We are unlike any other creatures on this planet. We are able to use our minds to become the fullest expansions of ourselves, and we can continually strive to have more and to do more. The mind is a wonderful tool, unless it turns against us.
The ability to remember the past and to imagine the future can be useful and productive or harmful and limiting. We can worry so much about things that haven’t happened, and likely will never happen, that we become paralyzed with fear. Or we can evoke memories that upset us, feeling the pain as though something that happened many years ago is happening right now.
The physiological reactions are real. When the mind becomes panicked, the body responds as though the threat is real. Anxiety is a lower level of panic attack, a chronic way of living that is neither comfortable nor healthy. But for those who deal with any of these mental conditions, the struggle is real.
If there was one simple way to deal with this, it would ease the pain of so many people. It’s easy for me to tell someone to meditate, to go within and pay attention only to the breath and invite a sense of calmness. For anxious people this seems quite impossible. The mind is out of control, like a wild horse that is fighting for its survival against someone who would try to tame it.
I feel tremendous empathy for anyone who has lost the ability to control their own mind. It is a shame that such a wonderful tool can malfunction and turn against you.
It’s curious to me that in all of my travels around the world, I have encountered very few people outside of North America who seem to be as stressed as we are. Of course they exist, but it just seems so much more prevalent here. I’m not sure if it’s because we feel isolated and develop the mindset that we need to do battle to survive, or a sense of competition fosters fear, or if it is something in the water.
Who knows. One thing I see when I travel is that there is a real sense of community. People exist with extended families around them and there is always a feeling of support and companionship. When you are outwardly engaged, the mind has less time to fabricate apocalyptic scenarios and to dwell on misery.
Isolation can be an issue. That is why a form of punishment for prisoners is to put them in solitary confinement. We are meant to be social, surrounded by a tribe with each person having a purpose within the group to fulfill. Perhaps that is what is lacking in the modern world.
Whatever the cause, if you or someone you know is suffering from panic attacks or anxiety a good first step is to minimize solitude. Finding a way to be with other people is important. A sense of belonging and of community can be a lifesaver and is a good place to start.
The mind is such a beautiful thing, capable of dreaming up skyscrapers and airplanes and everything else we have around us. It is also capable of driving its host insane, causing internal torture and nightmares and driving some to end their lives.
The mind is a tool, useful if used correctly, harmful if not. If you allow it to be out of control, life is going to be a very unhappy experience indeed.