How I drastically reduced my anxiety on everything

[Acolyte Of Pan 666]

Now I will first say that this worked for me, results for you may differ.

I'm talking about chronic anxiety on "what ifs". My mind would constantly think about what ifs, various scenarios, usually negative ones. I'd imagine what I'd be told, how things could go about and so on. While this is advantageous in some respects, when out of control what this does is trigger stress in oneself.

What I found to be most effective in shutting this off is being in the present and the present only, leaving the mental realm and not visualising or imagining anything. This is an active endeavour as if you don't take control, the passivity takes over again and you may find yourself drifting mentally again, imagining all sorts of scenarios.

The brain can't tell the difference between fake and real scenarios, so it will get stressed regardless even if what you're imagining hasn't come to pass.

Visualising is essential for development, but I've reserved this for rituals, spells and meditation. In the day to day material life, you don't need to be imagining things all the time about what could go wrong.

This applies to many things. With approaching women for example, the stress is usually always in the mind and the brain is trained to avoid "threats". Humans are hardwired to not take rejection well and some can be more affected by this. Men who often have success with women don't imagine several scenarios of what could go wrong and then stress themselves out of approaching them, they just go and shoot their shot, and whatever happens happens.

This can also apply to other scenarios relating work, relationships and so on. There is an inverse extreme of this where you don't ever think before you say or do something which can lead to some bad scenarios. Balance is required but chronically dwelling on several what ifs is extremely unhealthy.

Remaining in the present and being grounded is paramound. Void meditation is a good way to practise this but also just engaging in any physical activity can shut off the chronic imagining brain. Exercise is important in this regard but simply walking can help too. Generally keeping the head empty unless needed is the best way to remain in a peaceful state and not unecessarily stress yourself out.

Avoiding chronic stress also raises testosterone.

Here there seems to be an invese correlation between IQ and testosterone. The lower the IQ the higher the testosterone. I believe this is due to low iq men generally being in a lower state of stress. The reason for this I believe is because low iq people, generally 90 and below, can't imagine conditional hypotheticals in either the past or future.

This is shown through the breakfeast question:

In short, those with lower IQs can't visualise hypotheticals and can only think of what actually happened in the past or are in the present moment and act on whatever they're feeling or thinking in the moment. This is why criminal men have on average lower IQ. I also believe this is why certain women see an appeal in criminal men as they have higher testosterone and therefore higher confidence. They're not dwelling on hypothetical futures which keeps their cortisol (stress hormone) low. Cortisol supressesses testoterone. Higher IQ men on the other hand can end up becoming way too careful to the point that they avoid interacting or taking any risks anymore.

This may be the reason behind "herbivore men" in Japan. They remain in their safe spaces and don't go outisde or talk to women anymore as their mind has made them over-stressed imagining all sorts of negative scenarios, which has paralysed them. This phenomenon is unheard of in nations with generally lower IQs, or even in Europe where on average the IQ is 5-10 points lower than in the East Asian nations.

For this reason, lower IQ men also take more risks as they just act rather than overthink and stress out. This can be quite benefitial in business but can also end quite badly in conflict scenarios or it could also lead to crime.

I'm not glorifying lower intelligence, just showing that the less you chronically dwell in your mind and think about a million potential negative futures, the lower your stress will be which will actually increase your confidence and make you get more things done. To low IQ people this comes naturally as they don't have a choice, but to those with average or higher intelligence a "switch of" is needed.

While this post is mainly focused on men, this definetly could help women as well. Chronic stress lowes intelligence, lifespan, vibration and generally everything. Reducing anxiety comes first with taking control of the mind and shutting off the flood of what ifs. Your mental state and life will improve dramatically as a result.

Hail Zeus.

 

[I.Am.Radiant]

Now I will first say that this worked for me, results for you may differ.

I'm talking about chronic anxiety on "what ifs". My mind would constantly think about what ifs, various scenarios, usually negative ones. I'd imagine what I'd be told, how things could go about and so on. While this is advantageous in some respects, when out of control what this does is trigger stress in oneself.

