Fortify Yourself Against Anxiety and Stress Overload
Sounds too good to be true? Neuroscientific research indicates it might be achievable.
From a psychological standpoint, the major barriers to the joy and success you desire are anxiety and stress overload. These factors are also major contributors to depression.
In my 7 years of clinical work, I've frequently encountered statements like, "I'm naturally anxious," "I struggle with stress," or "I'm easily overwhelmed."
Social anxiety, for instance, can hinder your social interactions, while performance anxiety may affect your academic and athletic abilities. Stage fright can be paralyzing for performers.
However, there's uplifting news: "Your brain isn't fixed; you can enhance it." While this may seem exaggerated, substantial evidence supports the idea of developing a kind of "immunity" to stress overload, akin to "psychological armor."
Your brain's neural pathways are adaptable. Studies demonstrate its responsiveness to environmental factors and your thoughts and emotions, a concept known as neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity enables the brain to form and reorganize neurological pathways, crucial for all aspects of human behavior. This has significant implications for adult learning and our understanding of stress and anxiety management.
Harmonizing the Human Nervous Systems
Just like a musical instrument, your nervous system can be finely tuned.
Our thoughts, emotions, and experiences can "tune" our nervous systems to become hypersensitive and overreactive, particularly the sympathetic nervous system. This "ergotropic tuning" can lead to heightened stress and anxiety responses.
Conversely, the scientist discovered that the nervous system can also be desensitized, a process he termed "trophotropic tuning." This suggests a more hopeful outlook for managing stress and anxiety disorders, even for those who believe they are predisposed to them. Neural patterns of stress, once learned, can be altered, paving the way for more positive neurological pathways.
3 Key Steps in Building Psychological Armor
Altering your brain's structure and function is simpler than it seems. Here are three steps to desensitize your brain to anxiety and stress and build psychological armor.
Realistic Expectations and Optimism. Establishing realistic expectations and preparing thoroughly are vital in developing psychological armor. The brain's neuroplastic hippocampal areas play a role in anxiety reactions when reality doesn't align with expectations. Dr. Donald Meichenbaum's (1985) structured approach for stress preparation involves setting expectations, preparation, and rehearsal, boosting optimism and creating positive outcomes.
Mindfulness. Popularized by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn (1990), mindfulness is about being present and aware. It involves focusing on the present moment, acknowledging your surroundings, and fully accepting your thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness is the antithesis of inattention and distraction. Studies have linked mindfulness with reductions in perceived pain, stress, and hypersensitivity.
Practicing the Relaxation Response. This state, explored by Dr. Herbert Benson (1974), is characterized by calmness and resistance to stress and anxiety. Techniques like deep breathing, yoga, meditation, and prayer can induce this response. Regular practice not only provides immediate calm but can also build long-term resistance to stress. This aligns with Gellhorn's hypothesis, suggesting a decrease in postsynaptic membrane receptivity as a mechanism for this neural regulation.
These three steps lay the foundation for psychological armor. Additionally, physical exercise can enhance cognitive function and neuroplasticity, while dietary changes can support this development by reducing oxidative stress and fibrogenesis.