When most people try to lose weight, they watch one number: the scale. But not all weight loss is...
The Best Way to Cope with Worry is to Let It Be
By: Scottsdale Weight Loss Center
Published: April 3, 2020
Please Don’t Drink Your Calories if You’re Focused on Weight Loss
Liquid calories are fluids consumed as part of your daily diet that often go unnoticed and...
Rock Climbing: Lose Weight on the Wall
If your weight loss efforts have hit a wall, why not climb it? Rock climbing is becoming an...
Weight Watchers vs. Medical Weight Loss Programs in Scottsdale: Comparing the Results
Many residents in Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Glendale struggle with weight loss plateaus despite...
Arizona Medical Weight Loss Programs vs Online Programs: Which One Provides the Best Results?
The weight loss landscape has shifted significantly with the rise of digital health platforms....
Is Brown Rice Healthier Than White Rice?
Is brown rice better than white rice? Intuitively, one would think that brown rice is much...
Are you plagued by anxiety? If worry keeps you awake at night, or steals your peace of mind in the day, there’s a simple solution, but it takes practice to get right.
Why you need to ditch anxiety
A little anxiety won’t hurt. After all, sometimes stressing about concerns gives you the impetus to make positive changes in life. At other times, though, anxiety just leaves you unhappy.
The results of regular stress are startling. Too much worry can give you insomnia, depression, and weaken your immunity. One of the most useful ways to decrease it involves acceptance.
Why acceptance helps to reduce anxiety
When you stop fighting your anxiety, you are likely to experience relief. Pushing against anything you dislike strengthens it, but letting it be does the opposite. You’ll still experience anxiety occasionally if you no longer battle with it. However, it won’t be powerful anymore.
How to accept anxiety
Your instinct is to do your best to get rid of whatever bothers you, which can be a good thing. Sometimes, you can kill stress by dealing with its cause. Often, though, you can’t manage problems. They hang around making you blue. Unless, of course, you learn how to take your mind off them.
The first step to dampening stress-based self-talk is to recognize it is there, but resist the urge to send it packing. Acknowledge unwanted thoughts when they come rather than try to do anything with them.
Think of them as storm clouds in the sky and yourself as a h2 rock. No matter how bad the weather is, you won’t get hurt will you? No storm can damage you, and it can’t last forever either.
At some point anxious thoughts will disappear because something else will grab your attention. Indeed, you need not wait for that to happen. Change your focus intentionally.
Now and then it’s best to find a sympathetic friend to listen to your woes, especially if you need advice. The rest of the time there’s nothing to be gained from putting up with your worries, so place your attention elsewhere.
Distraction is different from repression
You might wonder whether changing your focus is advisable if you think doing so will result in repressing difficult emotions. However, distraction, after recognizing your concerns won’t cause you to squash painful feelings deep into your psyche.
For a start, you will note them before moving your attention. Also, shifting your focus will stop worries growing. When you place your attention on chores, work, or entertainment, the subjects that burden you will fade from your awareness rather than expand.
Alternatively, use mindfulness and meditation
Another way to manage anxiety is to accept it and place mindful attention on it. To do so, breathe deeply and notice where the worry seems to be in your mind. Is it near the front of your mind? The back? The sides?
Consider if it’s accompanied by a physical sensation. If so, where is it experienced in your body? Is it a dull ache? A sharp pain? Discomfort?
Meditate on how you experience your anxiety and it won’t be so hard to handle. You’ll stop the flow of negative self-talk as you place mindful awareness on your concerns.
When anxiety strikes, don’t push it away. Rather, note it’s there and shift your attention. Or, focus on your experience and problems will cease to overwhelm you.
Nick
Nick's Story
"I wish I would have come here first. We spend all our time reacting to the next great weight loss tip or program. It might work for a while, but does not last and we end up yo-yoing from one fad to the next – as we gain more weight." Read More
Gina
Lost 44.5 lbs
"I had no trouble adhering to the meals and they really helped catapult my progress! The classes were so beneficial to me because they helped change my thinking about how I viewed health, nutrition, and fitness.
I will always have my relationship with Scottsdale Weight Loss Center. They truly helped me change my life forever." Read More
Lauren
Lost 60 lbs
"Dr. Ziltzer and everyone who I have come in contact with at the Scottsdale Weight Loss office have been so encouraging and I look forward to seeing them each week. It is now a year and 2 months later since I started. I am down 60 lbs., which is the average amount a 9-year-old weighs, it is crazy to think I lost a whole person! I feel amazing, I hit my goal weight in November 2021 just before Thanksgiving. Nothing on my body hurts anymore..." Read More
Chuck
Lost 66 lbs
"The best thing I did was call the Scottsdale Weight Loss Center. I have a lot more energy, I'm not hungry, and it feels great.
You can take it from me that this is a program that produces results. The staff is always positive, supportive, and never judgmental.
Your visits always result in positive reinforcement, no matter if you had a good week or a bad week." Read More
Emily
Lost 101 lbs
"Here I am at the lowest I have been since high school weighing in at 155lbs. I have lost 101 lbs, BMI of 39 when I started, to 21.6, and of course at body fat % of 47.1 to 26.5%. I told myself by my 30th birthday I wanted to be confident in the way I look and I owe it all to SWLC. The entire staff is so welcoming and they are rooting for you just as much as you are rooting for yourself...." Read More
Reviews
Meet Our Team
Robert Ziltzer, MD, FACP, FAAP, FOMA
Obesity Medicine Certified Physician
Diana Bone, FNP-C
Specializing in Obesity Medicine
Craig Primack, MD, FACP, FAAP, MFOMA
Obesity Medicine Certified Physician
Kristen Ash, FNP-C, FNP-BC
Nurse Practitioner
Alicia Earley, FNP-C
Family Nurse Practitioner
