We force the brain to say “everything is okay, we are safe, so let’s calm down.”
Anxiety has become a daily reality for many, and its consequences on our bodies and minds are very real. Dr. Daniel Amen, a psychiatrist and brain imaging specialist, warns that high levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) can damage the brain and promote the accumulation of abdominal fat. “We live in a chronically stressed society and having an effective stress management strategy is not a luxury, but an absolute necessity to preserve our overall health.“.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, the psychiatrist offers a quick and easy approach to regaining control. Rather than running away from an anxiety-provoking situation, like a panic attack, he emphasizes the importance of staying present and engaging in a practice that sends a clear signal of safety to your brain.
The simplest and most powerful method, he says, is deep belly breathing called “diaphragmatic breathing.” The secret of this breathing lies in a precise rhythm which triggers an “automatic relaxation response”. This 15-second technique is as follows: inhale deeply (filling the stomach) for 4 seconds; hold the breath for a second and a half; Exhale slowly and completely for 8 seconds, then hold your breath for 1.5 seconds.
Lengthening the exhale to be twice as long as the inhale gives the opposite message to the “fight or flight” response and forces the brain to say “it’s okay, we’re safe, so let’s calm down.” Performing this cycle four to six times on days of high stress not only calms the mind, but also slows your heart rate and improves cardiovascular health. To complement this breathing, Dr. Amen encourages “killing automatic negative thoughts” (the quick, often unrealistic or pessimistic interpretations that arise spontaneously in the mind in reaction to a situation) with a quick mental check.
For example, after making a small mistake at work, the automatic negative thought would be: “I ruined everything, I’m incompetent and I’m going to be fired“. Concretely, the next time a negative thought assails you, stop and ask yourself these two questions: “What is the evidence that supports this thought (real facts, not feelings)”, “What is the evidence that contradicts this thought?” (real facts, realizations). In 99% of the time, you will see that your negative thoughts are unfounded and irrational.
