May 11, 2015

Overcoming Anxiety Is Possible; Here’s How I Did It.

0 Boost Score Adam Siddiq (1,510,185)

34.4k

I used to suffer from anxiety on a daily basis.

It all really kick started when I experienced what many psychologists would call an “identity crisis.”

I basically woke up one morning after an epic day at Oktoberfest unable to recall most of the events that took place at night (typical for an Oktoberfest attendee).

The main thing that was different was I woke up in a living nightmare: I felt like I didn’t know who I was, like I lost my sense of purpose and identity, and that all hit me like a train.

For close to two years since that turning point in my life, panic attacks, low self-confidence and feeling like nobody would understand me became normal. I remember the first three months of that low point in my life; I was experiencing panic attacks on a daily basis, living in a state of terror and feeling triggered by the smallest, ordinary things.

The emotional, mental, physical and spiritual pain I felt made me extremely hungry to find a solution. This led me on to a quest of searching on Google for solutions to get rid of anxiety, checking in on forums, going to a psychologist, learning about the chakras and meditation, learning from personal development leaders and attending seminars, working with a professional nutritionist, working with a peak performance coach and more.

Everything on my journey to overcome anxiety had value, and I learned many great strategies to use in my life and share with others. The challenge was, altogether after experiencing them all…I still experienced anxiety mild to moderately on a daily basis. And then, I discovered a mind-blowing solution: upgrading my nervous system.

This happened when I was at a Tony Robbins seminar called Date With Destiny. Tony told us in the audience about a time when he was searching for a solution for his wife’s motion sickness. He was deep on his quest and nothing seemed to work. He felt like he tried everything and nothing was really working, until a friend told him about a healer named Donny Epstein who has trained thousands of chiropractors worldwide in Network Spinal Analysis and Somato Respiratory Integration.

Through these models, practitioners are able to help people effectively heal through pain, tension and trauma. Donny was introduced and his website was shown on the project screen, and I took the notes down.

Three days after the event, I was a bedridden sick and alone in a dark room with the most severe bronchitis I’d ever experienced. I was in tons of pain in my back and neck, as well as emotional pain as the feelings of anxiety and helplessness were taking over. I scanned through my Date With Destiny notebook and landed on the page where I took a note of Donny’s website. Desperate to get out of pain, I searched it up to find a local practitioner and fortunately I was invited to a workshop by one.

At the workshop, I learned how most people live in a defensive state throughout their days, how a defensive posture leads to breakdown in the body, how upgrading our nervous system upgrades our life, and how NSA and SRI are tools to upgrade our nervous system.

I was skeptical, afraid and intrigued to experience my first session. Prior to the session, I was only focused on the pain I was feeling. Afterwards, I felt like I woke up from a nightmare and like I was more energized, peaceful and that everything was okay. I felt compelled to commit to receiving this care and was convinced this would help me overcame anxiety.

As I continued receiving care, I learned that I was stuck in my nervous system…experiencing life through the perspective of an emotional trauma. Upgrading my nervous system allowed me to locate where in my body I felt stuck so that I could free my nervous system of interference…allowing the stuck information to move up my nervous system.

I then experienced an incredible program with Donny called the Transformational Gate, and soon met Eli, a wise and seasoned practitioner who I clicked with instantly. Through receiving care with Eli, I became aware of more unexpected benefits: the recurring knee tension that prevented me from playing collegiate soccer dissipated, I grew 1.5 inches taller, I grew more emotionally expressive and fueled, my thoughts patterns grew healthier and more creative, I had more moments of pure presence and less of mental chatter, and most importantly—I began to find a gift in my pain.

NSA and SRI weren’t and aren’t magic pills. They’re certainly magical tools, in the sense that it’s phenomenal what we can experience and accomplish through care. The key point is they are not therapeutic tools to “get rid of pain.” In fact, I learned that when I would avoid pain and try to get rid of it by “throwing it in the back of my mind,” it would show up in my spine. I knew that because the practitioners I’ve worked with always seem to know the theme of what’s been going on in my life by checking my spine.

Why is this so? Our central nervous system is located along our spines. We process information through our nervous system and whatever information, feelings, thoughts and parts of us that we neglect, avoid and alienate will show up as interferences in our nervous system along our spinal cord.

I overcame anxiety not because I got rid of it, rather because I was able to fully experience the tension and trauma stored in my nervous system along my spinal cord. NSA and SRI allowed me to do that and through it, transform my pain into fuel for transformation.

Beyond just overcoming anxiety, I feel a sense of gratitude and purpose for the whole journey. I perceive what was once a “wound” now as a “gift.” I’ve expanded my identity, and I feel that it truly expands beyond myself. I feel that we are all interconnected as the cells of humanity, an organ on the body called planet Earth.

Whether you’re experiencing anxiety or not, getting an upgrade in your nervous system will upgrade your life. It’s funny how we update our phones and computers regularly, yet we have forgotten about our “internal computer,” our nervous system. This is my story to you to remind you about your software update reminder: are you ready for an upgrade?

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