Breaking free from anxiety by Mel Schwartz (TEDxBeaconStreet)

Anxiety has reached epidemic rates in Western society. Most professionals simply try to manage it, primarily through medication. Psychotherapist and author Mel Schwartz shares his perspective on both the cause and the solution to this mass disquiet. He proposes that anxiety is often due to our relationship with our thoughts. These are thoughts that are perpetually seeking certainty. The more we try to know the future – which is of course unknowable – the more fearful and and anxious we feel. Mel demonstrates how to shift our relationship with uncertainty and embrace the unknown, freeing us from the grip of anxiety. Anxiety has reached epidemic rates in Western society. Most professionals simply try to manage it, primarily through medication. Psychotherapist and author Mel Schwartz shares his perspective on both the cause and the solution to this mass disquiet. He proposes that anxiety is often due to our relationship with our thoughts. These are thoughts that are perpetually seeking certainty. The more we try to know the future – which is of course unknowable – the more fearful and and anxious we feel. Mel demonstrates how to shift our relationship with uncertainty and embrace the unknown, freeing us from the grip of anxiety. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.