We can face all kinds of situations that cause anxiety. For
some of us, that anxiety can be overwhelming and get in the way of living the
life we want. Feelings of anxiety are produced in the brain as a response to
triggering circumstances, and we can retrain our brains to lessen our anxious
responses. Psychologist
Catherine
M. Pittman and her co-author Elizabeth
M. Karle explain this in Rewire Your
Anxious Brain.
The authors devote quite a bit of the book to describing the workings
of those parts of the brain most involved in our sense of fear and anxiety.
These are the amygdala and the cortex.
The amygdala has a lot of control over our fight, flight or freeze
response. It is centrally located and well connected in the brain, so it can
produce a powerful response before our thinking mind—the cortex—can figure out
what is going on. In addition, the amygdala has its own emotional memories,
independent of the cortex, so you may have an anxious response to a stimulus
you have little conscious awareness of.
A big part of dealing with anxiety is retraining the amygdala. This can
be difficult because it involves exposure to situations that produce anxiety.
When you face those situations and see that there is no negative impact, or
that they were less than you expected and you can handle it (you didn’t die),
your amygdala learns that these situation aren’t so threatening and it will
stop producing anxious responses. The authors show how you can take this in
steps, starting will less anxiety-inducing stimulus and working your way up,
but it may be faster to dive into the deep end.
Retraining the amygdala can be aided by relaxation.
The book describes several relaxation practices.
Though the amygdala is always involved in producing anxiety, the cortex
can be the source of it or can perpetuate it. Retraining the cortex is mainly a
matter of changing your thinking. When you recognize anxiety-producing
thoughts, you can change what you are thinking. You might use countering
thoughts that you prepared for the situation or you might distract yourself by
thinking of something altogether different. Mindfulness is a helpful practice
in that it helps you to recognize that your thoughts are not necessarily the
reality and you can remain peaceful while the thoughts come and go.
The book is a mix of science
and how-to
aimed and helping anxious people find relief. The authors strongly suggest that
you get help, and I think this is a reasonable suggestion. If anxiety is
interfering with your life, you will probably benefit from the aid of a professional.
This book can help you understand what is happening and what can be done about
it, but you may need some help to actually adapt them your own needs and put
them into practice.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Pittman, Catherine M., & Elizabeth M. Karle. Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End
Anxiety, Panic & Worry. Oakland, CA:
New
Harbinger, 2015.
