How To Stop Anxiety
Anxiety was my constant companion until I figured out how to stop it. I will never forget waking up with dread for the new day, and flinching with every noise late at night. It was hell on earth.
During lockdown six years ago, I researched the causes of anxiety. When we experience trauma, our amygdala sends us into fight, flight, or freeze. Trauma that is continual, such as abuse, increases activity in the amygdala. Long after the trauma stops, the amygdala stays on very high alert.
What this all means is that when you experience anxiety, your amygdala’s activity increases, and you become easily triggered and feel threatened when a threat does not exist.“ This can make a person more likely to react to triggers, especially emotional ones,” according to the Australian organization, Blue Knot Foundation.
Studies show a link between childhood trauma and increased amygdala activity. Researchers looked at 12 female PTSD patients who endured physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse before they turned 18. What they found is that the severity of sexual abuse correlated with the size of the amygdala.
3 Ways To Stop Anxiety
I have found three ways to stop anxiety while rewiring the brain so the amygdala stops its increased activity.
1. Deep Breathing
The first way to stop anxiety is to practice deep breathing. Dr. Herbert Benson, a Harvard Medical School cardiologist, studied the effects of relaxation techniques in the 1970s and coined the term relaxation response. When you experience a deep sense of rest, you are experiencing the relaxation response. Deep breathing, also called diaphragmatic breathing, is one way to invoke the relaxation response. By deliberately taking the time to breathe in slowly and breathe out slowly, you calm your nervous system and stop the stress response. You rewire your brain in the process.
The next time you experience intense anxiety, start inhaling slowly through your nose. Watch as your chest and lower belly rise. Exhale slowly through your mouth. Breathe out longer than you breathe in because that calms our brains.
If you are new to deep breathing, find a time every day to practice it for at least a few minutes. Make sure you are seated comfortably, and it is quiet. Many apps exist that can make practicing deep breathing easier. Two of the author’s favorites are Breathe2Relax and The Breathing App.
2. Tapping
Using a technique called tapping is the second way to stop anxiety. Six weeks into lockdown in the spring of 2020, I found out about tapping, or the emotional freedom technique. It involves tapping on acupressure points.
“Tapping seems to turn off the amygdala’s alarm--deactivating the brain’s arousal pathways,” Nick Ortner, developer of The Tapping Solution app, says in his book. “Tapping on the meridian endpoints sends a calming response to the body, and the amygdala recognizes it’s safe.”
3. Mindfulness Meditation
The third way to stop anxiety is with mindfulness meditation. While deep breathing is aimed at halting anxiety attacks, mindfulness meditation practiced daily will help rewire our brains. A great way to start learning about and practicing mindfulness is through the eight-week course called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction(MBSR). It is an eight-week course developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the 1980s. The Palouse Mindfulness website refers to it as a “blend of meditation, body awareness, and yoga,” according to Palouse Mindfulness, which offers the course for free.
Have you tried any of these techniques to stop anxiety? Drop a comment about your experiences.