Rewiring Anxiety- The role of the amygdala in learning to be anxious - The Anxiety Cycle 3/30
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- čas přidán 16. 08. 2023
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Your brain is wired to adapt to circumstances, it can physically rewire itself based on how you think and the experiences you have. The human brain is one of the most complex and brilliant and amazingly powerful creations in the world. So why the heck does it make so many anxious thoughts, why can it make us miserable sometimes? There are some ways we accidentally teach our brain to be more anxious. Let me show you.
When the amygdala perceives a threat, it sounds the alarm, triggers a fear or anxiety response. It's like your brain saying, "Hey! There might be a bear!" This response activates your body's fight-or-flight system, getting you ready to either face the threat or escape from it. You jumped backwards (flight) and yelled (fight), both are adaptive ways to deal with a real threat.
Then when you saw that it was just your friend, your amygdala re-assessed the situation and realized - “Ok phew! I am safe, we can turn off battle mode”. The parasympathetic response kicks in, you laugh it off, shake it off, and tell the story. Your sense of safety is restored. Your brain and body have a natural, hardwired ability to resolve fear and stress.
Now, let me tell you how this system can get hijacked and we end up feeding a constant state of anxiety.
So what was happening? Stimulus (a rustle in the bushes), Perception (This is dangerous!) the amygdala would fire off a quick alert, the body would go into FFF, and Megan did everything she could to flee. These are all avoidance behaviors. And guess what, she survived, nothing physically bad happened to her.
But here’s the really important thing to understand, your brain is plastic, it physically and chemically changes based on how you think and how you act. When she avoided the rustling sound, her brain essentially learned “Phew, I could have died! I have to avoid rustling sounds to keep my human alive, so I’m going to make my human MORE anxious.” Your brain isn’t designed to make you happy, it’s designed to keep you alive.
This is how we accidentally make ourselves more anxious, avoidance trains your brain to increase anxiety. It keeps you stuck in the loop, where instead of addressing a danger -which allows your amygdala to reassess and restore a sense of safety, avoidance keeps you frozen in a state of ongoing anxiety. Your confidence decreases and your anxiety increases.
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In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.
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Dear Emma….I do not have the money for therapy….I’ve had anxiety for years since I was 4 years old. I’m glad I’m interested in psychology and straightening out my cycle of anxiety. I do believe you that I CAN do this. YOU are my therapist and the way you talk, the way you explain things is helping me daily….Thank you, Emma…Thank you❣️Nancy❤
How is you now ? Are you conqueror the anxiety ?
I hope ur better now. Sometimes people need more vitamen B12 to be more calm i saw many videos in youtube about good food and vitamen maybe reduse anxiety
@@natt_rose9836 It is not only about vitamin B12 it could be a loooot of reasons. But if you can afford to check vitamins and a lot of other important stuff itis better of course
Figuring out that I can't feed my thoughts scary scenarios all day long, and give my hyper aware amygdala a break, has been life changing!! Another of your videos laid the path for this when you said the simple statement: "There is real danger and there is PERCEIVED danger" The amygdala acts on both. Thank you so much for these unparalleled and incredibly life changing videos!! For those of us longtime anxiety sufferers, this is absolutely life changing!!!
Yea...I know what it's like to feel that way...as an overthinker I can relate but on the other hand, be good to yourself.
Emma, you’re doing God’s work, my friend. Thank you. I’ve recently started CBT and your videos are really helping me move along. You explain things so well and God shines out in your whole face. Bless you ❤️❤️❤️
I never thought that one day something as simple as "facing your fears" would become such an importance and such a monumental task to take.
Anxiety is the result of believing the made up thoughts in your head. There is nothing in this life that can do more harm to you than the catastrophic scenarios your brain imagines. Anxiety is a word that gets thrown around pretty loosely nowadays. Anxiety is normal. It's what you feel the night before xmas, before your first day of school, going to the dentist, yaking a test etc... The "anxiety" that psychologically cripples people is different. It's a relentless adrenaline laced heart pumping fear that won't subside without a benzo to calm it. We need a new term to describe this fear that actually does it justice.
Very well put. It's like that saying from the movie Field Of Dreams"If you build it they will come" If you think it they will come"
I have Anxiety that I get disabled,my lergs & I can't walk and I'm paper baging it,and only 10mg valium or other anxiety.med.i feel like a freak when my body does what it wants whenever it chooses,I'm a loner & reclusive as a random person can trigger me cause I'm a feeler,so i pick up peoples negative shit,my companion parrot is my world cause he gets me, piper
You described my fight well and explained it perfectly….
Anyone whos an anxiety sufferer like me, caffeine, sugar and booze are the enemy.
I've completely cut out caffeine, cut right down on sugar and booze I dont have as much as I did and its really helped.
