The Truth about Jewish Anxiety: It's Not a Bear (Cambridge, MA)

Hannah Kanter
Jun 10
2 min read

It's not a bear.

Ok, the image above is of a bear.

And ok, the last email I sent was definitely about a bear, but stay with me...

When one of my friends was in grad school, her mentor told her that,"When we are feeling anxious, we have to remind ourselves, 'It's not a bear!'"

When the anxiety takes over, we respond like there is a bear in front of us right now -- even when that's not true.

Our biology is trying to protect the system from danger.

In my last email, we identified anxiety is trying to help you, especially if there is a polar bear attempting to play street hockey with your child. [If you missed my last email, you can re-read it here.]

The human body has automatic survival defenses that help keep us alive.

Anxiety is trying to help us respond more quickly and efficiently to immediate threats, like bears.

So now we have one teeny, tiny problem when it comes to the body's automatic defense mechanism: There is not a bear in your kitchen. Or at work. Or behind the shower curtain.

Whatever the threat is in front of us, unless you are out hiking in the woods,"It's not a bear."

Sometimes anxiety can feel like a bully -- a bully crying "Bear!" instead of wolf.

But like most school-yard kids who act out, deep down inside, the Anxiety Bully just needs some help and guidance.

Anxiety is trying so hard to keep us safe. It's working overtime.

Anxiety does not have to be the enemy.

Anxiety does not have to be the boss of our decisions either.

So what do we do about it?

One of my favorites methods is to use the body to help bring other parts of our brain, like the frontal-lobe, the house of logic, back online.Most of my clients have heard me say that the key to mastering anxiety is to lean into it.

It's like a dog that has to pee. If you pull away and avoid, it only barks louder.

If you keep ignoring it, there could be wet and unpleasant consequences.I can show you how to safely turn towards the fear.If you ever wanted to punch, kick, scream, shake, run away, curl-into-a-ball, throw-all-the-things, then join me for a special in-person, body-focused workshop happening this Fall.

We will be working with the body's urges to move through anxiety instead of fighting against them. But don't worry, we won't really scream at the top of our lungs or actually kick anyone.

Come join the supportive space where you can connect with other folks who want to learn new skills to manage anxiety so you can feel more grounded, energized, and free.