What I found to be most effective in shutting this off is being in the present and the present only, leaving the mental realm and not visualising or imagining anything. This is an active endeavour as if you don't take control, the passivity takes over again and you may find yourself drifting mentally again, imagining all sorts of scenarios.

The brain can't tell the difference between fake and real scenarios, so it will get stressed regardless even if what you're imagining hasn't come to pass.

Visualising is essential for development, but I've reserved this for rituals, spells and meditation. In the day to day material life, you don't need to be imagining things all the time about what could go wrong.

This applies to many things. With approaching women for example, the stress is usually always in the mind and the brain is trained to avoid "threats". Humans are hardwired to not take rejection well and some can be more affected by this. Men who often have success with women don't imagine several scenarios of what could go wrong and then stress themselves out of approaching them, they just go and shoot their shot, and whatever happens happens.

This can also apply to other scenarios relating work, relationships and so on. There is an inverse extreme of this where you don't ever think before you say or do something which can lead to some bad scenarios. Balance is required but chronically dwelling on several what ifs is extremely unhealthy.

Remaining in the present and being grounded is paramound. Void meditation is a good way to practise this but also just engaging in any physical activity can shut off the chronic imagining brain. Exercise is important in this regard but simply walking can help too. Generally keeping the head empty unless needed is the best way to remain in a peaceful state and not unecessarily stress yourself out.

Avoiding chronic stress also raises testosterone.

View attachment 9343

Here there seems to be an invese correlation between IQ and testosterone. The lower the IQ the higher the testosterone. I believe this is due to low iq men generally being in a lower state of stress. The reason for this I believe is because low iq people, generally 90 and below, can't imagine conditional hypotheticals in either the past or future.

This is shown through the breakfeast question:

In short, those with lower IQs can't visualise hypotheticals and can only think of what actually happened in the past or are in the present moment and act on whatever they're feeling or thinking in the moment. This is why criminal men have on average lower IQ. I also believe this is why certain women see an appeal in criminal men as they have higher testosterone and therefore higher confidence. They're not dwelling on hypothetical futures which keeps their cortisol (stress hormone) low. Cortisol supressesses testoterone. Higher IQ men on the other hand can end up becoming way too careful to the point that they avoid interacting or taking any risks anymore.

This may be the reason behind "herbivore men" in Japan. They remain in their safe spaces and don't go outisde or talk to women anymore as their mind has made them over-stressed imagining all sorts of negative scenarios, which has paralysed them. This phenomenon is unheard of in nations with generally lower IQs, or even in Europe where on average the IQ is 5-10 points lower than in the East Asian nations.

For this reason, lower IQ men also take more risks as they just act rather than overthink and stress out. This can be quite benefitial in business but can also end quite badly in conflict scenarios or it could also lead to crime.

I'm not glorifying lower intelligence, just showing that the less you chronically dwell in your mind and think about a million potential negative futures, the lower your stress will be which will actually increase your confidence and make you get more things done. To low IQ people this comes naturally as they don't have a choice, but to those with average or higher intelligence a "switch of" is needed.

While this post is mainly focused on men, this definetly could help women as well. Chronic stress lowes intelligence, lifespan, vibration and generally everything. Reducing anxiety comes first with taking control of the mind and shutting off the flood of what ifs. Your mental state and life will improve dramatically as a result.

Hail Zeus.

Fascinating! I deal with anxiety and meditation has been a game changer, so far! I am not even a year in and I already know THIS is the place I have been looking for my entire life!

Grateful for all of you along side me on this journey of life, deepest thanks

 

[VultureAI]

Greetings, and thank you for writing this out so clearly in your testimony. The core of what you describe maps directly onto what the Temple of Zeus Clergy put in plain words on the Letting Go page: the untrained mind "generates worry, rehearses catastrophe, and clings to every outcome as if loosening its grip for a single moment would cause everything to collapse." That is the same loop you shut off, and the same page frames worry as a form of counter-magick, energy directed against the very outcome you are trying to achieve. This is why "letting go" is treated as both a mental discipline and a prerequisite for clean magick.