Also eat and drink things which helps the anxiety. We have to put in work for this.
That’s awesome!! I quit sugar and for the most part alcohol. Caffeine is next! 😵💫
@@Soaring_Seajay
Good to hear, good luck with the caffeine and also bear in mind you might have withdrawal symptoms. So not a good idea to suddenly stop depending on how much you have daily. You probably know all of this already but gradually come off caffeine is my advice.
Be well with yourself, we can all get to a good place.
@@achilles8356 Absolutely! I take preworkout before my workouts, coffee with breakfast, and afternoon tea. Definitely not stopping suddenly! lol. I feel like the preworkout is the worst.. but it helps me so much getting my workouts in! So I’m just working out cutting down. Thanks for your kind response and good luck with your journey 😊
@@Soaring_Seajay
Yeah me too when I used to hit the gym before covid brought everything to a stand still, as well as my cappuccino during the day I would then have a shot of espresso before the gym and the boost helped pre workouts for sure. Will be a bit tough to come off that and rely on alternatives for the boost of energy but sure there's a good few alt ways for that. So best of luck to you too with your journey, let's beat this thing 💪 😀
@@Soaring_Seajay
Also another thing I've done as well is disable all the news notifications that come through. The media is mostly negative so can do without that too, so I don't know much of what's going on in the world which is a bad thing in way but sometimes the news can be quite dark and just gets you stressed and anxious.
I only started driving at 25 (terrified of it), stopped for 3 years, and have now picked it back up at 28. The pandemic really ramped up my fear, and I worried I would never be able to drive again.
I had made some attempts over the last 3 yrs, but took my panic attacks as signs I couldn’t swing it. My first week back on the road I fully shook and cried the whole time, but by that point I had something to motivate me, and I knew that the feelings were not bad or weak.
Believe it or not, I love driving now. It’s the one time I can guarantee a chance to be in the present and feel resilient in the face of challenges. Expanding my peripheral vision helps me see my surroundings, and calms me too. Driving has literally gone from a phobia to a mindfulness practice! It still scares me, but I know that I’ll always have a sense of reward to follow. Thank you for helping me expand my mind and my life.
I found “The Tools” book by Phil Stutz also very helpful with anxiety and phobias. Good Luck❤️🙏😁
Self worth and self esteem HAS to be on point before you can conquer the anxiety. Loving yourself is something no one actually GETS! Your videos are so beautiful and special. Thank you!
I agree - and can attest to this!
Still trying to conquer my anxiety - but I’m farther than I’ve ever been, having rediscovered my worth as a human being at ~40. ✊🧡
@@nnylasoR You gotta talk highly of yourself even if it feel untrue. It is true, you are valuable and amazing! Be that!
OK, I've just randomly landed on this page and started listening to your videos. I am 4 videos deep, and you've made my 7 years of psychological therapy finally worth it. The way you speak and present the information made it so clear for me. Everything my psychologist was trying to teach me and I did not understand, now makes total sense. Just because of your right wording. Thank you for your amazing content.
Psilocybin saved my life. I was addicted to heroin for 15 years and after Psilocybin treatment I will be 3 years clean in September. I have zero cravings. This is something that truly needs to be more broadly used in addiction treatment
Psychedelics saved me from years of uncontrollable depression, anxiety and illicit pill addiction. imagine carrving heavy chains for over a decade and then all of a sudden that burden is gone. Believe it or not in a couple years they'll be all over for treatment of mental health related issues.
Psychedelics have potential to deal with mental health issues like anxiety and depression. I would like to try them again but it's just so hard to source out here
@@stephanie290 yeah dr_williams_tripsz
The trip I have been having had really helped me a lot, I finally feel in control of my emotions and my future and things that used to be mundane To me now seems incredible and full of nuance on top of that I am less driven by ego and I have a lot more empathy as well
@@jamesdavid2436 please where is he located
I so appreciate your ability to communicate in such human, relatable terms and not make it all about impressing the audience! You really bring it on a human and understandable level.
Totally agree!!! She seems genuine and caring to inform. It’s how it should be.
I rode the subway for three years to work. Every time the train stopped between stops, I panicked, got anxious, felt nauseous and would get off at the next stop to go up to the street to catch me breath. From what I’m learning from this course is that my mind should have perceived that nothing bad happened and it should be better the next time and the next time. Brain never figured that out. I lived in fear for three years until I quit my job.
Unfortunately, you're describing an avoidant behavior. If you left the subway every time you felt anxious, you didn't ever sit through the anxiety until nothing happened and the anxiety faded into boredom.
If you really fled the subway due to anxiety frequently, you were reinforcing the anxiety. You felt anxious because you were on the subway, and you fled the subway, and you felt better; so your brain learned that the subway really is dangerous, and fleeing it really is the solution to make you feel better.
