Geert Verschaeve > Quotes

“As long as there is no total acceptance, the nervous system will remain under too much pressure and the anxiety will continue to flourish.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“There’s nothing you could possibly do to transform these people into positive versions that will like and love you. It’s a waste of time. It’s not our job to educate or change other people.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“Feeling at ease wherever you are can drastically reduce your overall stress level and especially the load you put on your central nervous system. It also creates a life that’s more enjoyable. Just imagine when “wherever you are” becomes your safe place.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“The heart has many reasons to beat faster other than you being physically active. If you drink alcohol, your heart will beat faster since alcohol is a poison to our bodies. If you’re sick and your immune system is fending off a virus, your heart will beat (a lot) faster. If you’ve eaten an ingredient you’re allergic to, your heart will beat faster too. Nothing bad is going on then, your body is simply doing its job. Irregular heartbeats are no source of concern either, provided your doctor confirmed you are healthy heart-wise.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“Caffeine will raise your stress level, will make your nervous system more sensitive, will mess with your body clock, and in short, will act like adrenaline in your body. It is also one of the major causes of adrenal fatigue.[2]”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“It turns out there will always be three groups of people: those who dislike you, those who are indifferent or undecided, and those who like you. It’s impossible to become a version of you that would eradicate the group that dislikes you. That group will always be there.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“Everything we repeat or think often becomes an automatism. Both the good and the bad repetitions. Your mind makes no distinction!”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“The true cause of fear of failure and the inability to proceed is the weight you put on the outcome.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“Nonetheless, if you’ve had your health checked by a medical doctor like I’ve asked you to, then know that you are not dying when you feel any or all of these symptoms. The panic attack that’s giving you these unwanted sensations is the very system that wants to keep you alive. Trust in the verdict your doctor gave you. When he or she said you are healthy and medically fine, you are.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“What we imagine has a profound effect on our entire body and the emotions we feel.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“That phrase and mindset will also help with control. During the exposure, your mind will want you to be in control in an effort to take away the uncertainty (e.g., “Go for the aisle seat so you can get up whenever needed” or “Let’s do it when it won’t be crowded” or “Let’s call in sick.”). Let go of the notion of having everything under control, and go with the flow. If you want to take it step-by-step, limit the control you’ll have and only build in some contingencies or exit strategies like the people from the examples I previously gave you did.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“The same is going on with your thoughts. They are just channels of information; they are not you until you decide you like a certain channel and believe it sounds interesting. Only then do they become you. And crazy thoughts are not just about losing your mind, going crazy, or doing something that you really wouldn’t want to. They’re also the famous “what if?” thoughts we’ve been discussing all throughout the book.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“Anxiety cannot be outrun, and we don’t even need to, as explained. You are your safe spot. The world is your backyard. All the rest is trivial and just a mind game.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“Trying to avoid anxiety or attempting to make it vanish is a form of resistance, and the anxiety you’re feeling already represents resistance to something that’s happening or that you were thinking about. That’s what launched the anxiety in the first place. Hence, the more resistance you add, the more you forcefully try to be calm, the more nervous you will get.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“Just imagine what it would feel like: you finally overcome those pesky symptoms and feelings, you start living your life again without that dreaded fear of the fear, and for the first time in ages, you get to enjoy doing that what you previously feared. But then, lightning strikes. You get an anxious moment and possibly a panic attack. Your negative thoughts kick in, and warn you, “There you have it! I’m back at square one. Everything is starting again!” Honestly, the fact that you will have uncomfortable moments in the future is as sure as the fact that ice melts in the desert. It’s unavoidable. The question is: how will you respond? The initial negative thoughts are very normal, you still have your danger radar, you still have your little cartoonish devil, you still have your negative voice. You remain human, after all.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“We need to learn to not make a big deal out of everything and not be ashamed about our uniqueness.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“Our internal dialogue during moments of intense anxiety would often be classified as verbal abuse should we use the same language outwardly toward others.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“And if you think, “Nah, that can’t be it! I’ve been drinking it for ages.” Please prove me wrong by giving it a try. Go to zero for four weeks and then introduce it, you’ll feel straight away what caffeine has been doing to you.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“Hyperventilation is very common with panic attacks and anxiety. Here it will be important to forgo of the common technique of breathing in a bag since that will mess up your blood oxygen/carbon dioxide levels even more. There are two ways to respond: 1. Do nothing and let your body breathe any way it wants. This is often the most effective approach. Our breathing happens automatically, and your body will soon find the best way of breathing. 2. Use abdominal breathing. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth, making sure that only your abdomen moves. Furthermore, you can use any of the mental and other techniques described in part two of this book. My favorite is, “I allow you to breathe anyway you like, dear body. Whatever happens, I’m fine with it!”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“Unwanted anxiety is just a feeling, a sensation, a misguided fire alarm. The “what if?” thoughts you are getting are not real, you’re not in any real danger, for if you really were, it wouldn’t be unwanted anxiety in the first place. If you don’t see a clear and present danger, it is unwanted anxiety.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“what you eat and drink has a major impact on your body and how you feel!”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“I say, “whatever happens, it’s OK. I choose to not feel anxiety. Having the symptom is bad enough. I don’t need to add oil to the fire. Been there done that.” If the symptom is really bad or weird or persists, I go see my doctor. I trust my doctor’s verdict, or, if the feeling stays, I may look for a solution elsewhere. But I do not freak out about it! I no longer feel anxiety for it.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“I decided to install a new belief: “I always have me, with me. And that’s all I need. Me. My mind. I myself am the safe person. I don’t need anyone else, nor do I need another place I can run to.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“When your amygdala makes a call, your reaction to it proves it right or wrong.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“If the pain is caused by your stomach that dislikes what you ate, a beginning ulcer, or your liver that has a challenging task ahead, anxiety is not going to fix any of that. Since we eat/drink things that our body dislikes, since we catch viruses and more, pains are possible. I always go for full acceptance and when a symptom persists, I have it checked and try to figure out what’s causing it.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“Learn to love the fact that your mind is so inventive. That it has the power to come up with so many scenarios and compliment your unlimited creativity for scaring you in new ways. The best horror and thriller writers in Hollywood could learn a lesson or two from your mind’s creativity.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“Reassurance gives more power to the emotion of anxiety.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“We cannot really control our heart. Sure, our thoughts can help it calm down or speed up a bit, but if there ever would be a serious problem with our heart, our thoughts wouldn’t be able to fix it.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“And as I said earlier, if the pain and symptoms are severe, you go to the emergency room or call for an ambulance, but you can still choose to do so without anxiety. As you’ve learned in part one, anxiety can give you all of the symptoms that may resemble heart problems, so the only way to know something may really be going on is when you choose to let go of the anxiety. If the symptoms and pain then persist, only then would I, personally, seek help. Anxiety has no place here, no role. It won’t help even if something is going on. So it’s totally safe to choose to let go of anxiety.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life

“If you choose to no longer fear the worst possible outcome, fear will no longer have any grip on you.”
― Geert Verschaeve, Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks!: A counterintuitive approach to recover and regain control of your life