The trigger
What happens: There you are, happily eating your breakfast, when you spy a headline about mass redundancies. Quicker than you can say “P45”, this sparks a negative mental image. “We call this the ‘trigger’,” says Professor Adrian Wells, clinical psychologist at Manchester University. “You may automatically think, ‘What if I lose my job?’ or ‘what if my life changed like that, without warning?’
Exit here: Instead of pacing round the office like a demented Groucho Marx, nip your worry in the bud immediately by letting it ‘go cold’. “Don’t try to problem-solve, just let go of the thought,” says Wells. The best way to ‘freeze’ an entry-level worry is to actively place your attention elsewhere – focus on a demanding task or person instead.
Exit here: Instead of pacing round the office like a demented Groucho Marx, nip your worry in the bud immediately by letting it ‘go cold’. “Don’t try to problem-solve, just let go of the thought,” says Wells. The best way to ‘freeze’ an entry-level worry is to actively place your attention elsewhere – focus on a demanding task or person instead.
SWP
What happens: No, not Manchester City’s diminutive winger. “Some people find it hard to resist pulling the trigger,” says Wells. “They then become entangled in a ‘sustained worry process’ or SWP.” This involves a stream of negative ‘what if?’ questions, as the brain tries to generate coping strategies. That pesky thought is still as hot as a Jolie/Johansson sandwich. Time for Plan B…
Exit here: Write down your initial thought, then specifically set aside 15 minutes that afternoon to think about, and solve, it. “This is far better than trying to suppress your thought altogether, which is notoriously difficult,” says Wells.
Exit here: Write down your initial thought, then specifically set aside 15 minutes that afternoon to think about, and solve, it. “This is far better than trying to suppress your thought altogether, which is notoriously difficult,” says Wells.
Acute stress response
What happens: Still fretting? Your frontal lobes – specialist problem analysers – now send information to your amygdala and temporal lobes, which control your reactions to threat. Your body starts upgrading into fight-or-flight mode – designed to ward off predators. “Sustained worry triggers your acute stress response, which pumps adrenaline into your bloodstream,” says Dr Adrian Lord, consultant psychiatrist at Cygnet Hospital, Harrow.
Exit here: Given the distinct lack of sabre-tooth tigers in, say, Croydon, modern man must find other forms of physical activity. “Exercise burns off adrenaline and sublimates your fight-or-flight response,” says Dr Lord. “And sex is another great stress-reliever, because your body releases oxytocin and dopamine after orgasm, making you feel euphoric and relaxed.” Barbells or bedroom? We know which we’d choose.
Exit here: Given the distinct lack of sabre-tooth tigers in, say, Croydon, modern man must find other forms of physical activity. “Exercise burns off adrenaline and sublimates your fight-or-flight response,” says Dr Lord. “And sex is another great stress-reliever, because your body releases oxytocin and dopamine after orgasm, making you feel euphoric and relaxed.” Barbells or bedroom? We know which we’d choose.
Meta worry
What happens: The next level, ‘meta worry,’ is even worse. “By this stage, you’re effectively worrying about worry,” says Wells. “It’s incredibly toxic: you start to think your anxiety is uncontrollable, and eventually that you’re losing grip.” Suddenly the plummeting FTSE 100 seems less important than managing your marbles.
Exit here: To stave off a panic attack, repeatedly remind yourself that worry and anxiety are harmless. “It’s not anxiety itself that’s the problem, it’s how you view it,” says Wells. “If you channel it, anxiety can actually make you sharper.” For example, if you’re scared about a speech, visualise yourself looking calm, confident and in control and you’ll feel excited, not anxious. Now go and earn your applause.
Exit here: To stave off a panic attack, repeatedly remind yourself that worry and anxiety are harmless. “It’s not anxiety itself that’s the problem, it’s how you view it,” says Wells. “If you channel it, anxiety can actually make you sharper.” For example, if you’re scared about a speech, visualise yourself looking calm, confident and in control and you’ll feel excited, not anxious. Now go and earn your applause.
Chronic worry
What happens: After Meta worry comes ‘chronic worrying’: lasting weeks or months, this can actually harm your grey matter. “The latest research shows that chronic worrying negatively affect brain structure and function,” says Dr Lord. The stress hormone cortisol damages nerve cells in the brain, because it causes neurons to fire too frequently and ‘excites’ them to death. This makes you more prone to mental and cardiovascular illness.
Exit here: Eating high glycemic index carbohydrates such as white bread and white rice will enhance the clearance of cortisol from your body, helping you to step back from chronic worry. At all costs, avoid the false embrace of alcohol: “Alcohol provides symptomatic relief from worry, but it affects the chemistry of the brain, making you more prone to anxiety and depression in the long term,” warns Dr Lord. So stay sober – and worry less.
Source: Men's Health
Exit here: Eating high glycemic index carbohydrates such as white bread and white rice will enhance the clearance of cortisol from your body, helping you to step back from chronic worry. At all costs, avoid the false embrace of alcohol: “Alcohol provides symptomatic relief from worry, but it affects the chemistry of the brain, making you more prone to anxiety and depression in the long term,” warns Dr Lord. So stay sober – and worry less.
Source: Men's Health
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