Exposing yourself to an anxious situation, and then avoiding the situation after the anxiety has started but before the anxiety fades, strengthens anxiety.
Unfortunately, the behavior you described, of running off the subway when you felt subway anxiety, probably made your subway anxiety stronger.
I didn’t always leave the subway. Many times I stayed through the anxiety. Then as does happen, I needed to find a bathroom quick. I had to get off the subway and find one. Then there’s the fear of not being near a bathroom when I’m out in public or trapped in let’s say a subway. 🤦🏼♀️
The one thing i got wrong all these years was not allowing myself to FEEL the emotions and feelings of fear and anxiety. I had no problem facing my fears, doing the uncomfortable stuff but i completely detached myself from my feelings when i did those things.
Imo one of the best ways to conquer any sort of anxiety is to take calculated risks; meaning not to make reckless decisions...but rather to overcome self doubt and not worrying about what could always go wrong.
Obviously with the caveat of "Do the research" to be sure what's exactly a real versus perceived threat or danger, when the calculated risk still becomes impossible to face, trim it down a little bit. Make the next attempt a SMALLER calculated risk... and take things one little step at a time.
I'm actually a relatively low-anxiety person. My mom always said, "There are two kinds in the world... the people who have heart attacks, and people who CAUSE heart attacks." I'm apparently one of those who CAUSES them... haha... most of the time. AND admittedly, I'm here to find a better way to articulate HOW I got to be the way I am... It might help others.
BUT on building through calculated risks and bigger chances, I do have some experience. I wasn't just out chasing exotic venomous snakes through woods and fields overnight... It took steps, being from an area CHOCK FULL of people who always swear up and down "The only good snake's a dead one." and rant and rave all hours with every breath about how dangerous they are... It takes steps... from handling the little green-stripes (aka "garter snakes") in the pet shops, to working with boas and pythons to larger and larger snakes with more and more aggression. I did get lucky to take a job as "wrangler" that came with training. It involved working with a particularly nasty African Rock Python (which are well known to be aggressive) before I was put in a pen with anything legitimately dangerous...
SO you build up to it... AND when things can get a little south... or if you just can't make yourself handle it, take the time to cut it down a smidgeon (whatever constitutes a "smidgeon" to you)... until you CAN face it. Then repeat... If you can't step up, even a smidgeon, then repeat the last. Return to research... make sensible efforts to get to times you CAN push your limits. It'll come. You WILL be able. It's never really easy. If it was, it wouldn't mean anything.
...ANYWAYS... just an addendum... thought it might help. ;o)
My anxiety lately has been surrounding medical issues which is making it so hard to confront it. I don't want to ignore what could possibly be a serious issue by telling myself it's nothing so then I get stuck in that anxiety cycle & sometimes I cant tell if the anxiety came first or the symptom did so it's super confusing & hard to handle. Plus I know stress & anxiety affects your health so that just adds another layer of anxiety. Everytime I start to feel a little optimistic about the work I'm doing for my anxiety, I get symptoms which cause me to worry & I fall back down that hole again.
Couldn't relate more to you.
How are you doing now?
In autism, social incompetence and its consequences are very real and persistent. Social anxiety is a consequence. Approaching social situations yields ways of masking at high cognitive cost. It does not adequately rewire the brain to automatically, rapidly and easily tackle social situations.
So beautiful how everything intertwines. Facing the fear is really all it takes to be free of it.
I wrote this at the start of my anxiety journey. It didn’t get better
I was scared to death of flying until I faced my fear and did it. And the more I flew, I saw I survived without crashing and I had more confidence in a good outcome. Same with speaking. Faced the fear.. I just did it, and discovered I loved it. 😃
0:40: 🧠 Learn how the brain can rewire itself and contribute to anxiety.
2:56: 😳 A girl named Megan experiences constant anxiety and fear of bears while camping.
5:44: ! The hiker faced her fear of bears and went on a hike in the Tetons, taking reasonable precautions and encountering a bear from a safe distance.
8:52: ✨ Facing your fear of public speaking and converting anxiety into preparation can lead to increased confidence.
11:25: 🐻 The video discusses threat assessment and building belief in one's abilities, with a personal story about a near-death experience with a herbivore.
14:36: ! The speaker recounts a story about encountering a moose in their yard and successfully guiding it away to safety.
17:13: 💪 Breaking the anxiety cycle by re-evaluating threats, choosing action that increases confidence, and facing fears restores internal sense of safety.
