How to Pull Yourself Out of a Doubt Spiral as an Anxious Person!

Doubt spirals used to DESTROY me! 🥵☹️😭

When I first started in grad school, the professor asked us how undergrad writing was different than grad level writing. So, I raised my hand and gave my opinion, and watched— in horror— as the professor slowly shook his head, “no.”

I was DEAD wrong! 😟😫🥵😱😭

My face turned fire-engine red and I felt like the dumbest person on the planet.

Immediately, my brain started to spiral:

🧠 Clearly, admissions made a mistake.

🧠 I don’t deserve to be here.

🧠 Everyone is judging me.

🧠 I am an idiot.

🧠 That was such a stupid comment… I bet they’ll take away my teaching position… and then I won’t be able to pay rent and then I’ll be in real trouble… wait, no— I bet that’ll actually kick me out of the program… and then, I’ll have to go home and live in my parent’s basement because I don’t have any money… and they won’t be proud of me anymore… and—

Needless to say, I was spiraling way way wayyyyy down! It was like I’d picked at one thread on a sweater, and then, before I knew it, I had a metaphorical pile of yarn on my lap. 🧶

If you’re an anxiety-prone person like me, this kind of thing happens, right? It can be so easy to get swept up into a doubt spiral that takes you to the WORST possible scenarios in the blink of an eye.

So, what can we do about this?! How can we support ourselves & not let the doubt spiral destroy our confidence and sense of self-worth snd peace?! 🤷🏼‍♀️

The best thing I’ve learned about anxiety management is to inject LOGIC into the anxious thoughts!

Of course, this is easier said than done sometimes, but… it’s so helpful to remind us that just because we THINK a worst case scenario is coming DOESN’T make that true! As much as our brain thinks that we’re gunna get fired or to get in trouble or to lose all our friends or that everyone hates us, 99.9% of the time, it’s just not true.

Take away the spirals’s power with LOGIC! 🥰

If you want to hear more, listen to today’s episode of The Power Within Her podcast! 🎙️

XOXO

Meggy