work best for you to manage the anxiety in your life. Like all skills, these take practice and progress over time. Your therapist will help develop a plan to manage anxiety, identify success and progress towards it. With time, you will learn to turn off the struggle switch.
You don’t have to face anxiety alone
As we learn to do something fundamentally different with anxiety – both inside and out of counseling sessions – it may change your life’s direction. Anxiety therapy will make you able to put anxiety in its proper place in your life, using it wisely or turning down its influence over your unwanted behavior is the direction we’ll walk toward in anxiety counseling.
Our team of experienced, caring anxiety therapists are here to help you. They will help develop a personalized plan to make anxiety something you can manage, rather than avoid or run from. Learn about our team to find the best therapist for you and request an appointment today.
