"Can you come in here for a minute" says my supervisor with a stern expression on her face.
As I rise from my desk to follow her into her office I rack my brain trying to figure out what is going on. What did I do?
When Sunday evening and Monday morning come around I get really anxious. I begin to catastrophize in my mind what work will be like this week.
I have anxiety so it's easy to get myself worked up. It's easy to convince myself that everyone is plotting against me. Writing this out makes me see how crazy that sounds but in my mind I justify those thoughts by remembering all the times I was in trouble at work before.
Last week I thought of a way to help with this "beginning of the work week" anxiety. I thought about writing out exactly how I wanted the next day at work to go. I got really detailed like down to what time I woke up in the morning to what time I arrived at work.
I imagined good things happening to me like not hitting traffic on my way to work, or all of my coworkers and supervisors being in a good mood.
After I was done writing I took some time to visualize everything I wrote down actually happening then I said a little prayer. As I sat on my bed I felt like I had another narrative in my mind. This one felt like it could compete with the negative one that usually occupies my thoughts.
The next day as I was going about my morning I found myself comparing what actually happened to what I had predicted the night before. Interestingly I found that a lot of what I had written came true. My anxiety was quite low throughout the day. None of the negative thoughts that were playing through my mind manifested.
At night before I repeated the exercise for the next day, I made a list of all the good things that happened that day. I discovered that doing this put me in a positive frame of mind. It made me realize that things were not as bad as I convinced myself they were. More good things happen to me than bad.
I want to invite you to journal with me. I found this journaling exercise to be helpful for my anxiety. What works for me may not work for you but it doesn't hurt to give it a try.
Journaling prompts:
Are there any significant time periods throughout the day that you want to focus on? For me it was what time I woke up in the morning, what time I left for work, and what time I arrived at work.
Are there any significant events that you are anxious or excited about? I really focus on those anticipated moments of my day and I write a happy experience for them. I think about how the other people involved will act and what they will say. I imaging them all smiling and being pleased with me.
At the end of the day
List 5 or more positive things that happened today. At the end of the day I make a list of everything that made me smile or feel good. I write about big and small experiences like if I received an unexpected present or that there was no ice on my car when I left for work in the morning.
Even if there is nothing special happening the next day I use this exercise to imagine myself going about my daily routine having calm and peaceful experiences.
I would love to know how this works for you and if it helps your anxiety. Let me know in the comments.
