Yes! We can become addicted to worry and anxiety. Simply because without it many of us get the sense that we would become vulnerable to the potential threats coming from the outside, along with illnesses and diseases from the inside.
Worry and anxiety become an illusory form of protection from what our ego minds fear the most.
We develop this addiction through observation and personal experiences and feed it through the way we rationalize our fears. We creatively think and imagine ourselves into believing that as we grow older illnesses are inevitable, and we can’t escape them, in turn developing health anxiety (for example).
We think and imagine ourselves into believing that if our jobs are taken away from us we’ll be doomed and not be able to provide for our families. In turn, we lack trust and treat others better than ourselves. The addiction to worry and anxiety is all around us every moment of everyday but no one will admit it because they’ve never taken the time to think that this state is not natural.
Yes we have a fight or flight system that responds to real or imagined threats, but this system was meant to be activated once in a while, and not be played on repeat.
What’s truly interesting is that the better our past and present relationships become the less motivated we feel to maintain this addiction to suffering.
As we find creative ways to speak to those people from our past and be open with those in our present we are brought towards a higher level of trust in change, and in life. If the addiction to worry and anxiety is connected to suppression of thoughts, words, feelings, emotions, behaviors, then the path to inner peace is connected to expression.
To express is to be unique, creative, our true to our divine selves. With expression of our unique qualities and ideas we give ourselves permission to de-activate anxiety and re-activate emotional neutrality. It’s emotional neutrality that is the stepping stone to inner peace, love, and making the law of attraction work for us.
So if the addiction to suffering is present in your life right now rest assured that simply admitting that you’ve built up a comfortable relationship with this state can help you to begin going beyond it.
Beyond being addicted to worry and anxiety lies more dark places which must be resolved, along with light places which must be fully accepted in. Remember, the path forward isn’t meant to be a smooth ride, it’s meant to be rocky sometimes. But through the challenges you face in the future (because you’ve now committed to inner change) you’ll begin updating your belief systems from the old childish ones to the new childlike ones.
The difference between our childish beliefs and our childlike beliefs are that the childish ones are connected to our conditioning brought on by others, whereas our childlike ones are connected to our innate playfulness (this anxiety guy YouTube video explains). And without a sense of playfulness towards your your inner change work you can only go so far since seriousness is the killer of all inner progress.
Being addicted to worry and anxiety is not forever. As long as you understand that these patterns aren’t who you really are.
As we become increasingly more aware of when the ego wants to drive us back to worry we can choose a new direction. This direction will feel like it is a defiance towards the ego, almost like you’re letting someone close to you down. In actuality you are. You’re refusing to take on the belief systems of others who’ve programmed you knowingly and unknowingly up to this point and have decided to get back in touch with who you truly are deep down.
So, continue to increase your moment to moment awareness, tap into the courage within you to change, and embrace the love for yourself that arises as a result.
