 Hey Psych2Goers, welcome back. When was the last time you felt completely at peace with your life and self? Sometimes our minds can linger in dark spaces with negative influences like anxiety. Are there times when the voice of anxiety is louder than your own? Does it become difficult to discern between thoughts based on reality and thoughts that are merely lies? Clouding your mind. Identifying which thoughts are fear-based and false is the first step in shifting your mindset which then helps you shift yourself image and life as a whole. So with that said, here are six common lies your anxiety may try to trick you into believing and how you can reframe those thoughts instead. Number one. Everyone is focused on your flaws. First time gym goers are often hesitant and timid due to the lack of experience and confidence in a new environment. They think they'll stick out as the least experienced person in the room or that other gym goers will judge them harshly over their body. What they don't realize is that everyone there is too focused on themselves and improving their own bodies to worry about others. Replace the gym with other social settings and you'll realize the same applies. Remember that everyone has insecurities of their own, including the person you're interacting with. Reclaim your mental space by focusing on being present, present with your setting or the people you're sharing time with. You'll find that the less you focus on internalizing those negative feelings and the more you focus on being yourself regardless of those insecurities, the more confident you'll feel. Number two. You're not ready. Think of someone you admire, whether fictional or not. If they refuse their call to action, whether that be accepting an invitation to a magical wizarding school or volunteering themselves as a tribute in the Hunger Games, all because they felt like they weren't ready, their world would be deprived of an important contribution. When faced with a choice to take a leap of faith, remember that greatness comes when you act before you feel ready. Trust yourself to learn along the way and trust that your path will unfold gradually as you carry on. Number three. Your self-worth should be earned. The only factor that changes how connected you feel to your level of self-worth is belief, which is influenced by what you've been taught. Sometimes it's not about adding more to your life through money, accomplishments and material possessions to feel self-worth. Sometimes it's about removing limiting thought patterns and unlearning the beliefs that convinced you to think less of yourself. Throughout life, you may be conditioned by negative experiences, people or trauma. To believe that self-worth is something you must earn before you're allowed to claim it. But that isn't true. While there are things you should work hard to earn in life like a dream job or financial independence, self-worth is a feeling you innately deserve to have. Number four. You must complete X by Y time in your life to be successful. Are you telling yourself you must reach a certain goal at a certain time in your life to be deemed successful? Or do you have a checklist with milestones you'd like to hit and are hard on yourself for not making those goals when you plan to? This lie is exaggerated even further when you look around and feel as though everyone is more successful than you or doing better in life than you are. The truth is, everyone is on their own timeline and life is not a race. What looks like immediate success on the surface could actually be a goal that was years in the making for someone you admire. A successful goal is worth celebrating no matter how long it takes. What matters most is your determination and persistence in making it happen. Number five. It or you will always be this way. Anxiety can trap your mind in a loop causing you to believe that its presence will be a constant all your life. Your anxiety will lie to you by recalling all the times you failed to overcome it. You might think that you'll always feel weak in the face of your fears or insecurities. But all of that is part of anxiety's negative influence. Bad memories are more easily remembered than good ones due to survival and evolution. When undergoing a negative experience, the two emotion processing regions of the brain alerts you to what feels dangerous in an attempt to protect you. Your brain imprints these negative feelings into your memory so that you can better prepare for future possibilities of similar experiences. For every negative memory that you have, try thinking about two other positive memories as well. This practice will help reframe your past in a positive light and can encourage a more optimistic view of your future. Number six. Change is bad. Are you afraid of change? Many of us are. We're scared of change because of its uncertain nature. Anxiety brings this fear to a new level. Sometimes to the point where you feel paralyzed. A bad breakup two years ago might leave room for the love of your life to arrive later on. Not making the baseball team now could lead you to discover a passion for a new sport. And a conflict with a friend could be what deepens your bond with them in a way you couldn't have imagined possible. Change can be good as long as you allow it. So did you relate to any of these? When these thoughts or lies arise, don't force yourself to fight them off if that proves to be a challenge at first. Allow them to appear like clouds forming in the sky. Watch them pass through your mind and let them float away. You don't have to believe or hold on to any of them. With practice, you'll find they float into your mental space less and less. Know that these thoughts are not your own and that there is an inner voice encouraging you with positivity underneath those fear-ridden thoughts. If you found this video helpful, like and share it with friends that might find insight in this too. Remember to subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the notification bell for more content. All the sources used are added in the description box below. Thank you for watching. Until next time.