Rewire Your Anxious Brain.pdf

Título: Rewire $our Anxious Brain  Autor: "atherine <. Pittman% /li=a8eth <. >arle. Fecha de publicacin : 21)% ew !ar8inger Pu8lications

Contents: Introduction: The Pathways of Anxiety. A nxiety. Part 1 Anxious Brain Basics. 1. Anxiety in the Brain. 2. The Root of Anxiety: Understanding the Amygdala. . !ow the "ortex "reates Anxiety. #. Identifying the Basis of $our Anxiety: Amygdala% "ortex% or Both& Part 2 Ta'ing "ontrol of $our Amygdala(Based Anxiety ). The *tress Res+onse and Panic Attac's. ,. Rea+ing the Benefits of Relaxation. -. Understanding Triggers. . Teaching $our Amygdala Through /x+erience. 0. /xercise and *lee+ Ti+s for "alming Amygdala(Based Anxiety. Part  Ta'ing "ontrol of $our "ortex(Based Anxiety 1. Thin'ing Patterns That "ause Anxiety. A nxiety. 11. !ow to "alm $our "ortex. "onclusion: Putting It All Together to i3e an Anxiety(Resistant ife. Resources. References.

Important Points:  Anxiety Pathways Pathways (how it originates): originates): ( Cortex: ( Inter+retation of sensory information 4thalamus(5cortex6thalamus(5amygdala(5cortex 4thalamus(5cortex6thalamus(5amygdala(5cortex77 ( Inde+endent of external information 4left lo8e9thoughts6ruminatio lo8e9thoughts6rumination% n% right lo8e9catastro+hic images7 ( Amygdala: Recei3es information 8efore the cortex does and can acti3ate the *ym+athetic er3ous *ystem due to triggers that might 8e un'nown to the cortex 4stimulus +re3iously associated with emotional reactions: emotional memories7. ;;;

 Association is an essential +art of the language o! the amygdala . If you want the amygdala to change its res+onse to an o8?ect or a situation% the amygdala needs ex+erience with the o8?ect or situation for new learning to occur. /x+erience is most effecti3e when the +erson interacts directly with the o8?ect or situation% although o8ser3ing another +erson has also 8een shown to affect the amygdala. ;;; /x+eriencing stress res+onse sym+toms 4+ounding heart% ra+id 8reathing% stomach distress...7 means the amygdala has been acti"ated# In order to decrease amygdala acti3ation% it@s 3ery effecti3e doing breathing exercises  as well as muscle relaxation exercises  and physical exercise.

$$$ hen you feel +anic'y% it@s im+ortant to resist the strong urge to flee the situation. This is essential to gain control o3er your amygdala% since the amygdala learns from ex+erience. If you lea3e the situation% your amygdala will learn to esca+e the situation rather than learning that the situation is safe. ;;; Although you can@t easily erase the emotional memory formed 8y the amygdala% you can de3elo+ new connections in the amygdala that com+ete with those that lead to fear and anxiety. To get the amygdala to create these new connections% you need to ex+ose it to situations that contradict the association 8etween a trigger and negati3e e3ent. hen you create a new neural +ath and +ractice tra3eling it again and again% you esta8lish an alternate route that a3oids trou8le. $ou can esta8lish other calmer res+onses as a way around your anxiety. ;;; /x+osure Thera+y% *ystematic esensiti=ation and Clooding 4+g 1 2,(1#17 ith either a++roach% in most cases +eo+le initially confront feared situations mentally% 8y imagining themsel3es in the feared situation. Research indicates that intense% extended ex+osure to triggers that +roduce fear 4flooding7 is more ra+id and effecti3e than a gradual a++roach. But for an a++roach to 8e effecti3e% a +erson must 8e willing to use it. uring ex+osure% you need to ex+erience the sights% sounds% and other stimuli that create anxiety in order to acti3ate the exact neural circuitry that holds the emotional memories you want to modify. Acti3ating these circuits creates the +otential to de3elo+ new connections 8etween different neurons(connections that will modify the amygdala@s res+onses. $ou must acti3ate the neurons to generate these connections. $ou must ex+erience fear or anxiety in order to conDuer it. hen facing feared situations% the discomfort can sometimes seem un8eara8le% and the desire to esca+e% irresisti8le. This dynamic of ex+eriencing anxiety and then esca+ing it 8y a3oiding the situation ?ust ser3es to maintain anxiety. In this way% anxiety can 8e self(+er+etuating. If you want to generate new connections% you must acti3ate the circuits that store the memory of the feared o8?ect or situation. The emotional arousal and anxiety that occurs is a sign that you@re acti3ating the right circuits. The o+timal condition for learning to ta'e +lace in the amygdala is when the neurons are excited%  ?ust as the o+timal condition for 8uilding muscle mass in the 8ody is when the muscle fi8ers are fatigued. In a +arallel way% as you do more re+etitions% you grow stronger.

$ou shouldn@t try ex+osure until you@re confident you@ll follow through% 8ecause it@s +ossi8le to actually strengthen anxiety if you lea3e the ex+osure situation 8efore your anxiety decreases. $ou need not ex+erience a high le3el of anxiety for rewiring the circuits% 8ut if anxiety is high during ex+osure% this can s+eed the +rocess of change. hen ex+osure is Duite challenging% you can strenghen your resol3e 8y reminding yourself that  you@ll ex+erience changes in your anxiety relati3ely Duic'ly. hen you@re +racticing ex+osure exercises and you feel your anxiety decrease% you@ll 'now that  you@3e gotten the amygdala@s attention and are ma'ing +rogress. /x+osure to each ste+ must 8e done re+eatedly for change to occur in your amygdala. Ty+ically each re+etition of a s+ecific ste+ is easier than the +re3ious one% 8ut sometimes there are u+s and downs. ;;; /x+osure co+ing thoughts: I ex+ect my fear to rise% 8ut I can manage it. *tay focused on this situation. This is all you ha3e to manage. >ee+ 8reathing. This won@t last long. Relax your muscles. et the tension go. I@m acti3ating my fear circuits to change them. I@m ta'ing control.  Eust stay until the fear decreases. It will decrease if you wait. I must acti3ate to generate. • • • • • • •

;;; If you antici+ate that a +articular e3ent or +hase of your day may am+ u+ your anxiety% a carefully timed exercise routine 4yoga% 8reathing% muscle relaxation7 may allow you to get through it with less anxiety. In other words% you may 8e a8le to achie3e a tranDuili=ing effect without ta'ing tranDuili=ers. ;;; "ogniti3e restructuring techniDues% anxiety(igniting thoughts% co+ing thoughts 4+g 1#(107 ;;; Instead of getting stuc' in worrying or ruminating% +lanF If you antici+ate that a situation will actually arise% come u+ with +ossi8le solutions and then mo3e on to other thoughts. If the situation actually arises% you can +ut your +lan into action. In the meanwhile% you don@t need to 'ee+ thin'ing a8out it. ;;;