Recap by Tammy AI
You are really helping me with these videos about anxiety ❤
I was crying laughing at your very animated delivery of your moose experience. 😂 😆 😂 😂 your so funny 😂
Only slightly related, but lots of North Americans feel anxious about coming here to Australia because of our wildlife, but nothing in the Australian bush could mess you up like a bear in the US or Canada could (or a cougar or moose).
This is good! Thank you for offering helpful content to the masses. I hope more professionals take up this model of providing quality content here rather than behind a paywall, because eventually if the content is helpful to many people, enough people will be watching to monetize the content and provide creators with good income. Thank you!
Great video! As an anxienty sufferer, I can confirm this golden rule:"What you resist persists!". And avoidance makes things worse and keeps trapped. The problem with the anxiety disorder is that you think:"Well, I need to become confident, and then I will face my fears." Unfortunately, it doesn't work this way, and one has to face their fears - Willingly & On purpose! - when feeling panicky and anxious, before eventually anxiety feelings will subside. And it is the real challenge for anxiety sufferers, because you face your "exaggerated" fears as though they were a real danger. However, the good thing to know, when you are facing unreal threaten scenarios (for example, taking a plane or train), you are doing exposure and your anxiety level starts decreasing. One more hint: you need to activate your amygdala when doing exposure (i.e. facing your fear) to rewire its response; in other words, you need to feel anxious (that's how amygdala is activated) to make learn your brain that you are safe. And don't attach yourself to any avoidance scenario (i.e. escape response, be it in your thoughts or your actions); by doing so, you still make your brain think that you are in danger.
baloney, maybe if you dont really have anxiety. otherwise, it doesnt matter how often you expose yourself to the stimulus, it never gets better.
@@xisotopex well, it's a cbt approach, scientifically proven and practically recognized. The basic principle:"Avoid and you make it worse, making believing your brain that it's a real danger." It's all about neuroplasticity. Our brain is an incredible thing, it does exactly what we show to it:"Treat a bus as a danger, and you will be afraid of taking it." The same thing concerns even a feeling of anxiety: it's a normal biological reaction meant to protect us, but if you treat your anxiety as a danger (waiting impatiently when it will leave), you will only reinforce it. The same even goes to a certain thought: try for example very hard not to think about a pink elefant, and then see yourself... To anyone who has anxiety, I recommend reading books of Joshua Fletcher and David Carbonell (it's just brilliant & helpful!).
I'm thinking of trying this with my fears, little by little, but one time I did try, I felt anxious and just kept getting more anxious. How long does it take to feel safe again.
@@lu8095 well, when doing a work with my psychotherapist, he said intense panic feeling can last up to one hour. But there's a paradox: once you decide yourself not to avoid, but willingly accept panic, your brain learns an important lesson: it sees that nothing bad has happened, and starts rewriting its response. One practical and efficient advice would be to say yourself:"I want to feel you, my panic, as strong as I can. I'm yours, not running from you. Come on, show your best. And then you say: My dear panic, you have 25 seconds to show me your best. And then you start counting down, but slowly. And even more slowly after 15 and 10, like ten and half and so on. That would be another way to show to your brain that it is ok to feel panicky. The only thing that keeps people trapped is their belief that Feeling emotions is dangerous. Once you've understood that panicking or anxiety is just an emotion situated on the high level scale, you will say yourself:"Oh, it's just an emotion. It is safe to feel anxious." As for psychological therapy, they are very efficient nowadays, but you have to opt for a specialist who practices CBT approach. It's important to know. You will not waist your time. All best to you!
@@lu8095 And good to know, in nutshell, acute anxiety and panic result from a belief (and in consequence by a cognitive behaviour of avoiding emotion triggering situations):"It is not safe to feel emotions. I am in danger if I feel strong emotions." So it's important to reconnect to own emotions. Personally for me meditation practices were a game changer. Actually my psychotherapy was based on mindfulness and meditation approach, combined to CBT approach.
THIS IS A SUPERB VIDEO PRESENTED WITH GUSTO AND AND SUBJECT IS SUPER SUPER IMPORTANT TO LIVING...NOT STAYING ALIVE BUT LIVING. AVOIDANCE CAN SHRINK YOUR LIFE AND LEAD TO PHOBIAS. I HAVE NOT left my house for 10 years over the past 50. IF YOU GIVE IN TO AVOIDANCE YOU WILL MIRROR ME. YOU DONT WANT THAT. Kudos Emma
My Psychiatrist helped me so much when she explained to me about and incorporated the Limbic System into my sessions. It was the best thing for me. She gave me books to read that made me be able to help myself.
Emma,
Thank you for this extraordinary information Day #3.
Absolutely excellent! This is so true! Thank you! You also helped the moose by talking to him/her. Animals are so much more intelligent than we realize.
Thank you for your content! There was a time where I accidentally found myself about 2 feet away from a moose. I've never run so fast!
