Alison Seponara - The Anxiety Healers Guide : Coping Strategies and Mindfulness Techniques to Calm the Mind and Body

The Anxiety Healers Guide

Coping Strategies and Mindfulness Techniques to Calm the Mind and Body

Alison Seponara, MS, LPC

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Copyright 2022 by Alison Seponara

This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subjects addressed in the publication. It is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering medical, health, or any other kind of personal professional services in the book. The reader should consult his or her medical, health, or other competent professional before adopting any of the suggestions in this book or drawing inferences from it.

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First Simon Element hardcover edition March 2022

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Interior design by Jennifer Chung

Cover design by Jordan Wannemacher

Photograph courtesy of the Author

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Seponara, Alison, author.

Title: The anxiety healers guide : coping strategies and mindfulness techniques to calm the mind and body / by Alison Seponara, MS, LPC. Description: First Simon Element hardcover edition. | New York : Simon Element, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2021030890 (print) | LCCN 2021030891 (ebook) | ISBN 9781982177829 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781982177836 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Anxiety. | Mindfulness (Psychology) | Mind and body. Classification: LCC BF575.A6 S473 2022 (print) | LCC BF575.A6 (ebook) | DDC 152.4/6dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021030890

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021030891

ISBN 978-1-9821-7782-9

ISBN 978-1-9821-7783-6 (ebook)

Illustration Credits: Hand by Adrien Coquet from the Noun Project. Heart, Labyrinths, and Mazes by Alexander Skowalsky from the Noun Project. Moon by angelina from the Noun Project. Walk by Bakunetsu Kaito from the Noun Project. Emoticon by Caesar Rizky Kurniawan from the Noun Project. Brain by Cdric Villain from the Noun Project. Sun by gufron m from the Noun Project. Person by Guilherme Furtado from the Noun Project. Abstract Flower and Flower by Hassan Khaled from the Noun Project. Floral, Flower, and Leaves by Kristina Margaryan from the Noun Project. Stop Sign by Libby Ventura from the Noun Project. Star by M. Oki Orlando from the Noun Project. Mandala by Maria Zamchy from the Noun Project. Butterfly by Oliver Kittler from the Noun Project. Sun by Pixel Bazaar from the Noun Project. Leaf by PJ Souders from the Noun Project. Flower by Xinh Studio from the Noun Project.

For Mila and Paolo

Who always remind me that laughter is the best medicine and my reasons for healing

And because of Mom, Dad, Amy, and Jonny

Thank you for always accepting me, loving me, and believing in me anxiety and all

W elcome to The Anxiety Healers Guide! I am so grateful to be on this journey with you not only as a therapist but also as a fellow healer recovering from anxiety myself. As someone who has always struggled with anxiety (and made a career out of learning how to ease it), I am constantly looking for ways to help calm my overactive mind and body when faced with adversity. I was the little girl with stomachaches who never wanted to sleep over at her friends house. The teenager who never felt good enough. The college girl who always felt like she was dying and lived at the doctors office. The adult who was expected to be the life of the party but in reality struggled with severe social anxiety. I began making choices based on what others expected of me and felt pressure to be someone I wasnt. I felt a constant need to be perfect and not rock the boat by talking about my feelings. When I tried to openly express feelings of sadness, worry, or anger, I was constantly dismissed with the phrase oh, youre fine. I was always the one listening to others and never the one others would listen to. I struggled with trusting myself.

My emotions were hidden, and my anxiety started to manifest itself more physically, as severe digestive issues. I saw so many gastroenterologists and received every medical test in the book. The diagnosis? Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). What I learned was that IBS is basically a fancy term for nothing is seriously wrong with your gut [thank goodness], but there is nothing more we can do. I felt alone, hopeless, and sick. With no one else to turn to but the internet, I started to research more about holistic healing and Eastern medicine. I began to find hope in what I was learning about the mind-body-spirit connection.

I felt a sense of belonging when I would show up for a weekly yoga class. I found comfort in guided meditations, breathwork, and self-soothing exercises. I practiced setting boundaries with others and challenged myself to talk openly about my feelings when I felt safe to do so. I found a therapist who believed in holistic psychology as much as I did and trusted in my recovery. I didnt know it at the time, but I was in the process of creating my own anxiety-healing tool kit. I am now more aware of the tools I need when anxiety shows up and I begin to feel out of control. I created this resource guide complete with every tool and technique that has contributed to my own healing journey in hopes of helping you create the tool kit that will lead you on your own road to recovery.

Yes, I am a licensed therapist who specializes in anxiety. In fact, I was voted most likely to be a therapist in the eighth grade. Yep, you heard that right. I have been unintentionally helping people heal and recover since middle school. Back then, the title didnt really have much meaning, but today it is one of the only things in my life that makes sense. I have always had an innate drive to help others. I always knew I wanted to be some type of healer, but I wasnt sure if it was possible. I always doubted myself. I never felt that what I said actually mattered. That was until early 2018, when The Anxiety Healer social media profile was born. As I started to share more about my anxiety-healing journey on Instagram, people from around the world became invested in my recovery, as well as my expertise as a therapist. I started posting to raise more awareness about anxiety with holistic healing remedies; cognitive behavioral techniques; gut health practices; and, most important, educational self-help stories.