Lilly Andrew - Overcome Anxiety: Rewire Your Brain Using Neuroscience & Therapy Techniques to Overcome Anxiety, Depression, Fear, Panic Attacks, Worry, and Shyness: In Social Meetings, Relationships, at Work

Overcome Anxiety

Rewire Your Brain Using Neuroscience & Therapy Techniques to Overcome Anxiety, Depression, Fear, Panic Attacks, Worry, and Shyness: In Social Meetings, Relationships, at Work, and More

Lilly Andrew

Introduction

P eople have asked me many times to speak before a group, but I have not been able to do so. The problem is that I get nervous and my mind freezes and turns blank, so I have avoided it all through my life. But now, I am a manager and I must run various kinds of meetings and apply for funding of projects from our companys finance committee. I simply have to do a great deal of talking. Im not sure if its really possible to get rid of this anxiety I feel when the thought of speaking to groups come to mind. These were Peters words sharing his concerns with his friend Mike. It is certainly not a good space to be in, and unfortunately, there are many people who suffer from a variety of anxieties.

It is for this reason that I wrote this book: to help people like you live normal lives and experience the joy of life on this planet. The focus of this book is not merely to give you actionable steps to practice, but also it is to provide the theory behind why the actions are effective.

The book begins with looking into the neuroscience of fear and anxiety. These two emotions are almost the same because the same brain circuits are activated, and the body experiences similar reactions. But, the two differ slightly because the threats that trigger them arent immediate in both situations. After this, we delve into a method that has proved effective in healing various kinds of anxiety. Youll learn about the story of a 27-year-old Indian man who had a social phobia and couldnt even leave his home. However, through the method we will share in chapter 1, this man was able get rid of his mental health issue and, he even expanded the organization for which he was working.

Chapter 2 goes into detail about the anxiety in the workplace, in social settings, with family, and in relationships. A 2019 article on Psychreg reveals that the UK government reported that, in 2017-2018, they found that 595,000 employees were suffering from work-related stress, depression, and anxiety. It further said that 15.4 million working days were lost due to these mental health issues. Not only do we talk about these, but we also show you the various ways you can deal with each one of them. Youll also discover a mental error that most of us fall victim to and how to avoid it.

In the last chapter, we go at length on selected ideas that help you stay on top of your mental health. We begin by talking about the value of knowing yourself. This is so vital, and we show you some things you can do to begin this self-knowledge process. Really, how do you manage your health better if youve yet to figure out what gets your life juices flowing? The other topic we discuss is the importance of being able to alter your habits. This helps you grab the reins of your life and create it the way you want. Isnt that exciting? Imagine creating any habit that will enable you, not only to prevent anxiety, but also to achieve the kind of goals about which youve always dreamt! We also explain what a panic attack is and how to manage it.

Anxiety is not something to take lightly because it can ruin your whole life. So, if you really would like to take charge of your life and mental health, you have no time to waste! Turn the pages of this book, and find out how to grab anxiety by the scruff of its neck and strangle it to death, once for all. Lets start with the first chapter right away.

Chapter 1: The Science of Fear and Anxiety

A man was jogging one day, and his eyes flashed on an object on the left side of the road. Immediately, his heart rate skyrocketed, his breathing frequency increased, and he began to sweat profusely. At the same time, he instantly stopped, zoomed in on the object, and realized that it was an old car tire laying on its side in the green grass. What had happened to the man was that he went into fear mode, and his body was preparing either to run, to fight, or to freeze. Fortunately, he brought in the help of the executive part of the brain, called the cortex, to evaluate, objectively, what he thought was the threat. This is an example of fear. So, fear is an emotion that you feel when faced with an immediate threat forcing the body to switch into survival mode. How does it differ from anxiety? The difference is really about timing. The next story helps show what anxiety is.

A friend of mine had a girlfriend who, one day, disappeared from home. When my friend asked the womans sister where his girlfriend was, she said that she had gone with her friend to some city about 50 miles away. That night, my friend did not sleep. He was deep in thoughts trying to figure out if indeed his girl had gone to the city or not. The following morning, my friend went to work, but he could not concentrate on his job. He was worried and anxious that his girlfriend might have gone to cheat on him. Eventually, he asked his boss if he could go early, and he got permission. Ill cut this story here because it enables us to define what anxiety is. In this case, the threat my friend saw was his girlfriend cheating. His thoughts dwelt on this possibility until his body chemistry changed so much that he could not sleep. This is anxiety. It is an emotion that you feel when worried about a threat that may only be in your mind or in the future. This statement sums up the major way anxiety occurs, when we speak of the cortex pathway to anxiety, were generally focused on interpretations, images, and worries that the cortex creates, or on anticipatory thoughts that create anxiety when no danger is present Pittman, 2015, p.20). What happens within our brains when we enter into the fear or anxiety mode? Science has the answer.