Ever had that feeling that you're going to be shot at dawn... but there's no dawn shooting on your calendar... perhaps there's a background concern about something that may or may not happen, or there appears to be no reason for the "The world is a dark and dangerous place" feeling at all?
I have. It was an email. It was a perfectly innocent email. It was from a writing client, who was simply pointing out that I had made a mistake on the invoice I'd sent him. I'd "saved as" the invoice, but forgotten to replace the details of the actual writing projects. All I needed to do was correct the invoice, and then resend it to him, with a "Sorry about that...".
But instead, I felt like I had just been arrested and charged with espionage. It was ridiculous. I knew it was ridiculous - at least, intellectually. Consciously, I knew there was absolutely no reason to be in this "fight-freeze-flight" state, but my body hadn't got that memo!
I tried everything - I tried reasoning with myself. I tried playing through the scenario of explaining myself to him. I reassured myself - I'd done nothing wrong, it was a mistake, and all I needed to do was correct the invoice and resend it. But the waves of fear and dread kept coming.
At that time, I had already learned about how the subconscious affects the brain and body. I knew that what was going on in the background was: My subconscious was referring to the "fact" that I was "bad" - based on countless school experiences of not doing homework and being punished. And then not doing it again... thinking I'd get away with it... being caught, and being shot at dawn.
Okay, that last bit's not true. But at that time in schools in South Africa, there was corporal punishment - which seemed similar to being shot at dawn... at least, from the perspective of a child who desperately wanted to please, but somehow just... didn't.
I knew I needed to pull myself out of this intense over-the-top-gonna-die-any-minute state, so that I could make changes to those subconscious references, and correct the damned invoice.. and get paid!
But it was like standing in the middle of a nightclub at midnight, during the song that gets everyone on the dance-floor, and trying to get people to listen to a brief overview on quantum physics. It was having absolutely zero effect.
Finally, I opened my laptop, and brought up a video of one of my favorite comedians: Dylan Moran. I noticed the feelings of impending doom, then pressed "play" on the video. I watched for a while, and when I caught myself laughing, I pressed "pause". I thought about the invoice again - noticed how strong the anxious feeling still was, and then pressed "play" again. I watched Dylan until I caught myself smiling and distracted again - and then pressed "play". I kept doing this until I couldn't find the anxious feeling any longer.
Then, I addressed the subconscious references (that's another post!), and by the time I came back to the email about the invoice, it was like I'd been possessed by some kind of maniac, and was now finally seeing the world clearly again. I calmly corrected the invoice, sent it off with a "Sorry about that..." and the payment was in my account the next day.
So, what was happening behind the scenes?
When you're feeling anxious - or any other kind of negative emotion, for that matter - your brain and body are in a level of the "fight-freeze-flight" emergency state. In addition to various other physiological responses, this stress state causes the prefrontal cortex of your brain to shut down. This part of the brain is where you do your cognitive thinking - problem-solving, strategizing, processing information, communication, and other "high-level" thinking. Since none of that is necessary when you're being chased by a bear... blood is drained from that part of the brain, and, instead is pumped to your extremities (for running away or fighting).
This is why the world looks so different when we're in a state of stress. It's also why we can't think clearly... and then when we're out of that state of intense emotions, everything seems so different.
Using the back-and-forth process I shared above - with a comedy video or music you enjoy - helps to bring the stress chemicals down and dilute them with endorphins - eventually bringing the prefrontal cortex back online... and Voila! You're you again!
For more information on what I do, you can follow this "board game" trail of information on how to change your life by changing your subconscious programming:
The Board Game Version:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/changing-board-19069932
The List Version:
Watching the following videos in order, and reading the articles, will give you a good foundation and get you started on taking full control of your life - making the changes you want to experience.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/changing-start-19045137