anxiety,
Body Awareness and Anxiety
I
recently read a brilliant book called The Brain That Changes Itself
by Norman Doidge. It has useful information about how we process
information and it is written in lay person’s language.
Neuroscience can be pretty heavy otherwise 
.
The book links thoughts, anxiety and body tension and explains the chain of response. Many of us grew up in dysfunctional environments to which we adapted. We learned to predict and avoid certain consequences by adapting our behavior. We looked for patterns to make sense out of the unpredictable world. These thoughts and adaptations became ingrained and habitual.
The Brain That Changes Itself describes the default pathways that form in the synapses of the brain. It is the repetitiveness that makes these pathways stronger than others. When I am told I am bad, eventually I’ll think I am bad. I internalized it at that point and each time I think it, the connection between the neurons becomes stronger. It becomes my automatic thinking and response to the world that manifests in the body as well. I become tight and anxious and the stress hormones flow without me having any awareness of how I got to this stage. All this time, I might be sitting comfortably in my living room!
The authors of the book say that the key is to become more in tune with our body and the reactions some thoughts cause. Once we become aware of the body response, we can choose to have a different thought that is more pleasant. This active choosing disrupts the default pathway and a new neural connection is created. (This is what affirmations try to do – to steer thinking into more positive and peaceful direction.)
I am a big fan of this approach to anxiety because I, too, have suffered from it. Over about two years, while learning to be more aware of my body, I could catch the default thoughts earlier and earlier. Through Rolfing and other awareness modalities, I learned to feel my body and notice any unsettled sensations. Then, I would interrupt whatever thoughts I was having and actively chose a different thought.
Now, several years later, I do this automatically. I have refined my ability to notice a thought that doesn’t serve me. It is a skill I developed and it changed what I do and who I interact with. I don’t watch TV anymore because it makes me think thoughts that produce an unpleasant reaction in my body. And I try not to be around people who invalidate me and who are abusive.
The brain is the most amazing organ. It is like a play-dough; it changes when we pay attention. The mind that has expanded can never shrink back.
Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it. ~Mark Twain
.The book links thoughts, anxiety and body tension and explains the chain of response. Many of us grew up in dysfunctional environments to which we adapted. We learned to predict and avoid certain consequences by adapting our behavior. We looked for patterns to make sense out of the unpredictable world. These thoughts and adaptations became ingrained and habitual.
The Brain That Changes Itself describes the default pathways that form in the synapses of the brain. It is the repetitiveness that makes these pathways stronger than others. When I am told I am bad, eventually I’ll think I am bad. I internalized it at that point and each time I think it, the connection between the neurons becomes stronger. It becomes my automatic thinking and response to the world that manifests in the body as well. I become tight and anxious and the stress hormones flow without me having any awareness of how I got to this stage. All this time, I might be sitting comfortably in my living room!
The authors of the book say that the key is to become more in tune with our body and the reactions some thoughts cause. Once we become aware of the body response, we can choose to have a different thought that is more pleasant. This active choosing disrupts the default pathway and a new neural connection is created. (This is what affirmations try to do – to steer thinking into more positive and peaceful direction.)
I am a big fan of this approach to anxiety because I, too, have suffered from it. Over about two years, while learning to be more aware of my body, I could catch the default thoughts earlier and earlier. Through Rolfing and other awareness modalities, I learned to feel my body and notice any unsettled sensations. Then, I would interrupt whatever thoughts I was having and actively chose a different thought.
Now, several years later, I do this automatically. I have refined my ability to notice a thought that doesn’t serve me. It is a skill I developed and it changed what I do and who I interact with. I don’t watch TV anymore because it makes me think thoughts that produce an unpleasant reaction in my body. And I try not to be around people who invalidate me and who are abusive.
The brain is the most amazing organ. It is like a play-dough; it changes when we pay attention. The mind that has expanded can never shrink back.
Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it. ~Mark Twain