Shrinky's Guide to Anxiety

What is the psychology that makes you feel anxious? How can you find relief from the symptoms of anxiety?

Here’s the way it works. Our body has a built in Inner Alarm System. This system exists to protect us when we are in danger. When we feel we are at risk of harm, this system turns on and makes us want to run, fight, or play dead.

If the part that tells us to fight wins, we feel angry. If the body plays dead, we feel depressed or humiliated. If the part that tells us to run is strongest, we feel, anxious.

The problem is that very often our Inner Alarm System turns on when we are not really in danger.

When the Alarm system turns on you think you are about to get eaten, but really you are talking to a cute guy. This is the worst time to play dead, but that is what happens. Your mind goes blank and you can’t think of anything to say.

What can you do? The good news is that along with our Inner Alarm System, we have an Inner Safe System. You know that mellow feeling you have after a nice hot-tub? That’s what happens when your body believes all is cool and it is ok to turn on the Inner Safe System. You want to know what it looks like when the Safe System is full on? Just watch a purring cat.

The answer to your anxiety is to be able to turn off the Inner Alarm System and to turn on the Inner Safe System.

The problem is, having any control of this feels impossible when the sirens and flashing red lights are going off in your head screaming, Danger! Danger! Danger! How do we turn off the Alarm System and turn on the Safe System?

The first step is to recognize what is happening. The problem isn’t the danger you think is out there. The problem is that something tripped the Inner Alarm System, when there really isn’t any threat.

You can teach yourself how to recognize that this is happening. The first step is to become aware of the clues or signals that your Inner Alarm System has been turned on. You do this by becoming aware of what is happening in your body and in your thoughts.

Here is how it works. When you feel yourself frozen or terrified you stop and bring your attention to your body.

You ask yourself, what am I feeling in my body right now? When you figure out what you are feeling in your body, you say to yourself, “When I have this feeling in my body, it is a signal that my Inner Alarm System has been turned on.”

Then you ask yourself, what are the negative thoughts I am having right now? When you figure that out, you say to yourself, “When I have these thoughts, it is a signal my Inner Alarm System has been turned on.”

Then you say to yourself, “The problem isn’t what I think it is. The problem is that my Inner Alarm System has been triggered and I need to turn that off.”

Now how do you turn off the Alarm System and send your body the All-Clear signal? Science proves that you can turn on the Inner Safe System by paying attention to your breathing, imagining something good and safe, feeling your feet on the ground and your body in a chair, and taking a few minutes to release your tense muscles.

No matter how bad your anxiety is, the more you practice this, the easier and faster you will be able to turn off the alarm bells, and turn on the happy music.

Learning how to turn off the Inner Alarm System and turn on the All-Clear System can be made much easier with the help of a trusty guide. You can get this quickly and inexpensively in my iPhone app, Shrinky, available on the App Store. Feel free to contact me directly with any questions at shrinky@shrinky.net.