“Foolproof Ways to Battle Anxiety
Tuning out your worries and improving your state of mind is easier than it sounds.
Rebecca Ruiz- Forbes
1.20.09
If the Dow just closed after a dismal day of trading and a tightening sensation is beginning to spread through your chest, stop and try this exercise:
Instead of focusing on the money you’ve already lost or obsessing over future losses, try zeroing in on the present moment. Let go of distractions like a looming bill or the record unemployment rate and concentrate on your breath. Take in all the air you can, pause and then release.
“It’s actually totally boring concentrating on your breath,” says Dr. Michael J. Baime, director of the Penn Program for Stress Management at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. “Lifting a barbell is totally boring too, but it’s exercising a muscle.” After 10 repetitions, he says, you should start to feel some degree of calm.
Though anxiety is the body’s natural response to a threat, that alarm system sometimes sounds unnecessarily, cluttering the mind with the chatter of negative thinking. The breathing exercise helps divert the mind’s attention elsewhere.
Controlled breathing isn’t the only strategy for anxiety relief, either. Others include engaging the brain and body, cognitive and behavioral adjustments and meditative techniques.
The Origins of Anxiety
If it’s difficult to understand why you are plagued by certain anxious thoughts, don’t take it personally–it’s a phenomenon that still eludes scientists. What is known, says Dr. Sonia Bishop, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, is that anxiety involves responses in two parts of the brain: the amygdala and the pre-frontal cortex.
The amygdala is responsible for the fight-or-flight response, while the pre-frontal cortex controls executive functions like decision-making and planning. A human foraging for berries, for example, would use the pre-frontal cortex to decide which berries to collect. If a predator suddenly jumped from the bushes, the amygdala would sound the alarm.
Scientists don’t fully understand why certain individuals are more prone to anxiety, but some theories suggest varying levels of neurotransmitters–the chemicals that relay signals between neurons and cells and affect how well the amygdala and pre-frontal cortex function–may play an important role.
What interests Bishop, however, is how the anxiety-ridden can reverse course regardless of pre-disposition. That’s why she recently conducted a brain-imaging study with 17 participants, some of whom had “high trait anxiety,” which was determined using a standardized measurement.
While being monitored by an MRI that tracks changes in brain activity, each participant had to engage the pre-frontal cortex by identifying certain letters and ignoring others. When the task increased in difficulty, both groups did well on recruiting that region of the brain. But when the task was easy, those with trait anxiety did a poor job. This was particularly telling, says Bishop, because the participants were not exposed to any anxiety-triggering threats.
The results have led her to believe that the anxiety-prone may have difficulty preventing the mind from lingering on distractions when performing easy, day-to-day tasks.
Though not yet tested by other scientists, Bishop’s conclusion seems to reflect what works well in other successful techniques for battling anxiety: meaningful distraction.
Overcoming Anxiety
You could try informally testing Bishop’s theory by doing a crossword puzzle instead of watching TV. More commonly accepted remedies for curbing anxiety include socializing and exercise, the latter of which can increase levels of dopamine, the body’s naturally occurring, mood-boosting chemical. Such distractions are most effective, though, when paired with a real effort to switch your focus.
In the simplest terms, that’s what Dr. Israel Liberzon,a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Michigan, tries to teach his patients. Using cognitive and behavioral techniques, Liberzon shows patients–many of whom suffer from anxiety disorders–how to change the way they deal with their worries.
Often he advocates for reconsidering what you associate with anxiety, trying to judge perceived threats using a more rational scale or creating an emotional distance from certain fears. In other words, putting things in perspective.
But since that reaction is hardly intuitive, Liberzon recommends seeking out professional help. In addition to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, a nonprofit organization that provides information on anxiety treatments, Liberzon says support groups and local universities with anxiety and stress research centers can serve as useful resources.
Like Dr. Bishop, Liberzon also recommends mindfulness meditation, a well-regarded technique that has been shown as effective in clinical settings. Mindfulness meditation emphasizes focusing on the present moment instead of dwelling on regrets or worries.
