Dealing with Anxiety, Phobia with neuro plasticity

Source: Internet
For dealing with one's fears, one should go through the Cycle of Anxiety also known as the Cycle of Avoidance.
Step 1: Interpret situation as dangerous
Step 2: Avoid
Step 3: Relief

Step 4: Brain increases anxiety also avoidance grows anxiety

One moves from comfort zone to growth zone to panic zone...

Let us look at an example:

1) Perceiver - see a dog

2) Thoughts - it is going to bite me

3) Feelings - Fear, anxiety, panic

4) Behaviour - Run away, avoid - Flight, fight or freeze

5) Event - Nothing bad happens

6) Message to brain - That was close! Can't handle

7) Brain thinks - Lets do that again to survive... anxiety gets stronger

8) Back to step 1 - "see a dog"

We need to break the above cycle and face fear!!

Get into rewiring brain - Neuro plasticity with the following steps:

Step 1) Avoidance fuels anxiety

Step 2) Behaviour - stay put, be brave while feeling it

Step 3) Message to brain - I'm still fine - nothing happened

Step 4) Brain thinks - Lets do it again - Anxiety becomes weaker

Step 5) Conquer fear - start enjoying

What happens in the body exactly during anxiety?

ANS - Autonomic Nervous system - Anxiety onset - BP increases, hyper breathing,

Sympathetic Nervous system works - Flight, fight, freeze

This response is autonomic - so cortisol and adrenaline controlled here

Stomach clenching happens, hand sweats, shaking voice.

Counter Balancing - Para Sympathetic System - creates sense of calm and safety

Rest and digest state.

In anxiety, SNS was hyper and PSNS helps healing once out of anxiety.

To ensure PSNS works always, 

1) work on the vagus nerve - the longest nerve in the body

2) Brain can be trained using vagus nerves to keep body calm

3) Body vice versa can send signals to brain to start calming

4 techniques to calm down and turn off anxiety - Turn on parasympathetic response

1) Deep Breathing - Vagal tone

2) Peripheral vision & softening eyes

3) Valsalva maneuvers

4) Yawn, yes! simply yawn

1) Deep Breathing Vagal toning - First understand your vagal tone

Steps - a) find your pulse on wrist

b) close eyes, focus, breathe in and breathe out

c) observe heart beat

d) deep breathing is very important

2) Peripheral vision and Softening eyes

close eyes, squeeze and open

3) Valsalva Maneuvers - 2 methods - see pics

Bear down (pooping position) - chest pressure + in pelvic floor - puts pressure on vagus nerve and sends PSNS signals

Method - 5 secs inhale

5 secs hold - push down as if pooping

5 secs exhale

4) Yawn - fake a yawn - relaxes you - actually brings out a real yawn and relaxes completely.