ANXIETY TREATMENT AND THE BLACK KNIGHT
Anxiety creates symptoms that live in the conscious mind. Clients of mine routinely experience anxiety when they attempt to battle symptoms. What-iffing, self-criticizing, and why-ning are common symptoms that people seamlessly follow, endlessly engage, and fiercely fight. (See anxiety handout). When teaching clients how to become smart enough to know when to stop thinking I encourage them to utilize symptoms as positive triggers, or reminders, to use the therapeutic tools they are learning. For example, a client fighting with the what-if will be encouraged to say to herself, “Thank you Ms. What-If for reminding me to imagine what it WILL be like when I achieve my goal.” (See The Art of What Willing Handout). The client beating himself up with negative self-talk will say, “thank you Mr. Self-Criticism for reminding me to support myself the same way I would a loved one or a good friend.” The Why-ning client will utilize his incessant asking of why as a positive trigger to consider, “What can I do differently?” Thus the symptoms are transforming into the creation of solutions.
It is most interesting to know that the symptoms that live in the conscious mind are really no match for the subconscious mind. As clients move forward in therapy they begin to access and fully experience their best, most empowered self who, not surprisingly, lives in the subconscious mind. However, anxiety will continue to send symptoms into battle, attempting to start up the same old fight. They are really hollow inside, akin to smoke and mirrors, devoid of substance. Your best self can rapidly develop a mastery utilizing symptoms as positive triggers to create focus, calm, and balance. Your best self can also enjoy incorporating the therapeutic tool of humor to fully let go of symptoms and really move forward.
The Black Knight is a most extraordinary symbol of anxiety symptoms attempting to continue a fight that no longer exists…NO MATTER WHAT! Thus a hallmark of anxiety and its loyal symptoms is a persistent, irrational attempt to fight the same battle over and over and over and over….
Read how one client was able to overcome their anxiety by using this video clip.
I remember smiling politely when Joe used an image of the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail to describe my fight with anxiety. It was a funny image – the Black Knight losing one appendage after the other and still fighting with all he had. He had called Sir Arthur the pansy when he finally rode away from the ridiculous knight, when the real loser was the Knight who didn’t know when he had been beaten. I didn’t give it too much thought, though, until the next time Joe brought it up in conjunction with another one of his clients, who had taken the idea further. read more …