What a great professional but mainly human you are! Thank you. You are saving my life💜
I understand your explanation of how the brain works. What happens when I try to stop avoiding and try to face my fears. But everyone around me laughs and makes fun of me. I feel bullied, alone because they don’t want to be around me. I’m back to avoidance.
f them. instead of supporting you they are laughing at you or whateva, your loyalty should always be to yourself first. so yes, f them.
Exactly. That's why traditional therapy didn't work for me. It actually had the opposite effect and made me feel more hopeless and demoralized. I do biofeedback now on my own and that helps, but it's not a miracle cure for anxiety. It just helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system which is good to do when you're stuck in flight or fight mode.
Hi Rita... sorry to hear that it's been tough for you. 1- sounds like you need to surround yourself with supportive people and 2. here's the therapist in me "everyone around you laughs and makes fun of you?" Everyone? every single person? not trying to minimize the reality that of course some people are mean, but the belief that every single person does...that is a belief, it's a form of cognitive distortion, and it's one thought pattern that creates the perception of danger and leads to anxiety. if you can start challenging that thought pattern, your anxiety will decrease.
@@TherapyinaNutshell I already did that and recognized the "cognitive distortion," but when I caught some of the people who didn't laugh at me talking negatively behind my back and laughing at me behind my back it wasn't exactly a confidence booster. Of course I can't prove what people are thinking or prove how many people talk negatively behind my back, but it's hard to trust people when you've been through as much as I have throughout my life. A lot of "cognitive distortions" aren't really distortions. They're reality and they shouldn't be downplayed by therapists. I'm not saying that you're downplaying it, but I found that a lot of therapists downplay some real issues that aren't exactly distortions. I was told that I have first world problems when I went to therapy for example. When people say "everyone" they don't literally mean everyone. People just say that because it's easier to say that instead of making up a number but if I had to guess a number I'd say 80 - 90%.
For me this rewiring trick only works well when my true expectations are worse than reality but I do the thing I'm afraid of anyway. In your case your expectations were not worse than reality. The longer you've been avoiding something the harder it will be because you haven't had practice so you'll suck at first. You have to do it anyway in an environment where you may be made fun of but it won't be as bad as you think and you're still working on becoming a better version of yourself so it's worth it.
Thanks so much for these videos, Emma. You are helping me and many others. ❤
Thanks for the info, I was afraid of public speaking but overcame that fear to a considerable degree by joining a writing group where I had to read my work out in front of the group. After a while even the criticism didn’t bother me!
Seriously, this is exactly me when I think about exercise. I'm afraid I will have a heart attack if my heart rate goes up...I avoid exercise. My doctors tell me I need to exercise. I know I need to exercise. Round and round I go.
I struggle because Covid and the risk of catching it makes me constantly anxious and affects how I feel and what I do. And the threat is real and never goes away, so even though I’m not in a particular ‘at risk’ group I know it’s unpredictable and can cause long Covid and other issues even in perfectly healthy people (including some of my friends). My husband is living a ‘normal’ life going about his business and accepting this is just something we have to live with so even though I’m being careful and cautious to keep myself safe, I can never relax because there is a constant threat that he may have caught it and pass it to me so every time he is coughing and sniffing or sneezing I fear the worst. It’s absolutely exhausting. I know it’s not entirely logical (what anxiety is?) since this is just one of many risks we have to live with and I know it’s just the thing my anxious brain has chosen to fixate on but as Covid is real and as the risk of serious outcomes is real and as we had it hammered home to us that we can protect ourselves by changing our behaviour i can’t seem to relax about it at all. I can’t kid myself that it’s not a real danger because it is so my minds not buying it. And to ‘face’ this fear I’d have to be willing to risk serious illness and logically why would I do that? It’s a complete daily nightmare and I’m exhausted 😢😢😢
That's so rough. Covid is contagious but it is more so very fragile!!! Washing your hands after, say, public restroom or touching door handle actually goes a long way. Do you also use Listerine mouthwash? I hope you are able to get back to the life you want.
@@CL-mn1yq thank you! I am always careful with hygiene and I use Dentyl that has CPC (though think evidence on that a bit sketchy!). Covid is mainly airborne which means avoiding it is pretty hard if you want to do anything indoors around other people! I know there has to be balance and life is risky in so many ways but honestly Covid scared the sh*t out of me mainly because it’s effects are so wide ranging and unpredictable unlike other viruses we live with and probably because it had such a huge world wide news focus for so long we’ve heard about it in unprecedented minute detail which in some ways hasn’t helped. An anxious brain hates uncertainty and the last few years have carried a health uncertainty that we in privileged 1st world countries haven’t had to deal with recently, certainly not in my 55 year lifetime. I haven’t yet managed to get back to doing things I used to love, but I am working on changing my drivers from ‘stay safe at all costs’ to ‘live a full, authentic life’. ‘Staying safe’ has been a massive driver in my life for most of my life. This may be the kick I need to start a change…and part of that change will have to include being less risk averse I guess.
