Anxiety – how to slow it down
Slowing the nervous system down is an effective treatment for anxiety.
Haven’t we all tried to reason with an anxiety just to find that it bounces back? We seem unable to suppress anxious thoughts. I want to suggest that our energy is spent more effectively in delaying our response to the fear impulse. The science behind this is that the delay plays for time while our pre-frontal cortex comes online. In other words, the limbic system sends out an alert that danger is imminent; rather than responding in panic mode, we make the choice to pause and assess the situation before we respond. This pause enables our brain to make an appropriate and measured response. Imagine how exhausted and useless an A&E unit will become if it summons all its staff to the front door for every arrival. In the human organism that is an accurate picture of anxiety.
How do we slow the response time down in order to deal appropriately with the alert signals transmitted from the limbic system?
Feel free to contact me to discuss Anxiety Therapy. More reading on this website on Anxiety Control.
MBZip
Dr Herman Holtzhausen is a Psychotherapist based in Stamford, Lincolnshire, UK. He is a Registered Member of the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy (BACP). Qualifications include Bachelor degrees in Law and Divinity, a Masters degree in Family Therapy (thesis on Online Therapy), a PhD in Systemic Therapy and Mindfulness, and a current enhanced DBS certificate.