Rewire Your Anxious Brain

[theradicalchild]

Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry by Catherine M. Pittman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As a high-functioning autistic who has endured endless trauma throughout his life, I have constantly sought resources and help to deal with the anxiety said incidents have produced, which haunt me today. The authors dedicate this book to all children and adults who suffer from anxiety or panic and need daily courage to navigate their divergent experiences, with Karle acknowledging her support system. The introduction mentions the pathways of anxious thoughts, providing the example of a woman who worried about not turning off her stove at home and nearly got into an accident on the road.

The authors define anxiety as occurring without immediate peril and mention the various functions of the brain’s cortex and amygdala. They state several techniques for coping; these include changing thoughts and seeking professional health alongside reading their book. They mention one benefit of anxiousness: it can make one alert and focused. One of the initial steps they suggest is to identify one’s life goals, and they promise not to go into detail about the complicated disposition of the brain, which they don’t. They discuss the two primary pathways to anxiety, including the cortex pathway; the cortex is the wrinkled and gray outer layer of the brain, and the amygdala pathway involves the physical experience of anxious thoughts.

The second chapter discusses the amygdala portion of the brain, indicating that natural selection gave humans the aspect of fear whose central goal is protection, with some phobias biologically wired with little prompting. The amygdala creates emotional memories, positive and negative, of which humans don’t necessarily have awareness. Its central location in the brain makes it advantageous to influence other aspects of the organ that can change necessary bodily functions in less than a second and control humans in times of danger. The authors note that negative experiences can be affiliated with unrelated things, mentioning examples.

Chapter three focuses on how the cortex creates anxiety and says that while the amygdala pathway can be powerful enough to activate instant physical reactions, anxious thoughts can also originate in the cortex pathway and come from sights seen or unseen. The cortex, say the authors, is prone to error, and it can initiate anxiety in different ways, with distressing thoughts more likely to emerge from the cortex’s left side. The right hemisphere can be a source with its ability to imagine detailed situations, and the left portion is far more analytical. The chapter concludes that those without functioning amygdala don’t experience the fear that most others do.

The fourth chapter invites readers to identify the basis of their anxiety, with much of it involving the amygdala, the cortex, or both. Different types of activation can occur, experienced as thoughts or images, that can make the amygdala activate the stress response. The authors provide several exercises regarding left and right-hemisphere-based anxiety and that humans may miss many opportunities for anxiety-free moments by pondering that which may never occur. They further describe obsessions and compulsions, the former being uncontrollable repetitive thoughts or doubts and the latter being repeated actions to calm anxiety.

The second part of the book provides more exercises for readers to control their anxiety, the first involving recognizing the stress in response to one’s anxious reactions and that panic attacks are the most unpleasant overactivation of the stress response. The fifth and sixth chapters elaborate on exercises such as various techniques of deep breathing, muscle relaxation, and medication, with visualization mentioned as a supplement. The authors advise readers to set aside time each day to focus on these efforts to counter anxiety and the physiological responses the central nucleus of the amygdala initiates.

Chapter seven focuses on triggers, where the lateral nucleus, the decision-making part of the amygdala, determines whether there should be a reaction to sights or sounds. Humans learn to fear triggers associated with unpleasant events, whether one causes an unfortunate experience. The authors define a trigger as an anxiety-provoking stimulus, such as a sensation, object, or event, one initially neutral, which wouldn’t cause fear or anxiety for most people. They advise retraining the brain, such as experiencing triggers in different situations, starting with those that interfere with daily life.

The eighth chapter says that while one cannot easily erase the emotional memory that the amygdala forms, it is possible to develop new connections there to compete with those leading to fear and anxiety. The authors then discuss exposure-based treatment, with the amygdala needing to have experiences to rewire, being a “no pain, no gain” situation. They also stress that medications can assist in exposure or make it harder for the amygdala to learn. Furthermore, a hierarchy consisting of a rank-ordered list of steps to learn new responses to different situations is the key to exposure therapy.

Chapter nine mentions the necessity of exercise and sleep for anxiety recovery, confirmed by scientific studies. Utilizing the muscles in different ways, say the authors, can reduce the influence of the amygdala, with aerobic exercise the most helpful in that it uses the large muscle groups in rhythmic movement at moderate intensity. Regarding slumber, most people know that getting good sleep makes them more refreshed and alert, with sleepless nights being detrimental and slumber a luxury for many. In the end, good habits regarding sleep and exercise can strongly influence the amygdala.

The tenth chapter discusses thinking patterns that result in anxiety, with people able to influence the underlying neurological processes leading toward the condition. The authors stress that the central approach of cognitive therapy is that some cognitions are either illogical or unhealthy and can intensify unhealthy behavioral or mental patterns. The chapter provides several exercises that involve changing one’s interpretations of situations and assessing pessimistic tendencies, with optimism tending to occur in the brain’s left hemisphere and pessimism in the right. The writers conclude by stressing that while one can’t change subconscious thoughts, one can be vigilant about those that often contribute to cortex-centric anxiety.

Chapter eleven discusses various methods to calm one’s cortex, with significant differences between thoughts about events and the events themselves. The authors indicate that those who take thoughts and feelings at face value and believe them will find it harder to rewire their cortexes to resist anxiety. The cortex, they continue, is a “busy, noisy” place often laden with ideas and feelings lacking basis, and they suggest that people develop skepticism about that part of their brain. The writers return to medication, with certain ones being helpful toward changing a person’s thought patterns. They conclude that anxiety isn’t within conscious control and that mindfulness can help accept it.

Overall, while there are some techniques I already know about, this book is an informative resource on how to deal with anxiety and is recommended reading for those who suffer from mental problems as I do. However, as an autistic adult, the authors don’t mention that mental subgroup within the book, and advice for those on the spectrum would have been welcome. Regardless, the educational tidbits about the functions of certain parts of the brain, where anxiety originates, and how it travels through the nervous organ are insightful, and psychology students would probably benefit from the book as well.

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