@miriambiran7372 think of stress as a silent killer... could be more deadly than covid..
It causes MANY deadly diseases and kills people via heart attack daily...
Stressing may kill you faster than covid
Thank you Emma. You’ve helped guide me so much already and I’m still along for the journey.
You’ve made me realise I need to control my own anxiety better and push through difficulty, while being kind to myself.
It’s not easy or fun but you’re right avoidance is going to make it worse. I’ve been guilty of this in my life
I feel like my belief in my self determines if I feel anxious or not - it all comes back to self efficacy
This is a great course! You are a great teacher and therapist!
Thank you Emma. I really appreciate how you discuss topics from different perspectives and don’t simplify too much
Emma, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and teachings on how to deal with anxiety. I don't have social anxiety as I do well interacting in a social gathering, but when I become the center of attention in larger groups, and have to think about what I'm going to say, like in a work meeting/presentation scenario, I find myself sweating and jittering and this greatly interfers with my delivery and articulation because in that moment I find myself focused more on what ppl think about me, if they think im talking trash or not, am i even making any impact? .... rather than focusing on sharing my knowledge. No kidding, my heart could race constantly 1 week in advance of a meeting where I'm gonna have to speak. My team mates approach me a lot for help cos they find me easy to talk to, and I guess they believe I'm intelligent enough to consult when they're stuck with a difficult task. I try to leverage this to build my confidence and think "I must be doing something right" maybe my imposter syndrome is just super heightened. I dunno. But this is really impacting my career at this point and really stressing me out. I've started using avoidance as my means of escape to safety cos I dread the feeling of being anxious, but I'm aware that this is not the best way out of my struggle. I'm learning alot from your teachings and I wanna say a big thank you. Glad you overcame the moose attack 🙂
Hi there! If it’s okay I would have a small suggestion about what to do regarding speaking to large groups. I’ve done it hundreds of times now… So, this sounds much like fear of rejection and not being enough, despite logically knowing that you are excellent at your job and you have all the right skills and knowledge to ace a presentation. Have you pondered if this feeling has been there maybe years ago? A comment at school when you were a teen? A parent who expected perfection? Sometimes we build strange beliefs after being told something that makes us feel not good enough and we keep these beliefs for many years. Anyway, so there are two things I did to help my performance. One, I visualised exactly how I was going to do my presentation. A vision board was helpful and then I practiced feeling excited, happy, relaxed, confident and I repeated this many times, until I associated the event with excitement instead of worry about the opinion of others. And two, when I walked to the stage or pulpit, as I felt the jitters, etc I told myself, ‘Look how excited you are! How much energy you have that you can now pass to your audience.’ The feelings of fear and excitement are both thrilling! I stopped worrying about presentations and talks now and enjoy them!😊
"Look how excited you are!" I see what you did there 😊
I get anxious going out. I've walked to work 100s of times. I get anxious every time. nothing has ever happened. The anxiety never goes away.
Thank you Dr.Emma, appreciate you and the people around me im teaching do too
I wonder if anyone has any advice on anxiety and fears that seem to come from nowhere and don’t need a trigger? Facing fears or writing about them and getting to know them has been really helpful for me with some things.❤ But there are times when I just feel anxious and I don’t know why.
i feel like this when i have a lot of unresolved issues and instead of taking actions i feel paralyzed, and i shut down instead of really going through all that mess, and i don't share it with people who are trust and are 100% there for me
so telling my loved ones, facing my emotions and deep worries etc, mindfully taking action to get better help me
you spend too much time alone...and think too much
Try benfotiamine? Works for me. (Research first, of course.)
there are memories that are stored in our brains (I think they are called implicit memories) that don't come with anything you can visualize, so the feelings come up, but you don't know why. try poly-vagal or sensory experience exercises. look up Peter Levine and Steve Porges. Suki Baxter has a lot of youtube videos.
Not sure if I'm right but maybe it comes from your subconscious about something and consciously even though you're thinking about something normal maybe that shouldn't give you anxiety, yet you'll feel like you're in some sort of immediate danger and you have this sense that something terrible is about happen to you but yet it doesn't.
Our brains are wired for survival see so when we get anxious about things for too long it gets addicted to being anxious about something even if there's no good reason to suddenly get anxious and have panic attacks.
Thank you for this information. Listening to these clips has helped me understand myself, and I feel so much happier
Thank you Emma❤
Thank you for another great video x
Thank you so much Emma!
