Anxiety-Free in Five

Disclaimer: This article is to help healthy people stay healthy. In no way do we condone giving up meds or current treatments and professional counseling without the consent of your qualified psychotherapist or medical professional. This article is like aspirin for a headache; but, aspirin won’t help a broken arm.

Really, we should title this article, “Converting Anxiety into Complete Joy in Five Minutes.” Why didn’t I? No one would believe that it’s possible. It’s like saying, “Reaching Planet Jupiter in Five Minutes”. At best, you’d chuckle, shrug your shoulders and ask what the author smokes, while clicking your merry way onto something better to read whose origins aren’t from fantasy land.

But it’s true! You can end anxiety in five minutes (Okay, really tough challenges can take up to 7 or 8 minutes). And, once the anxiety goes, the inner peace flows. That leads to complete joy. In any case, the advice that you’re about to learn takes much less time than it does to find a parking place at the psychiatrist’s or psychotherapist’s office, and it doesn’t cost you a cent.

Most people are still skeptical when I tell them this. You do believe that a diabetic individual sees a dramatic improvement in health by getting off junk food and sugar and going on a high-fiber natural diet rich with a few minutes of exercise every day. That’s a no-brainer and a simple matter of discipline, when you realize your life depends on it.

This is no different. By focusing on three simple concepts, you’ll rid yourself of stress, anxiety, sadness and depression. I almost forgot despair and disappointment, as well as anger and jealousy.

Now, you’re asking me what I smoke. The answer is nothing. As a rabbi, spiritual guide, and fitness trainer, I take impeccably good care of my body and soul. I enjoy life and have a great time, too.

“Oh yeah, but you don’t have any problems, Lazer!”

Say what, bro? I have a long list of ’em, starting with auto-immune disease, chronic fatigue, and atrial fibrillation with a heart that doesn’t pay attention to speed limits. I spend time every so often in bomb shelters, because the terrorists who live 22 minutes down the road fire Katyusha rockets on my neighborhood. Okay, can we continue now?

Give it a try – you have nothing to lose. Let’s go…

First, let’s understand the enemy – anxiety, and its allies– negative emotions such as the three D’s of despair, depression and disappointment. My esteemed and beloved teacher Rabbi Shalom Arush says that they all come from feelings of frustration and futility when a person thinks that his or her problems and challenges are insurmountable or unsolvable.

You don’t get anxiety or a panic attack if you’re thirsty while sitting in your kitchen. You simply get up, go to the fridge or the faucet, and pour yourself a glass of water. It’s only when something is beyond our control; that’s when anxiety sets in. For one person, it’s a bill that he lacks funds to pay. For someone else, the trigger could be a mother-in-law coming for dinner. Plug in your own challenge and, for a moment, keep it in mind. Let’s deal with it head-on. Flow with me, and in five minutes you won’t feel anxious anymore.

Tell yourself the following three points, and say each one at least three times:

1. Everything in the world comes from the Almighty. This is not something I dreamed of – it’s the first of the Rambam’s 13 Principles of Faith.

2. The Almighty is my loving Father in Heaven, Who loves me more than I love myself. I didn’t dream this up either. It’s written in the Torah and all over the Gemara and Zohar.

3. Since everything comes from the Almighty, and He loves me so much, whatever is happening to me right now is for my very best. Why? I don’t know, but I believe.

Logic and intellect are now prodding you to get back into the car and drive to the pharmacy or the therapist. But throw logic and intellect aside; they never did a thing to help you; they only brought you down.

Give emuna a chance.

Close your eyes and ask your beloved Father in Heaven to let you feel His presence – you’re now in for a pleasant surprise. Repeat the above three points once more…

Hopefully, the anxiety won’t be there anymore.

The above mental exercise takes five minutes or less, but it will dramatically improve your emotional health and your ability to cope and function.

The more we internalize the above three points, the more they materialize in everyday life. We begin living a new and happy reality. Try it; you’ll love it.

Hold on – we’re not finished yet. The first five minutes of rehashing the above three points in our brain will definitely make us feel better. By saying them out loud, and letting our mouth and ears join in the party with our brain, we internalize these three thoughts in our hearts and we strengthen emuna.