Don’t let these anti-anxiety tips fool you.
Dr. Daniel Amen, a board-certified psychiatrist and brain imaging researcher in California, has shared four solutions for managing your mind and alleviating anxiety.
Addressing his 2.8 million followers on TikTok last week, Amen revealed some shocking statistics about anxiety, “It’s just rampant – doubled in children, tripled in adults.”
Stress and anxiety can affect the entire body, causing inflammation, pain, discomfort and stomach problems. In nature, reducing stress and anxiety as often and in as many ways as possible is vital to improving overall health.
Amen details how the thought of doom builds to a high level of fever, “A lot of people who are anxious, they have a bad thought, and then they make it worse, and then they make that thought worse. It’s like your mind it’s just out of control.”
He says that taking control requires some cognitive strength training, “You have to manage your mind and there’s a process. People who stay healthy do physical exercise every day, you have to do mental exercise.”
On TikTok, which has attracted more than 36,000 views, Amen recommends diaphragmatic breathing, relaxing music, hypnosis and a name for your brain.
Diaphragmatic breathing
Amen reveals that he’s a big fan of diaphragmatic breathing, like taking twice as long to inhale as to breathe out. “I teach my patients four seconds, hold for just one second, eight seconds out,” he explained.
He calls this technique “so useful”—and he’s not alone in advocating this breathing style.
Studies have shown that taking large, slow breaths sends more oxygen to the brain, which helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system, resulting in a more relaxed state. This breathing technique is also useful for preparing the body for closed eyes.
Relaxing music
People experiencing anxiety should listen to soothing music to calm their minds, Amen said.
The benefits of attunement can go far beyond instant relief.
Researchers at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom found that people who “engage with music” throughout their lives tend to have improved memory and better overall brain health as they age.
Hypnosis
Amen also invokes hypnosis as a tool that can support stress relief and reduce anxiety.
NYC hypnotherapist Elena Mosaner previously explained how and why hypnosis works, “What we do is use relaxation techniques,” so that patients “go into a relaxed state of mind, [and their] the subconscious mind is open to suggestion.”
“Our conscious mind is the mind we use when we’re fully awake,” she told The Post. “Your subconscious mind is the deepest part of who you are and contains information such as your beliefs, habits, and patterns—basically, your view of the world.”
Name your brain
Give your brain a name and Amen assures that the dissonance will calm your mind, “We teach people how to gain psychological distance from the noise in their head by giving their mind a name.”
Steven C. Hayes, author of A Liberated Mind, also encourages anxious people to name their brain and then introduce themselves to it as a stranger at a party.
Hayes explains that naming the mind creates a healthy separation between thought and belief, “When you listen to someone else, you can choose to agree with what they’re saying or not. … That’s the attitude you want to take with your inner voice. “
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