Have you ever felt that wave of overwhelming anxiety creeping up on you but you don’t have your usual tools to help you return back to calmness?

If your heart nodded to you and gave you a little poke, take a moment – Close your eyes. Take 3 slow & deep breaths. When you feel that shift within, gently open your eyes. (Alrighty, see you in a few breaths)

Today we’re going to contemplate – How to speak to your anxiety.
Make sure you have some paper or your journal to jot your findings down to reference later.

Your Archetype of your Anxiety

Let’s take a second to think about how anxiety approaches you. Imagine it to be an entity. I’m going to give it a name to portray it as a character – Ursula. You know the octopus villain in Little Mermaid? That’s the archetype that has best portrayed my unwelcome entity. She can be vicious, tenacious, stubborn, jealous, lonely, and most of all, very much uncomfortable in her own skin. When all of those feelings are bubbling inside, it’s an explosion of depression, anger, and anxiety. BUT – she also has qualities that are very necessary too: Ambitious, motivated, resourceful, and clever.

How can I speak to this archetype to nurture her and care for her so that she can heal from these deep-rooted emotions? This is the place we’re going to go to today.

It’s your turn now. Think of a villain or character you’ve seen in your life that best mirrors the entity that best represents your anxiety. It can be from a book, movie, tv show, game, politics, etc.

Once you define your archetype of anxiety, write it down in your journal. Rewatch the movie or tv show if you need more details. You’re going to be imagining this character. Name, qualities, and mannerisms – write it all. Understand what qualities are most irritating. Write all of the things that jump out at you.

And you can even use it as your code word when you’re with your partner, family, and friends.

Visualize

So now that you have a solid archetype that you believe best portrays your anxiety, we can visualize it. If it helps, you can even have a picture off drawing of the character to remind you what it looks like. For me, I like to just hear her voice but see a ragged version of my current self.

Listen

Once you have a good visual representation of this archetype, let’s close our eyes and listen. What does this archetype sound like? Is it your own voice? Is it the chosen character’s voice? (If you can’t hear it, that’s okay too)

Feel It

When you close your eyes and see/hear this archetype of anxiety, what feeling surges through you?
Do you sense anxiety to tip-toe up to you? Sometimes it may come sprinting to you. Other times it may be hiding behind a corner and completely catches you off guard. You may find yourself nodding to all of those approaches. Me too.

When (insert name of archetype) is right in front of you, what does it most commonly do? How do you react when it’s there? (Write your responses down)

In fact, how do you wish you responded to the archetype?

How do you wish it acted towards you?

If it helps, say it out loud to it:
“(Name of archetype), I would appreciate it if you could be (name qualities and characteristics). When you are (qualities you want to be changed) it makes me feel _____.”

Close your eyes: How does the archetype respond?

Build Connection with Your Archetype

The more you connect with your archetype, the more you’ll find yourself nurturing the parts of yourself that have been overlooked. Sometimes, when you may find yourself able to empathize with others with softness and compassion BUT with yourself, you may be more critical or strict.

This practice may help you look outside of yourself, in a way. And just maybe, you’ll speak to your anxiety with gentleness.

I hope you enjoyed this post!

Let me know if you have tried this and how it has worked for you.

Feel free to share the name of your archetype below and any other feedback/tips you may have that are related to this post.

May your days be filled with joy, softness, and abundance!