Relax and overcome anxiety

I tend to get stressed and serious easily especially when taking on unfamiliar task or new task. The way I handled my stress had not been effective. I would always start to question myself why am I feeling that way, what's wrong with me, what beliefs I need to change, and etc. I was being too harsh on myself. It yield destructive result. The more I worry and think, I became more depressed. It would normally take a few days to a week to get it over. I would be very quiet and distracted when meeting people. I would always find a spiritual reason to get myself recovered to normal again. But the result is frustrating as the next cycle of worry would return again.

Just 3 weeks ago, I was asked to lead ISO certification project for our company's new business. I was so stressed up after knowing the expectation given by the managers. I didn't know a lot about my company's procedures and processes as I was new to them. I only joined the team for 2 months. I started to worry a lot. I searched for root cause of my stress with all my energy, asking myself why I feel how I feel. I can't remember the whole process of searching. I only remember I was not happy for many days. I concluded that I was not aware of the presence of my "spiritual enemy" like fear of how people look at me and I didn't pray against it enough. I implemented the "corrective action plan" by praying harder everyday against my "spiritual enemy". It seemed to work for a couple of weeks until the next cycle of stress and worry began.

This endless cycle of anxiety and worry just never stopped. I never seemed to overcome it completely. Frustrating over the method I used, I looked for Mr. Google for secular tips. Who knows, the anxiety symptoms in me have medical reason. One tip I found is very simple. Just take some long breaths repeatedly. 5-7 secs of inhale, 4 secs of hold, then 7-10 secs of exhale. Repeat this for about 20 to 30 times. I tried and the result is immediate. I pondered over the reason I recovered quickly. When I am feeling anxious, I have short breath. Short breath unfortunately does not help control my brain to stay calm and think logically. I am now more aware and conscious of my breathing pattern. When there are things or stresses that cause me to have short breath, I will decisively take a longer breath to calm myself and get moving on again.

I feel much relax now. I don't quickly jump to "judge" myself when I get stressed. I also don't quickly jump to "judge" others when they seem stressed. Nothing wrong with spirituality. If you are a very "spiritual" person, just be aware there are other non spiritual matters affecting our spiritual lives.

For me, I don't fear the next cycle of stress now. I hope to open the new chapter of my life through this Easter.