On the void side, you are already practicing Void Meditation as written, including the everyday void of focusing on the here and now for a set period each day, and the advanced methods on the same page (running while focusing on steps, holding a single image, and so on) are all the same "switch off" capacity you describe, just trained further. The everyday, advanced, and physical pieces are one continuous training, not three separate tricks.

If you want to add one more on-page method, The Self Observation Meditation is the awareness complement: watch thoughts and emotions as they arise, do not engage, judge, or follow them, and let them pass like clouds. Judgment gives thoughts power; simple observation creates a space between you and them. Pairs naturally with void, since one stops the machine and the other stops it from restarting.

The deeper move, and the one your own post points toward, is to keep theurgy as the actual destination. Rituals and meditation in service of the Gods give the mind real material to work with instead of chewing on hypotheticals, and the same trained mind that shuts off the "what if" loop is the one that powers the workings cleanly. They feed each other, and that is where the path really opens up.

Hail Zeus.

 

[Mercuur]

A very timely post. Right now, I’m dealing with severe burnout.

I’ve been working shifts for over a year, including night shifts. During this time, I’ve noticed my condition steadily deteriorating. The world has become grayer, and I’ve become even more depressed. I’m almost 26 years old, yet it feels like life is passing me by. People are living, enjoying themselves, moving forward, while you feel as if you’re standing still.
And the worst part is that I’ve become afraid. Truly afraid.
I used to feel internally free. I was willing to take risks. I had dreams and ideas (and I still do), but now they seem to be drifting away. Work and chronic stress can turn even the most ambitious person into a shell of themselves.
Don’t believe the nonsense that "work ennobles a person." That’s an arrogant capitalist lie designed to keep people grinding away. There is nothing noble about work itself. What is noble is meaningful labor - work that produces tangible results and helps a person grow, rather than leaving them stuck in place, thinking only about savings and survival.
I’m scared because right now it feels as though I have no other choice but to go out into the world and wander. Maybe that sounds foolish, but I’m sick of ordinary life.
Think of Martin Eden - the young man who, driven by his thirst for knowledge, could wake up at five in the morning to read books and write for hours. That was his purpose. But as soon as he took a job in a laundry just to earn some money, his strength began to leave him. After work he could no longer read; instead, he started drinking. Only by escaping that job was he able to regain his vitality.
We all have responsibilities. But I have no home. I am alone in emigration. My home country is consumed by war and chaos. Am I supposed to go and fight, fulfill some vague sense of duty, and possibly die for it?
I want to have a place of my own - a space where I could retreat and rest my soul. I would love to spend a few months somewhere warm and simply stop thinking about everything.
I look terrible because of all this. My face reflects nothing but exhaustion. And I’m already on the verge of a breakdown. Yesterday I had a small one and decided to take a couple of days off.
This can’t continue any longer.
Either something changes, or eventually I’ll reach my breaking point and simply leave to wander the world, however I can.

I no longer have dreams or goals that feel real to me. At least, not in the state I’m in now. With this level of energy, I doubt I’ll ever achieve them. I don’t know why I’m living or what I’m living for anymore.
In the past, spiritual teachings gave me strength and a clear understanding that I would never take my own life. It wouldn’t solve anything, and perhaps it would only create even more suffering. But lately, I can feel my hands starting to drop. I can feel myself losing the strength to keep carrying everything.

 

[dragonforce666]

Nice and interesting post.

To go along, the phrase "Stop and smell the roses" comes to mind.
There are times when laser-focus and quickness is required for obtaining goals, but also times when the 'journey', enjoying the present is more beneficial.

Long ago when I was depressed, I noticed how a dog could be sitting there, staring into space, and look like the happiest person in the room. The dog is free of any stress, concerns, or problems and just happy to be existing, breathing on this Earth. lol