[a13o]

I picked up a few useful tricks from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that I use to this day, but the best lessons came from eastern philosophy.

Anxiety isn't a disease - you don't 'have' it. Everyone experiences anxiety. It's a temporary signal, like stomach butterflies or being starstruck. What happens next after experiencing these signals is up to you. You can let your ego take control, or acknowledge the experience and let it pass. Sometimes it's a useful signal to act on. Many times it's not. Think of your body like a tuning fork, the anxiety is you vibrating in reaction to a new experience. There's nothing inherently good or bad about new experiences, it depends experience to experience. Therefore the anxiety reaction should be taken under advisement but confers no knowledge about what's to come, and shouldn't be treated like a warning indicator.