Anxiety: A Signpost To Unmet Needs

Anxiety is a visceral experience of physical and emotional constriction that is hard to ignore. And yet, many of us engage in a maze of avoidant behaviors in an attempt to do just that. What happens when we see our anxiety as a signal pointing to unmet needs and the unfelt emotions around them? How can sitting with and feeling the sensations of anxiety result in profound internal and interpersonal shifts? Let anxiety be your guide as you tune into this episode.

“To love it, to invite it. I can’t wait to be anxious again. When you’re at that place, that’s the real freedom, where you’re not trying to manage yourself. That’s where the real freedom is.”

Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/AoAtranscript40

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Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
3:15 Defining anxiety from the perspective of the “three brains” — the head, the heart and the gut.
09:15 Why we sometimes constrict ourselves from feeling the unfelt emotions that result in anxiety.
14:27 Anxiety as means of defending our sense of self and a signal pointing to an unmet need.
18:24. The internal and interpersonal shifts that happen when we sit with and feel the physical sensations of anxiety.
23:00 The consequence we are actually avoiding when we operate from anxiety.
25:16 The idea that emotions that we label as “positive” are often the ones we find most intimidating.
31:22 How emotional responses that society deems “unacceptable” can generate shame and anxiety, and can impel us to take action.