Navigating Anxiety in Uncertainty with Carolyn Robistow

Anxiety is something that most of us can relate to at the moment.
The uncertainties surrounding the global pandemic are affecting
all of us in some way, and worries about health, safety,
livelihoods, and finances are intensified by the constant influx
of news and shifting circumstances. Joining us today is a local
counselor, Carolyn Robistow, to share with us about navigating
anxiety and tapping into our resilience as human beings. While we
may be confronted with a new level of uncertainty, it is helpful
to remember that all of us have successfully overcome significant
challenges, including being uncertain at times. In this episode,
Carolyn gives listeners a few exercises for grounding themselves
so that they are better equipped to cope with the situation, and
while these activities do not exempt us from the discomfort, that
can help to get us from worrying about the future to being
focused on the present. Tuning in, listeners will also learn more
about the different ways that anxiety can manifest, noticing your
emotions, creating space for both positive and negative feelings,
and extending grace to the people around you. 





Key Points From This Episode:


The two main areas that Carolyn’s clientele are currently
anxious about: health and finances. 

Carolyn’s unique perspective working with over-functioning,
high-achieving professionals. 

The role of our amygdala in keeping us in a state of
regulation and how it gets triggered. 

The different ways that anxiety manifests in people who are
not normally anxious. 

Being aware of how you feel in your body and when you react
in a dysregulated manner. 

Allowing yourself to feel the waves of emotion from a
grounded and resourced place. 

Techniques for pulling yourself out of future worry and
grounding yourself in the present. 

How to hack the vagus nerve to activate your parasympathetic
nervous system. 

Keeping in mind that grounding exercises do not remove but
simply alleviate anxiety.

Recognizing your own resilience and that uncertainty is
something we have all dealt with. 

Realizing that positivity and gratitude do not exempt people
from suffering.  

The benefits of finding things to be grateful for and sharing
them with someone else. 






Tweetables:


“The whole purpose that our brain has is to help us exist in a
state of regulation and homeostasis. So, it wants us to be safe
and protected and comfortable and happy.” — Carolyn Robistow
[0:04:06]


“Feelings do come in waves, they don’t come and stay. They may be
more intense than we want so we work to bring them into smaller,
more tolerable waves but overall, they tend to be waves and are
temporary.” — Carolyn Robistow [0:09:56]


“Anxiety is like getting lost in future worry. Grounding is meant
to bring us into the here and now.” — Carolyn Robistow
[0:13:34] 





Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:


Carolyn Robistow


The Joy Effect 


Mosaics of Mercy 


Sherry Burkhard on LinkedIn