When you suddenly feel anxious, worried, and have trouble shaking off your worries
How to Fix Your Anxiety Circuits One by One and Stay Calm
“You won’t find any difficult or complicated scientific terms in this book.
“There are only simple, clear explanations and techniques needed to bring about change in the complex nervous system.”

The practical version of the cognitive psychology bestseller "Brain Science for Anxiety"

★If we know how to use it properly, our brain becomes a very powerful tool.
★A book like a first aid kit that you can take out and use anytime, anywhere
★A scientific approach to rewiring neural circuits conditioned by anxiety and restoring peace.

Do you struggle with occasional anxiety? Are you struggling with chronic worry, disrupting your daily life, work, and relationships? Are you losing sleep over it, unable to fully utilize your abilities, giving up on your goals, and struggling to enjoy even the simple pleasures of everyday life? If so, use the simple and clear methods in this book to stop the anxiety that limits your life and reclaim your precious daily life.

"50 Thinking Tools to Change Your Anxious Brain" is a book based on the latest research in brain science and cognitive psychology, containing practical strategies to quickly calm the anxiety symptoms that shake up daily life and bring about surprising changes in the nervous system of the brain that is hypersensitive to negative thoughts and stress.
Author Catherine M., a psychologist and neuroscience expert,
Building on his acclaimed book, "The Brain Science of Anxiety," Pitman offers 50 brain science prescriptions that deliver immediate and lasting benefits for managing anxiety, worry, panic, and stress.
By analyzing the sources of anxiety from a neuroscientific perspective and unraveling how the brain works, we offer practical solutions, but without complex theories, concepts, or scientific jargon.
The core is delivered in a concise and intuitive way so that anyone can easily understand, empathize, and quickly put it into practice.

The amygdala says, “The audience in front of you is friendly.
So, I don't accept logical explanations like, "So, don't be afraid and just talk."
Likewise, family or friends may say, “It’s okay.
Encouraging us by saying, “Everything will be okay,” doesn’t stop our amygdala from going into a defensive response.
You probably know this from experience.
None of the knowledge discussed in this book can directly affect the amygdala by calming it or changing it.
But there is definitely a way to calm the amygdala! Surprisingly, it's quite simple, costs almost nothing, and has been proven to bring about immediate changes in the amygdala.
That is the breathing method of taking slow, deep breaths in and out.
This type of breathing has been shown to calm the amygdala more quickly than the tranquilizer alprazolam.

--- From "02 Send a message to the amygdala that it is safe"

For those who have experienced deep conflict in their relationships, even a loud voice or an irritated sigh can be a trigger.
This means that a trigger doesn't necessarily have to have a dangerous nature.
Even a simple association with a negative experience can be enough to trigger it.
A Vietnam War veteran suffered panic attacks every time he showered after his wife accidentally bought him the same soap he used in the war.
The seemingly harmless soap became a trigger for him.
(Omitted) Realizing that triggers do not necessarily mean danger, and that the emotions you feel are because your amygdala has made you react that way, will be a significant turning point.
Furthermore, we may be able to prevent such feelings from occurring again by teaching the amygdala to respond in new ways.
--- From "18 Identifying Anxiety Triggers"

Knowing that the amygdala reacts to the cerebral cortex's thoughts as if they were real, you can appreciate the amygdala's worry and alarmist anxiety while saying, "Amygdala,
“Leave it to me.”, “Thank you for your concern.
But right now, I can say, “I’m focusing on something else.”
Let's apply this method to any thought that causes anxiety.
Let's show the amygdala that just because it's afraid doesn't mean you're afraid too.
(Omitted) The idea of ​​welcoming anxiety may sound counterintuitive and very difficult.
But let's remember.
Courage means acknowledging the presence of fear, taking a deep breath, and then moving forward with that fear.
Courage is not acting without fear, but acting in spite of fear.
--- From “26 Welcoming and Facing Fear”

Understanding how the cerebral cortex works can help you switch channels more easily.
Thoughts cannot be stopped by commanding them to 'stop!'
In fact, if I told you not to think of a pink elephant right now, a pink elephant would immediately come to mind.
This is because the moment you mention a pink elephant, the neural circuits in the cerebral cortex that store information related to it are activated.
Once the relevant circuits are activated, there is no way to stop thinking about pink elephants.
The best way to stop thinking about the pink elephant at this point is to replace it with another thought.
If you were to imagine a turtle with a large shell and a blue heart on it, holding a rose in its mouth, the idea of ​​a pink elephant would disappear.
--- From "31 Changing the Channels of the Cerebral Cortex"

Now that we know that the amygdala reacts strongly to catastrophic thoughts, let's not blindly assume that the anxiety we feel in response to those thoughts is justified.
Don't be fooled by the amygdala! Anxiety makes you feel like something bad is about to happen, but it's actually just the amygdala reacting to our thoughts.
The emotion of anxiety makes us believe that a negative event is very likely to occur, but the amygdala cannot accurately predict the future.
Anxiety is simply preparing the body and mind for potential danger, which most often never actually occurs.
Anxiety distorts our thoughts, making them more persuasive and plausible.
It makes you think you can predict the future, which causes you more anxiety.

--- From "35 Putting the Cerebral Cortex on the Court"

Let's think about how we comfort a friend.
Do you find yourself constantly criticizing others? When practicing self-compassion, it can be helpful to consider, "How would I say this to my best friend?"
Let's treat ourselves as we would treat a friend.
If you can do that even once in a while, you're off to a good start.
(Omitted) Many people find it very awkward to feel compassion for themselves.
Rather, you will become more accustomed to criticizing and punishing yourself.
Is criticizing and punishing really helpful? Self-criticizing thoughts only tire you out and don't help solve the problem.
Are you treating yourself as you would a friend? Can you be more compassionate and accepting of yourself? What are you saying to yourself that brings you peace of mind?
--- From “41 Taking Care of Your Inner Self with Self-Compassion”

We tell our clients:
While some people might navigate traffic without much stress, others deserve a round of applause for simply making it to the office despite their anxiety.
Whether your anxiety stems from a family history or trauma, no one else needs to know specifically.
Just know that even if it may seem easy to others, you deserve a standing ovation just for doing it.
Although we have little control over our anxiety triggers, there are many ways to cope with anxiety.
The good news about anxiety is that we know what processes the brain goes through to trigger the anxiety response, and we know how to rewire these brain circuits.

--- From "46 Stop Comparing Yourself to Others"