Why Anxiety Becomes Stronger When You Try to Eliminate It

We try to eliminate anxiety.

Anxiety is not a pleasant feeling; it makes your chest feel restless and the future look dark. A sense that something bad is about to happen persists...

That is why we naturally want it to disappear quickly.

Furthermore, we feel it would be easier if we could avoid thinking about it and switch to a positive mindset.

We read books, listen to music, or talk to someone. These are not bad things.

However, deep down, we are quietly judging that this anxiety should not exist. From here, the suffering gradually increases.

The reason it becomes stronger the more you try to eliminate it

Trying to get rid of anxiety is, in fact, also focusing your attention strongly on it.

Is it still there... has it not disappeared yet, what can I do to make it go away...

Every time you check like that, the anxiety is recalled repeatedly.

Furthermore, you may start to blame yourself for feeling anxious. Why am I so weak? Why can't I switch my mindset effectively?

...Then, the anxiety is no longer just one thing.

The initial anxiety is compounded by the resistance that you should not be anxious.

What is becoming stronger might not be the anxiety itself, but the force trying to resist it.

Anxiety is not something to be eliminated

So, what should you do?

The answer is very quiet. It is to "not try to eliminate it."

When you notice that you have anxiety, acknowledge it as it is by saying, "Ah, there is anxiety."

My chest is feeling a little tight.
I am imagining the future.
My body is slightly tense.

Observe these things clearly.

You do not need to drive away the anxiety, and you do not need to fight it. Just feel what is happening as it is.

Strangely, the anxiety that is being observed begins to change its form little by little.

This is because at that moment, you are not the anxiety itself, but are standing on the side that is observing it.

As long as you try to eliminate it, you are one with the anxiety. When you observe it, a slight distance is created.

That quiet distance might just be the "gateway to peace of mind."