Dr. Martha Beck

Yeah, I call it the anxiety spiral because ultimately, I mean, what people who have phobias become more afraid of, they may be afraid of going outside, but what they're really afraid of is the panic attack that once got to them outside. So it's this really intense escalated sense of fear in the brain that actually frightens us the most, as well it should.

It's actually the creator of most of our suffering around anxiety. Very little of it is based on actual circumstances. So, yeah, it spirals up and up and up and up until people, well, the New York Times called it the inner pandemic. It's become such an egregiously dominant characteristic for people worldwide. That's why I started studying it.

It's actually the creator of most of our suffering around anxiety. Very little of it is based on actual circumstances. So, yeah, it spirals up and up and up and up until people, well, the New York Times called it the inner pandemic. It's become such an egregiously dominant characteristic for people worldwide. That's why I started studying it.

It's actually the creator of most of our suffering around anxiety. Very little of it is based on actual circumstances. So, yeah, it spirals up and up and up and up until people, well, the New York Times called it the inner pandemic. It's become such an egregiously dominant characteristic for people worldwide. That's why I started studying it.

And that's why the World Health Organization is saying we should look more closely at it.

And that's why the World Health Organization is saying we should look more closely at it.

And that's why the World Health Organization is saying we should look more closely at it.

Well, there was something I stumbled into once during a very intense panic attack that I had. Because I had two, well, I had one serious bout of anxiety. It lasted, it started at birth, and it lasted until I was about 60. Um, but there were, that's a pretty serious, that's a pretty serious bout.

Well, there was something I stumbled into once during a very intense panic attack that I had. Because I had two, well, I had one serious bout of anxiety. It lasted, it started at birth, and it lasted until I was about 60. Um, but there were, that's a pretty serious, that's a pretty serious bout.

Well, there was something I stumbled into once during a very intense panic attack that I had. Because I had two, well, I had one serious bout of anxiety. It lasted, it started at birth, and it lasted until I was about 60. Um, but there were, that's a pretty serious, that's a pretty serious bout.

I was born with a very sensitive nervous system and did not set it up very well until I actually started reading, writing this book. I had never actually thought that I could bring it down to zero. Um, now I believe that we can bring it down to zero. I've experienced that. Um, and I know that it's reliable. So how do we do it? The first thing is something I call kind internal self-talk.

I was born with a very sensitive nervous system and did not set it up very well until I actually started reading, writing this book. I had never actually thought that I could bring it down to zero. Um, now I believe that we can bring it down to zero. I've experienced that. Um, and I know that it's reliable. So how do we do it? The first thing is something I call kind internal self-talk.

I was born with a very sensitive nervous system and did not set it up very well until I actually started reading, writing this book. I had never actually thought that I could bring it down to zero. Um, now I believe that we can bring it down to zero. I've experienced that. Um, and I know that it's reliable. So how do we do it? The first thing is something I call kind internal self-talk.

Now, the acronym for that, K-I-S-T, is KISSED, which, you know, I went to Harvard three times. I don't, like, walk around saying, we should all kiss ourselves on the brain. It's really good. But kind internal self-talk is It's something that I learned by studying the Tibetan Buddhist practice of metta meditation or loving-kindness meditation.

Now, the acronym for that, K-I-S-T, is KISSED, which, you know, I went to Harvard three times. I don't, like, walk around saying, we should all kiss ourselves on the brain. It's really good. But kind internal self-talk is It's something that I learned by studying the Tibetan Buddhist practice of metta meditation or loving-kindness meditation.

Now, the acronym for that, K-I-S-T, is KISSED, which, you know, I went to Harvard three times. I don't, like, walk around saying, we should all kiss ourselves on the brain. It's really good. But kind internal self-talk is It's something that I learned by studying the Tibetan Buddhist practice of metta meditation or loving-kindness meditation.

Many monks, before they do any other form of meditation, do a year of loving-kindness meditation toward the self. So all it is, is looking at any part of you that you can observe from the short distance of your mind and saying to any frightened parts of yourself, may you be well, may you be happy, may you be free from suffering, may you feel safe and protected, may you be happy.

Many monks, before they do any other form of meditation, do a year of loving-kindness meditation toward the self. So all it is, is looking at any part of you that you can observe from the short distance of your mind and saying to any frightened parts of yourself, may you be well, may you be happy, may you be free from suffering, may you feel safe and protected, may you be happy.

Many monks, before they do any other form of meditation, do a year of loving-kindness meditation toward the self. So all it is, is looking at any part of you that you can observe from the short distance of your mind and saying to any frightened parts of yourself, may you be well, may you be happy, may you be free from suffering, may you feel safe and protected, may you be happy.

Or even more like simply, I've got you, I'm here, you're all right, there's no danger in the room, we're okay, may you be happy, may you be well. I took myself from a point of maximum anxiety. This was in my early 50s. I used that KIST technique to bring it down, down, down, down until it only rose periodically. And then that was my first step away from the spiral of anxiety.