Author: Tom Flanagan

The Anxiety Crisis

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It may be a sign of an improving society to see that anxiety itself is rising as a concern and an opportunity.  Anxiety affects anyone who pays attention to life around us, and it adversely affects almost all of us at some time or another either acutely (immobilizing us) or chronically (nudging us to self-administered reactions).  Many will accept the “just get over it” or the “it’s a normal part of life” thoughts about burdensome anxiety.  And any of us will self-medicate our way through anxious times with comfort food, social alcohol, or natural or pharmaceutical “remedies.”   Surely it is… Continue Reading

June 11, 2024: Moving Meditation

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Again, starting with check in, challenges & successes, and a brief guided meditation, we reflected on our reaction to the meditation exercise.  While we almost always agree that the meditation was enjoyed, this week one of us felt that they just couldn’t quite ease into the pace of gently letting each thought bubble up and float away.  The problem was that sometimes too many thoughts rumble to the surface at once … “like a never-ending grand finale to a fireworks display.”  We talked about how anxiety can bake and get to truly intense levels for us, each in our own… Continue Reading

June 4, 2024: The Emotion Wheel

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After our ritual of check in, challenges & successes, and a brief guided meditation (introducing a new online resource each time), we began an exploration of “the feelings wheel.” A handout was distributed showing a chart of emotions.  In an inner ring on a wheel, we considered  what we might call our primary emotions, or our most familiar labels for our emotions.  Six core emotions on the chart included Fear, Anger, Disgust, Sad, Happy and Surprise (other emotions charts show more primary types; from eight to eleven).  We talked about anger a bit, because anxious frustration can give rise to… Continue Reading

May 22, 2024: Cards Against Anxiety

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The group began as usual with a check in.  Challenges and /or successes since the last week.  And then a brief meditation to set the tone for the rest of the meeting.  This week’s meditation was reflection on how we live between a light side of life and a dark side of life, and how we might move toward the light even if we are also pulled toward darkness.  It spoke of feelings of grief and also of hope.  The group shared some of their experiences with challenges of navigating their own lives.  Then the peer-group leader introduced something new;… Continue Reading