Thank you Emma 🙏🏼
Hmmmm face my fears. Im scared/worried about everything and I mean everything. I’m afraid of my fears. Makes for an anxious personality.
Pray
Bring God back into your life
Thank you so much for this!!!! You're so inspirational!! ❤
Thank u so much för these videos all can see for free 🙏
Hello!
Thank you very much!
What about anxiety from grief? In the last five years I have lost my mother to cancer, my sister to liver failure, my brother to alcoholism, my dog to a stroke and my cat who got killed in the road. And that was during a global pandemic, social unrest, political turmoil and now a war that have all had small but significant affects on my daily life. I try to manage the anxiety through breath work, yoga and just getting on with life but I find myself having panic attacks that come out of nowhere and my body is physically sick from the anxiety. Will any of your future videos be addressing any of these things because though this was a helpful video for anxiety in general I didn't feel it helped me with what I've been dealing with?
I`ve had a similar string of shocks and griefs and a similar response. While all these really marvellous self-help videos comfort me and give me courage for a while, it is really only Jesus who knows what has happened to me and loves me. "Come to me all you who are over-burdened and I will give you rest". Thank God for Jesus. Being with Him is what I need to practice, every hour for 5 minutes, just leaning on Him. He will always help. `Jesus, I trust in You`. Say it over and over. Soothe your poor, frightened self and let Him take care of everything. He loves you SO much. God bless you.
I don’t believe in Jesus but believe in One God and praying to him has helped me tremendously
Prayer can be anytime anywhere
God has become my best friend and that helps my CRPS that is a result of stress
Give your fears to him
God bless you
I am sorry for your lost. Much love sending you 💕
i lost my mom to covid during the pandemic, my bf left me a week after, my cat died, had to put my dog down. seems like we have been through a lot of the same things, it feels good to know im not alone in the world. the anxiety from grief has also taken over my life. the only thing i have found to help is actually trying to move through the grief. i realized that it was very PTSD related and that might help you. losing so much family so fast is really traumatic. i hope you find some kind of peace soon, but in times where it’s rough, listening to these videos helps❤
Your videos have been so helpful. thank you
Your videos are such a lifesaver. ❤️
Everyday I'm checking to see if these videos are up! Haha thank you Emma, they are great. ❤
Thank you so much for all your videos - you are literally saving lives here, you know? 🙏🙂❤
You are helping me. Thank you ❤
You’re savior to me! ❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉
Love it. Thank you
You are an amazing story teller
Emma I think this is brilliant, you’re brilliant thank you 🥰
Thank you Emma. God bless your amazing work.
Thank you so much!! Your content is very helpful. I've been going through a lot of anxiety lately and I learn many things with you, at the same time I feel better after watching your videos! 🎉
You're getting better at this. :)
You don't know this but you changed my life. I knew about exposure therapy and desensitization but I watched some of your old videos a year or two ago and actually integrated it into my life and I've changed radically. Recently I noticed that I even seem to have formed a new habit where if I recognize myself being scared of something then I actually confront it directly (maybe a bit too much for stress levels) and it's made a big difference! Still super anxious and get panic attacks with certain things, but things are on their way up for sure. This is the way.
p.s. The new hair looks great.
Excellent story to help me understand avoidance and value of facing fear. I'm glad you made this 30 vid series!
I just played catch up and watched all your new course videos, so so enjoying these - really helpful and hilariously I realised in this one that I watch CZcams videos to avoid tackling things that are making me anxious 😂 Better awareness a good step - looking forward to the next video and already shared these with those I think might also enjoy them :)
Thank you
I really enjoy watching these videos. Every one of them provide extremely valuable tool to think differently. Thank you for allowing us to grow from this information.
Dear Emma i too have anxiety and depresiion and not a lot of money to spend on therapy but this video on youtube help me a lot.Thank you for your help
Still processing your video and its points but the first part definitely make me think of law enforcement and how they get together when a threat is diffused and talk about it to decompress.
Great insights, thank you.
I really feel that video by video you’re improving my anxiety and mental health ❤
Great video
I love your channel - subscribed!
You really do helpful stuff to humanity
Thank you❤
You've helped me so much. Thank you.
Thank you so much Emma. Please can you set examples on managing health anxieties as well it will be of great help, thanks again for your efforts in making these survival videos🙏🥰
Thanks!
Emma, you're an amazing human being. And the Tetons feed the soul!
.
-Dear Emma, thank you for the free contents about improving mental heath
you are a gift to the world.
I'm gonna try to use this to control my misophonia. Eating sounds really irritates me so I avoid them, but I also hate the visual of people eating, chewing gum, shaking their leg etc. I'm gonna stop putting headphones in and looking away from fidgety people.
