Self-awareness is the first step against anxiety and greatly aids us in managing our globus sensation.

For those of us who suffer from anxiety and negativity, here’s how I took my first step in becoming self-aware.

Moving from negativity to an awareness of buried emotions

Too much negativity (eg. being very self-critical) makes us unhappy. Yet, do we question our mind as to why it is thinking that way?

One day, feeling self critical as usual about being alone, unproductive & moody, I went for a walk.

I asked myself why I had to feel like I am with somebody / being productive to be happy.

In other words, why must i do things to satisfy my mind in order to be happy?

I reflected on my life experience (upbringing, passage of time etc) and it helped.

But the general moodiness doesn’t go away. It felt like dark clouds overhead, feeling sad but not sure why.

It suddenly dawned on me that “This “dark cloud” moodiness thing is a feeling!”

Earlier that day, I read that feelings are composed of emotions. And the strongest emotions are those like shame and fear.

Furthermore, I understood that these emotions stem from stressful situations in our past (especially from childhood) that are buried in our unconscious.

Suddenly, i recognised that it is FEAR (from stuff buried in the past) that is driving this deep feeling that in turn gives me the “dark cloud” sensation and moodiness.

That moment, I understood why my deep feeling remained undetected all this while. It had a powerful shield of logical thoughts but that is just a strong cover for FEAR to spew its negative feelings.

Well, recognising that the deep feeling of inadequacy revealed this chain: