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Unwind Your Anxiety Habit Loop: Mastering Your Mind With Nick Trenton
Are you trapped in a cycle of anxiety, constantly worrying about the future or dwelling on the past?
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00:00:00 Rewire Your Anxious Brain
00:04:12 Taking Charge Of The
Anxiety Loop.
This video delves deep into Chapter 2 of Nick Trenton's "Rewire Your
Anxious Brain." Learn how to break free from the anxiety habit loop and
take charge of your mental well-being. Discover the simple ABCDE method
for overcoming overwhelm, managing expectations, and changing your
beliefs. Join us as we explore how to turn your anxiety into a
superpower and start living your life to the fullest.
Transcript
Rewire Your Anxious Brain:
Speaker:Stop Overthinking,
Speaker:Find Calm,
Speaker:and Be Present (The Path to Calm Book 12)
Speaker:Written by
Speaker:Nick Trenton, narrated by russell newton.
Speaker:Experiencing anxiety is not a character
Speaker:flaw.
Speaker:It’s not something that you’re
Speaker:doing wrong,
Speaker:and it’s definitely not something
Speaker:that is a permanent part of your
Speaker:personality.
Speaker:Instead,
Speaker:it’s far easier to remind yourself
Speaker:that anxiety is simply a learned
Speaker:behavior.
Speaker:When we consistently repeat a behavior,
Speaker:our brains store the associated
Speaker:response.
Speaker:The more we repeat,
Speaker:the more entrenched those associations
Speaker:become.
Speaker:Even if you’ve been anxious for a
Speaker:long time,
Speaker:or your associations are very deep,
Speaker:they are still just habits,
Speaker:and they can be changed.
Speaker:When you think about it,
Speaker:so much of our daily life consists of
Speaker:these automatic habitual “loops."
Speaker:It’s just that most of them are quite
Speaker:neutral—the way we make coffee in the
Speaker:morning,
Speaker:the way we get dressed,
Speaker:the order in which we clean the
Speaker:kitchen,
Speaker:and so on.
Speaker:Again,
Speaker:our brain is smart,
Speaker:and it uses this kind of autopilot
Speaker:thinking to help us complete essential
Speaker:but mundane tasks as efficiently as
Speaker:possible.
Speaker:Habits are great.
Speaker:We need habits—they are what allow us
Speaker:to save our mental resources for the
Speaker:real challenges of life.
Speaker:The brain,
Speaker:however,
Speaker:does not differentiate between
Speaker:different kinds of information.
Speaker:It doesn’t know that it is helping
Speaker:you be really,
Speaker:really “efficient” ...at worrying
Speaker:about nothing!
Speaker:The brain does something that is easy
Speaker:and time-saving with no concern for
Speaker:whether it is accurate,
Speaker:useful,
Speaker:or in the interest of your overall
Speaker:wellbeing.
Speaker:In just the same way as you
Speaker:automatically brush your teeth every
Speaker:morning,
Speaker:you may worry and stress in endless
Speaker:loops.
Speaker:Again,
Speaker:this is not a character trait or a
Speaker:personal failing.
Speaker:The reason you have anxiety doesn’t
Speaker:need to involve any heavy trauma from
Speaker:the past or complicated metaphysical
Speaker:explanations.
Speaker:The reason you are anxious today could
Speaker:be as simple as “because you were
Speaker:anxious yesterday."
Speaker:The way you currently respond to stress
Speaker:is an indication of the way you have
Speaker:most consistently reacted to stress in
Speaker:the past.
Speaker:Once the brain has been programmed to
Speaker:respond in a certain way,
Speaker:it will continue to make connections to
Speaker:the same loops,
Speaker:even if those reactions are
Speaker:counterproductive in the present moment.
Speaker:It will continue to do it,
Speaker:that is,
Speaker:until you deliberately stop the cycle.
Speaker:Automatic learning and habit cycles
Speaker:form in the area of the forebrain known
Speaker:as the basal ganglia.
Speaker:The three-part story of how a behavior
Speaker:becomes cemented as a habit goes like
Speaker:this - 1.
Speaker:A cue from the environment triggers you.
Speaker:2.
Speaker:You do the behavior or run through a
Speaker:routine in response.
Speaker:3.
Speaker:There is a reward so that the next time
Speaker:you encounter the cue,
Speaker:you remember and do the behavior again.
Speaker:Every single behavior that you do
Speaker:automatically today,
Speaker:good or bad,
Speaker:was once “programmed” via the above
Speaker:three steps.
Speaker:For example - .
Speaker:1.
Speaker:Cue - you see an email from your boss
Speaker:in your inbox.
Speaker:2.
Speaker:Routine - you put off opening it for as
Speaker:long as possible.
Speaker:3.
Speaker:Reward - you don’t have to face
Speaker:whatever it is you might find in there
Speaker:(for a while,
Speaker:at least)
Speaker:A reward doesn’t have to be a carrot
Speaker:on a stick.
Speaker:It can sometimes be the simple
Speaker:avoidance of something unpleasant.
Speaker:Importantly,
Speaker:the cue,
Speaker:routine,
Speaker:and reward don’t have to be genuinely
Speaker:linked—if we perceive them as linked
Speaker:somehow,
Speaker:then they are.
Speaker:Every time we run through the routine,
Speaker:that neural pathway strengthens.
Speaker:It gets to be so that we never see an
Speaker:email from our boss and open it
Speaker:immediately.
Speaker:Taking Charge Of The Anxiety Loop.
Speaker:Step 1 .- Map out your anxiety habits.
Speaker:Keep in mind that most of your anxiety
Speaker:habits developed as a way to reduce
Speaker:stress,
Speaker:even if they don't always benefit you
Speaker:in the long run,
Speaker:and even if they ultimately increase
Speaker:stress.
Speaker:The first step is to do a biopsy on
Speaker:your habits and identify the cue,
Speaker:the exact behavior itself,
Speaker:and the reward/consequence.
Speaker:Step 2 .- Work with your brain’s
Speaker:reward system.
Speaker:Your anxious behavior is in place
Speaker:because there is a reason to do
Speaker:it—the reward.
Speaker:Reward a different behavior,
Speaker:or stop rewarding the current one,
Speaker:and your behavior will change over time.
Speaker:The great thing is that with awareness,
Speaker:every moment of anxiety is actually a
Speaker:hidden opportunity to learn more about
Speaker:yourself and to grow and develop as a
Speaker:person.
Speaker:When dealing with anxiety,
Speaker:you are never punishing or forcing
Speaker:yourself.
Speaker:You are working with your brain and not
Speaker:against it.
Speaker:You do not want to wrench yourself away
Speaker:from behavior that your brain considers
Speaker:a safety blanket—that will be painful.
Speaker:But you want to make it so that you
Speaker:naturally become dissatisfied with your
Speaker:old coping mechanisms and move away
Speaker:from them willingly without having to
Speaker:exert much willpower.
Speaker:Step 3 .- Create new habits.
Speaker:Most suggestions for anxiety reduction
Speaker:only tackle this step and ignore the
Speaker:other two.
Speaker:We all know the healthy habits and
Speaker:behaviors we want to adopt,
Speaker:but we often seem unable to make the
Speaker:logical choice the thing we actually
Speaker:choose and make a habit.
Speaker:But consider that you are never really
Speaker:breaking a bad habit or eliminating
Speaker:it—you can never be without habits.
Speaker:Rather,
Speaker:you are always replacing bad habits
Speaker:with better ones.
Speaker:Take the habit away without giving
Speaker:yourself something to realistically
Speaker:manage stress,
Speaker:and you risk creating discomfort that
Speaker:will only have you rushing back to your
Speaker:old tricks,
Speaker:often with even more determination!
Speaker:How does all this look when applied to
Speaker:real life?
Speaker:Let’s go back to Annie and the case
Speaker:of the Terrible Treadmill.
Speaker:Step 1 .- Annie carefully identifies a
Speaker:behavior she wants to change - her
Speaker:inability to stick with her gym goals.
Speaker:Cue - feeling hot on the treadmill.
Speaker:Behavior - quitting.
Speaker:Reward - a feeling of relief.
Speaker:Step 2 .- Annie tackles the behavior on
Speaker:both ends.
Speaker:She tries to reduce the cue by making
Speaker:sure that she exercises under the A. C.
Speaker:vent and brings a spray bottle to keep
Speaker:her cool.
Speaker:She also reduces the reward by asking a
Speaker:trusted friend to hold her accountable
Speaker:to her gym goals.
Speaker:The agreement is that the friend gets
Speaker:one hundred dollars if she quits (not
Speaker:to mention the embarrassment).
Speaker:This makes quitting feel like much less
Speaker:of a relief!
Speaker:Step 3 .- It’s not just about
Speaker:engineering a different response,
Speaker:though.
Speaker:Annie also creates new,
Speaker:healthier routines.
Speaker:She gives herself a healthy treat every
Speaker:time she completes a planned treadmill
Speaker:workout.
Speaker:Every time she does,
Speaker:she is creating a new pathway in her
Speaker:brain - treadmill equals good feelings.
Speaker:Now,
Speaker:some of us might take exception to
Speaker:thinking of our behavior the same way a
Speaker:dog trainer thinks of an Alsatian
Speaker:jumping through hoops.
Speaker:Even though the above might seem overly
Speaker:simple,
Speaker:the truth is that so much of our
Speaker:habitual and automatic behavior is that
Speaker:simple.
Speaker:Stubborn,
Speaker:yes,
Speaker:but not overly complex.
Speaker:The way to break out of these
Speaker:conditioned responses and habits is
Speaker:with mindfulness and awareness.
Speaker:A few tips as you work on your own
Speaker:“programming” and start to change
Speaker:some of the carrots and sticks that
Speaker:keep it in place -
Speaker:•Maintain awareness and a sense of
Speaker:curiosity .- Rather than judging
Speaker:yourself for being anxious,
Speaker:or getting obsessed about where your
Speaker:anxiety is coming from,
Speaker:just get curious.
Speaker:This is answering how and what
Speaker:questions instead of why questions.
Speaker:What does it feel like,
Speaker:and where?
Speaker:How does it change?
Speaker:Get really familiar with yourself and
Speaker:your habits—they’re nothing to be
Speaker:scared of!
Speaker:•Breathing .- Breath and awareness go
Speaker:hand in hand.
Speaker:Tune into the breathing sensations in
Speaker:your body and you automatically connect
Speaker:to the moment.
Speaker:Try breathing “into” places where
Speaker:anxiety shows up.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:Annie notices that her anxiety often
Speaker:feels like hot and cold prickles along
Speaker:the skin of her back and neck.
Speaker:So she slows down and,
Speaker:with every breath,
Speaker:imagines that the oxygen she is
Speaker:inhaling is diffusing out into her skin
Speaker:and soothing and calming it.
Speaker:•Try the R. A. I. N. acronym .- This
Speaker:is a mindfulness practice where you
Speaker:relax into the present moment;
Speaker:accept and allow it to be there;
Speaker:investigate your bodily sensations,
Speaker:emotions,
Speaker:and thoughts;
Speaker:and note what is happening.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:as Annie runs on the treadmill,
Speaker:she breathes deeply and evenly and
Speaker:relaxes,
Speaker:she notices that weird hot feeling but
Speaker:doesn’t fight it,
Speaker:she becomes curious about what is
Speaker:happening,
Speaker:and she simply notices it without
Speaker:reacting and without getting off the
Speaker:treadmill.
Speaker:She is teaching herself to be
Speaker:non-reactive,
Speaker:and learning that just because a
Speaker:trigger happens,
Speaker:it doesn’t mean she has to respond to
Speaker:it.
Speaker:•Noting .- This is a practice of
Speaker:labeling what experiences are
Speaker:predominant in your mind moment to
Speaker:moment,
Speaker:including any of your senses (hearing,
Speaker:touch,
Speaker:sight),
Speaker:thinking,
Speaker:or feeling.
Speaker:This creates a sense of distance (more
Speaker:on this technique later in the book).
Speaker:•Loving-kindness .- The practice of
Speaker:sending kind,
Speaker:caring thoughts to people,
Speaker:including yourself,
Speaker:and feeling that sense of warmth in
Speaker:your body.
Speaker:Being gentle and kind with ourselves
Speaker:takes so much of the sting of anxiety
Speaker:away.
Speaker:Often,
Speaker:our anxious thoughts have a punitive or
Speaker:self-critical attitude.
Speaker:What happens instead when we forgive
Speaker:ourselves and hold ourselves with care
Speaker:rather than irritation,
Speaker:fear,
Speaker:or judgment?
Speaker:Every time you use any of the
Speaker:mindfulness techniques from above,
Speaker:you are teaching your brain to be
Speaker:different in the face of old triggers.
Speaker:You are giving yourself a chance to
Speaker:feel something new,
Speaker:to react differently,
Speaker:and to tread some new neural pathways.
Speaker:With anxiety,
Speaker:our minds are hyper-focused on the
Speaker:negative and the threatening.
Speaker:But being mindful tunes us into the
Speaker:positive.
Speaker:You may be surprised to find that
Speaker:breathing,
Speaker:slowing down,
Speaker:and being kind to yourself actually
Speaker:feels pretty good.
Speaker:In time,
Speaker:you may even prefer this to your
Speaker:ordinary sense of “relief” that
Speaker:avoidance used to give you!
Speaker:Annie has made her arrangement with her
Speaker:accountability partner and has worked
Speaker:hard to change the cues and rewards of
Speaker:a certain behavior.
Speaker:This will take her far.
Speaker:But in the moment-to-moment unfolding
Speaker:of her experience,
Speaker:she can continually remind herself to
Speaker:be mindful and aware of what is
Speaker:happening.
Speaker:This is a very different state of mind
Speaker:to the fearful hyperfocus we get in a
Speaker:runaway anxiety loop.
Speaker:This is the feeling we get when we
Speaker:consciously stop,
Speaker:look around us,
Speaker:and become cognizant of what is
Speaker:happening.
Speaker:From that point,
Speaker:we have a choice to behave differently.
Speaker:So Annie is on the treadmill one day,
Speaker:and despite being near the A. C. ,
Speaker:she notices that she is beginning to
Speaker:feel hot.
Speaker:She recognizes that awful sinking
Speaker:feeling of panic rising in her—slow
Speaker:at first and then all at once it seems
Speaker:to be there.
Speaker:It’s happening again ...she thinks.
Speaker:But this time,
Speaker:instead of strapping herself in for the
Speaker:anxiety rollercoaster her body has done
Speaker:so many times before,
Speaker:she deliberately pauses and becomes
Speaker:mindful.
Speaker:She immediately checks in with herself.
Speaker:With gentle and kind awareness,
Speaker:she notices those familiar feelings
Speaker:across her skin and the speed at which
Speaker:her thoughts are beginning to run.
Speaker:She sees all this and decides there and
Speaker:then to change her thoughts.
Speaker:She tells herself,
Speaker:“I am experiencing these sensations,
Speaker:but I don’t have to react to them.
Speaker:I am not in any danger.
Speaker:I recognize this old anxiety loop
Speaker:because I’ve been here before,
Speaker:and I’ve come out of it.
Speaker:I’m okay.
Speaker:I’m learning new ways to cope.
Speaker:What do I want to do right now?"
Speaker:She looks down at the clock on the
Speaker:treadmill dashboard and,
Speaker:regulating her breathing,
Speaker:tells herself to just focus on the
Speaker:number changing,
Speaker:one second reliably after the other.
Speaker:She reminds herself that they are just
Speaker:sensations.
Speaker:She thinks of how she ran on the
Speaker:treadmill yesterday with no problem,
Speaker:and she can do it again today.
Speaker:It’s difficult.
Speaker:Several times she feels herself being
Speaker:pulled again into that same old panic
Speaker:spiral.
Speaker:Several times she pulls herself back.
Speaker:But something interesting happens—she
Speaker:is still on the treadmill when she
Speaker:notices that the feeling is starting to
Speaker:subside.
Speaker:Eventually it passes completely.
Speaker:For today,
Speaker:Annie has broken the cycle and taken a
Speaker:step toward something new and better.
Speaker:A word of warning here - analyzing and
Speaker:unpicking the components of your own
Speaker:stress response is a fantastic skill to
Speaker:learn.
Speaker:But don’t make it a purely
Speaker:intellectual exercise.
Speaker:Overthinkers and worriers tend to be
Speaker:rather good at ruminating endlessly and
Speaker:examining a tiny detail from multiple
Speaker:angles.
Speaker:This is not what you’re doing when
Speaker:you familiarize yourself with the
Speaker:anxiety loop,
Speaker:however.
Speaker:Done incorrectly,
Speaker:analyzing and unpicking can just make
Speaker:anxiety worse.
Speaker:So how do you know the difference?
Speaker:Well,
Speaker:ask yourself to take every insight and
Speaker:understanding and convert it to real
Speaker:change using action.
Speaker:Don’t just learn something new about
Speaker:yourself and think “huh,
Speaker:that’s interesting."
Speaker:Ask what small change you can make
Speaker:right now.
Speaker:Then watch what happens.
Speaker:Unless your analyzing and unpicking
Speaker:results in concrete changes in your
Speaker:world,
Speaker:it will serve no purpose.
Speaker:This has been
Speaker:Rewire Your Anxious Brain:
Speaker:Stop Overthinking,
Speaker:Find Calm,
Speaker:and Be Present (The Path to Calm Book 12) Written by
Speaker:Nick Trenton, narrated by russell newton.