Thank you so much Emma,God bless you-Love from India😊😇
Love this ❤
Thank you for your videos. I pray for God's blessing and favor on you, your family and your ministry.
Thank you for the video ❤ ik it's not your specialty but I would love a video about OCD
This was worth every minute!, I absolutely needed this video!
For me, my fear has been about my thoughts for a few months now, I have lived every day since mid October of last year in fear and anxiety that I may become these thoughts, I hated myself for a long time for having these thoughts and drowned in the negative, eventually I believed I was a terrible person. This video has helped me understand my anxiety and why I have always had that feeling of danger and constant Fight, Flight, or Freeze, I still have yet to figure out how to face my thoughts which have always frightened, even frustrated me.
Your thoughts alone don't define you. What actions you decide to take matters more. I think we all have thoughts, which we condemn. I do too. It's okay to have them come into our mind. We can't control it. At some point it may be worth for you to explore *why* you have those thoughts and why do you hate them. I think breaking them down, maybe even writing down, could help. I hope that with time and introspection you will find a way to accept the thoughts and let them pass as easily as they come. :)
I suffer some kind of PTSD, always anxious at work.
After 15 years like this, I found diet really helps the most.
Don't eat processed foods and refined carbs. Eat only whole foods.
Eat Veg, fish, nuts, fruits etc.
Also Do some moderate exercise
Can you make a video on fear of leaving your comfort zone or county? I'd like to travel but even going an hour from home is soo stressful for me because it feels like I need to go back home or escape, even transported back lol. It's actually not funny. Haven't been on vacation in 12 years
Good question! I would like to know more about this too
thank u so much for this free course!! i needed it so much. cant rlly pay more since got other special needs equipment and rent to pay for
Awesome 👌 👏
This is interesting, but it makes me wonder about how I acquired anxiety, and how it intensified, in grad school. I was forced to face my anxiety regularly and do schoolwork eventually, but the anxiety got worse and worse. So, why is that?
My theory on this because you said "eventually" is you procrastinated, got anxious, then only faced it at the last minute. This cycle reinforced in your mind that anxiety is the solution to getting stuff done so of course you're going to be anxious. This is one of my favorite videos on procrastination: czcams.com/video/arj7oStGLkU/video.html
I had such a bad experience Crossing the street it felt like I was going to walk into oncoming traffic and had a real meltdown. The thing is the fear gets you and you feel like you are going crazy. The thing is we must remember we are not alone and anxiety cannot make you crazy it make you have crazy thoughts and thag is ok. Emma your videos are great
Emma, I am super anxious because I'm due to take a very frightening genetic test. However I spent 2 weeks in Italy and it was hot, and anxiety became much more physical than mental. I'm from the UK and it's cool here. In the humidity I felt like I couldn't breathe every morning along with the underlying anxiety I've had for ages with this test. It was so frightening.
You had me at, "Brain tanning a deer hide, ...."
This one confuses me - recently, I had a practice job networking event at my school, and before that practice, I felt nervous. After it was over, I 'survived', but I didn't really feel better. A few weeks later, there was a real career fair and I didn't do a good job with it at all.
In both situations, I faced my fear, but I don't feel victorious after either experience.
This is so interesting! I can't wait for the other videos on this topic! Though the problem I have (so far) with ''facing my fears'', is that it doesn't always seem to work that well? I've gone through loads of exposure therapy for specific fears, but often my fear (and the additional physical symptoms - like nausea in my case) wouldn't really subside that much, or there would be some improvement but in VERY tiny steps. Currently some of those fears are back in full force, and I'm in that loop of constant anxiety/stress + physical symptoms which make my anxiety worse! I always used to ''blame'' the very slow progress I make in rewiring my brain on my autism, but I don't know if neurodiverse people actually have more difficulties when it comes to neuroplasticity?
I would really love for you to do a segment on CPTSD and stage nerves. So, stopping anxiety for professional performers, have played thousands of shows, lived through the anxiety thousands of times, are not emotionally reactive to mistakes and feel great after every performance, but still stand on stage about to play scared to death. I'll be quite honest, your one and done public speaking example drives me nuts (That's a me thing.) Nothing wrong with it, but for people who perform in public their whole lives, "living through it" is something the anxious performer knows for a fact does not appreciably rewire the amygdala. In fairness, I also think there's no quick fix and the stuff we do to work on deep trauma wounds is really the way. All that being said, your take would be invaluable! Thanks for your vids.
What can you do if you have anxiety about a problem that is actually there and cannot be solved? For example, being broke, having no outlook for a job and having thousands in debt. How do you solve the anxious response in the body (in my case in the upper chest area) to a situation like this, that keeps going on for weeks?
Omg 😮 that moose story !!!!! Whew good thing Geneva 🐾 was not harmed.
Take it easy and its common emma