Turn On Your Humor Switch To Bust Through Anxiety

Anxiety Busting Challenge ~ Day 26

Today is the finale! We are at the last day of the Anxiety Busting Challenge.

Today I’m thrilled to share with you the creative, off-beat, Petrea Hansen-Adamidis.

Petrea and her family live life, off-beat. She has a wonderful story and Golden Nugget to share with you. This nugget will benefit us all, especially since it’s know as the best medicine……I believe we all could us a little more of it in our lives…..at least a daily dose! Enjoy!

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Anxiety Story

As a parent I find often myself rushed and trying to balance my life between my family, my own needs and my work. At times there are so many things going through my mind that I want to get done that I can become quite tense.  This tension manifests itself in how I interact with others, which can make the situation worse.

 

When I get sucked into the tension that I have created in my own mind it looks something like this: “Hey guys come on, we need to (insert focus of attention) get ready! tidy up! . . . or we will be (insert worry or perceived “disaster”).   As I focus more on what is not going right my blinders go up to what is actually going well.  The expected outcome becomes worse than it probably will be.  It is at this point that I feel my tolerance levels drop.

 

Old tapes begin to play in my head, which unfortunately are not the ones that are pleasant to listen too.  They sound more like an old school teacher, strict and inflexible or a frustrated parent. You get the picture?  My anxiety about things not going as planned (mistake number one) starts to rise at this point, as I hear myself sound like a conglomeration of all the adult voices I dreaded listening to as a child.  Then to make matters worse, I notice this and judge myself, further increasing my anxiousness.

 

 

Golden Nugget

Do you remember those blooper TV shows that used to be popular?  The ones where a mistake was caught on tape that in retrospect seems quite funny.  Although the incidents were not funny usually at the time they were happening, when played back they often had people in stiches laughing.

 

When I began to notice that I was spending more time worrying about the state of things than enjoying them, I started to infuse more humor into my interactions.  I’m not talking about sarcasm, because that can be hurtful.  However, poking fun at one’s self by exaggerating responses comically can go a long way for easing tension and shifting perspective.

 

Sometimes I joke about having a Humor Switch that I can turn on and off.  You too can have one if you want it’s really easy to install (for just $9.99 you’ll get… JUST KIDDING!)   But seriously, you can choose to look at things from a more humorous perspective or you can stick with the tension and watch it grow.

 

Whenever I realize that I am taking myself too seriously and getting all worked up or dramatic about a situation, I remind myself of this imaginary humor switch.

 

The minute you see yourself being critical of a situation or yourself, picture a snap shot of the look on your face or other humorous part of the situation.  Feel the tension melt away as you focus on how silly or blown up your response is getting.  After all, though you may not be able to change what has already happened you certainly can influence what happens next, based on your response.  You can choose to get all dramatic and play the drama queen role or you can inject some humor into the situation.

 

 

Challenge

What would happen if you treated any mishaps, perceived “mistakes” or frustrating moments as bloopers?  

 

How would things be different if instead of getting pulled into the drama of what is not going right, and further upsetting yourself, you see the humor in the moment?

 

I challenge you to accept these life “bloopers” as just another reminder from the universe to not take everything so seriously.  Your challenge is to look for bloopers throughout the day that you can laugh with not at. Instead of being pulled into the frustration of the moment you allow yourself to see the humor in it.

 

I have included a clip of a homemade “blooper” that my 11-½ yr. old made from old video footage of when he was about three.   Perhaps you’ve caught your own bloopers on tape and can make a video to remind yourself to laugh with life more often.  You could give yourself a mantra at such times “life is funny like that”.

 

 

 

 

 

Petrea Hansen-Adamidis is a Registered Art Therapist and founder of Offbeatfamily.com  where she shares creative parenting tips and videos.  She is also the founder of Art Therapist Drawing the Self Out where she shares her ideas about connecting more deeply with your inner muse and inner wisdom.  She offers a free e-course “Free Your Inner Child”. You can follow her on Twitter @drawingselfout or @offbeatfamily or drop by and say “Hi” on Facebook at ArtTherapist.ca or Offbeatfamily.

 

image by DBduo via flickr