Wow!… There are many of us who are anxious, stressed, and just downright dumbfounded and fed up with all of the negativity that’s going on with our election process this Fall. Some of us feel that we are powerless and have no control…hence, enormous frustration and often- fearful… I am identifying this as a new disorder: VAD – Voter Anxiety Disorder.
But what we do have control over this disorder… It is taking control over our own thought process and in our own actions. We can speak out and make positive comments about our chosen candidates and not focus on the negatives of the
“other guy.” We can encourage our friends and family to vote their conscience and for what they consider the best for their city, county, state, and country… We, ourselves, can do the same.
We can imagine the life we want to experience after the votes are counted. We can use a cognitive behavior technique if we are worried or stress or find ourselves in a negative space.
Here is a technique that many find incredibly helpful in these circumstances:
Stoppage Method
- Catch a negative thought and say to it: “stop it!”
- Take a deep breath and shift from the old lizard brain to the Neo Cortex where Free Will resides.
- Then tell yourself from that place of Free Will that you will not go to the negative thought place… but remain calm and envision a positive thought place.
- Then do a small action (snap your finger, tap your leg etc.) to “anchor”
the positive thought into your system.
Our thoughts are incredibly powerful and we can affect change––inner and outer––by our positive thoughts and actions.
Let’s have a calmer and more positive experience as we process through this experience that seems to be unprecedented in our personal history!
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