Episode 119: The 3 Steps of A.S.K.: Acknowledging Your Feelings

<span style='font-weight: 400;'>Today, we are starting our month-long discussion of A.S.K. with the first step of the system: Acknowledge Your Feelings. </span> <p><span style='font-weight: 400;'>But first, I have a confession: I dislike 3 step self-help systems. </span></p> <p><span style='font-weight: 400;'>Not because they don’t work but because they overly simplify very nuanced and individualized processes. </span></p> <p><span style='font-weight: 400;'>This can be challenging for people with High Functioning Anxiety. We love rules. We love a guide–a simple system that we can follow to the exact letter, making everything feel better. </span></p> <p><span style='font-weight: 400;'>A.S.K.–my very own 3-step system for reducing your anxiety–appears to do that. It seems to offer a simple solution to our struggles with anxiety.</span></p> <p><span style='font-weight: 400;'>But, as you will hear this month, there is complexity below the surface this seemly simple solution. </span></p> <p><span style='font-weight: 400;'>This is why I encourage you to think of the system of A.S.K. as the bare minimum–the basic foundation, from which you can jump off of to make this process your own. </span></p> <p><span style='font-weight: 400;'><span style='font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &apos;Segoe UI&apos;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &apos;Open Sans&apos;, &apos;Helvetica Neue&apos;, sans-serif;'> After 2 years of teaching these concepts, I wanted to revisit them and expand on what I talked about previously, adding in some fresh tips. Once</span> you have listened to this episode, you can revisit where I have talked about these 3 steps in previous episodes (</span><a href='https://live-happier.com/episode-072/'><span style='font-weight: 400;'>episodes 72</span></a><span style='font-weight: 400;'>,</span> <a href='https://live-happier.com/episode-073/'><span style='font-weight: 400;'>73</span></a> <span style='font-weight: 400;'>and</span> <a href='https://live-happier.com/episode-074/'><span style='font-we