Putting an X Through Anxiety
By Dr. Asha George-Guiser
My first blog post discussed the five major reasons we are anxious:
Imagining the worst about the future
Ruminating about the past
Worrying what others think
Needing more and more
Not being good enough
This post addresses the first source of anxiety, which is imagining the worst about the future. We have three major parts of the brain. The prefrontal cortex, the amygdala and the brain stem.
The prefrontal cortex is the thinking brain that allows us to think and solve problems.
The amygdala keeps a video library of our experiences, both good and bad, and highlights the reels of the traumatic memories.
The brain stem, reptilian brain. If the amygdala set off an alarm, the reptilian brain will fight (vigilance), flight (escape), freeze (fear), submit (in shame) or attach out of desperate neediness.
If my video library is full of vivid traumatic scenes that keep replaying the same trauma again and again, and projecting the same scene onto the future and imagining the worst, my thinking brain literally goes off line and stops effectively operating to solve this infinity loop of trauma projection. My most frequent movie scene is receiving rejection letters from graduate school or jobs that I really wanted, or being taunted for my dark skin.
Practice C.A.L.M to put an X in anxiety
Step I is C = Cognizant of my emotional triggers (failure, rejection, racism). This awareness will let the prefrontal cortex get back online.
Step 2 is A = Ask others and God for help. Instead of fighting, flighting, freezing or submitting, reach up to God and to very trusted mentors for help.
Step 3 is L = Leave the movie loop by setting a time limit on worrying about the future (one hour each day or 10 minutes every hour) and walk 20-25 minutes, imagining the release of the worry.
Step 4 is M = Meditate on good things in my life. Write out or sing about all the good things and good memories that are the opposite of rejection or being taunted.