Dr. Baime, of the Penn Program for Stress Management, teaches dozens of these meditation techniques and says they can be learned by reading literature on the subject. He recommends Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness by pioneer of mindfulness meditation Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, which Baime uses as a textbook in his classes.
Another alternative is to find local practitioners. While there is no certification process required to teach these methods, Baime says consumers can weed out potential snake-oil salesmen by asking to speak to previous students and inquiring about where the instructor learned the methods and how many students he or she has taught.
With the right tools, says Baime, mindfulness meditation can help the anxious reclaim their lives.
“When you learn to bring your attention into the present moment in a balanced way,” he says, “you learn to undo those negative predictions for the future.”"
9 Foolproof Ways To Deal With Anxiety (originally posted in Forbes)
“Try a Breathing Exercise
Instead of focusing on a looming bill or the record unemployment rate, take a moment to concentrate on your breath. Take in all the air you can, pause and then release. After 10 repetitions, you should start to feel some degree of calm, says Dr. Michael J. Baime, director of the Penn Program for Stress Management at the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation emphasizes focusing on the present moment instead of dwelling on regrets or worries. To learn more about it, try reading Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the pioneer of the subject. You can also find a local practitioner in your community, but be sure to speak to previous students and inquire about where the instructor learned the methods and how many students he or she has taught.
Engage Your Brain
The brain processes anxiety in two separate regions. The amygdala emits a fight-or-flight response while the pre-frontal cortex handles executive tasks like decision-making. A recent brain-imaging study showed that those prone to anxiety may have difficulty mediating their worries if not engaged in a task that requires diverting attention from the amygdala to the pre-frontal cortex. Though not yet replicated by other scientists, the findings reflect what works well in other successful techniques: high-quality distraction.
Socializing
Spending time with friends and family is not only a diversion from obsessing over the unknown, it can also improve your mood by forcing you to laugh or gain perspective on your fears and worries. During these rough times, socializing can also mean commiserating with your peers. But instead of collectively dwelling on the negative, try discussing positive developments.
Physical Activity
Exercise is another great diversion tactic. At a vigorous-enough pace, exercise can help produce increased amounts of the body’s naturally occurring, mood-boosting chemical dopamine. Getting active also gives people a sense of control and accomplishment, which can eclipse feelings of doubt and anxiety. There is one thing to remember, though: Be sure to focus on the task at hand instead of letting the mind wander.
Preventive Care
Anxiety is a powerful emotion that can overwhelm those who experience it. But instead of turning to alcohol, fatty food or television, try following the basic rules of good health and preventive care: stay physically active, eat well and get plenty of rest. Also avoid chemical substances like caffeine and nicotine, which can worsen anxiety, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Cognitive and Behavioral Techniques
Dr. Israel Iberzon,a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Michigan, uses cognitive and behavioral techniques to help his patients overcome anxiety. These include “changing the narrative” associated with the anxiety, creating emotional distance and assessing the threat with a new perspective. Since these reactions are hardly intuitive, Iberzon recommends seeking out professional help to better understand them.
Psychotherapy
Therapy can be an effective tool for those who want to learn more about cognitive and behavioral coping techniques, but it may also be necessary for those who have a clinical disorder. Anxiety disorders, according to the nonprofit organization Anxiety Disorders Association of America, are the most common illnesses in the U.S. A psychotherapist can make an official diagnosis and provide support and treatment.
Anti-anxiety and Anti-depressant Medications
Prescription medicine can alleviate symptoms of a clinical anxiety disorder. For short-term relief, patients can take benzodiazepines, which work as sedatives. Anti-depressants like duloxetine (Cymbalta) and fluoxetine (Prozac) have also been used to treat anxiety disorders, according to the Mayo Clinic. A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the anti-depressant Lexapro was very effective in treating adults with Generalized Anxiety Disorder over the age of 60.”
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