How to Rewire Your Anxious Brain
Therapy that is based in psychological science has the power to actually change your brain.
In fact, psychologists use brain imaging and neuroscience to develop the techniques, interventions, and coping skills that help treat mental health conditions.
Those techniques that are grounded in science are called “evidence-based psychotherapy.”
Examples of evidence-based psychotherapy include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
When you go through one of those treatments with a qualified therapist or psychologist, your brain will actually change.
Here’s how.
WHAT IS NEUROPLASTICITY
Our brains are able to change and adapt to things that happen in our lives…this is called neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity is what lets us build new habits — You used to have to think really hard about how to tie your shoes, now you do it automatically because your brain changed.
THERAPY CHANGES YOUR BRAIN
The same thing happens when you complete high-quality psychotherapy.
Before treatment, neuroscience shows us that people with anxiety have extra activity in the parts of their brain that process fear (e.g., the amygdala and frontal cortex).
After successful cognitive behavioral therapy, there’s actually less activity in the fear circuits and the amygdala is less reactive.
Let me repeat that because it’s incredible — going through CBT actually changes how your brain responds to things you’re afraid of…it biologically makes you less afraid.
And get this: Similar brain changes are seen after successful CBT and after successful treatment with medication for anxiety (specifically SSRIs).
The bottom line is that cognitive behavioral therapy (and other forms of evidence-based therapy) actually rewires your brain.
So here is one of the most classic interventions from cognitive behavioral therapy that you can use to rewire your brain.
HOW TO REWIRE YOUR ANXIOUS BRAIN
Step 1: Identify a distressing feeling you’re having.
Example: Overwhelmed
Step 2: Identify the trigger.
Example: Thinking about how much I have to do at work.
Step 3: Identify the thoughts you have about the trigger, including how it relates to you, other people, your future, etc.
Example:
I can’t get all this done.
I should have done some of this yesterday.
My boss hates me.
My coworkers never help out.
Step 4: Choose the one most bothersome thought.
Example: I can’t get all this done.
Step 5: Generate evidence that proves this thought is true.
Example: I only have 5 more hours at work today and it will take at least 9 hours to complete all this work.
Step 6: Generate evidence that proves this thought isn’t completely true.
Example:
I have always been able to find a way to get my tasks completed.
Some of this can be delegated to my team.
Some of the deadlines are flexible, so I can prioritize the tasks that need to be done first.
Step 7: Review the original thought and see if you can modify it to include all the evidence you generated in Steps 5 and 6.
Example: This is objectively more work than I can complete today, but I can ask my coworkers and boss for help and I can prioritize what is most important to get done.
REWIRE YOUR ANXIOUS BRAIN WITH THIS WORKSHEET
Grab a blank worksheet of this intervention here.
HOW THIS EXERCISE CHANGES YOUR ANXIOUS BRAIN
Here’s how this intervention changes your brain.
When something triggers anxiety, like thinking about how much work you have to do, your brain starts responding automatically by activating your fight-or-flight response.
This process of going through 7 steps pulls your frontal cortex (the part of the brain that helps us solve problems) back online.
This means we can start to solve problems that otherwise seem unsolvable.
Then, the frontal cortex can then use that information to tell the rest of the brain to chill out.
REWIRING YOUR ANXIOUS BRAIN TAKES TIME
Heads up: Going through these 7 steps won’t necessarily make you feel relieved at first.
Chances are, you’ll still feel a good amount of whatever feeling you started with in Step 1.
That’s because rewiring your brain takes time.
You don’t learn to tie your shoes automatically the first time you do it…it takes hundreds of times going through those motions to make it automatic.
The same is true for rewiring your anxious brain: It will take hundreds of repetitions of those 7 steps to make changes in your brain.
The good news is that once you get used to the steps, you can fly through all 7 steps in just a few seconds.
OTHER STRATEGIES TO REWIRE YOUR ANXIOUS BRAIN
My website is loaded with other techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy that you can use to rewire your brain (like this article, this article, and this article, for example).
But I always recommend getting your own cognitive behavioral therapist to really maximize the impact.
When you go to therapy, read through my tips about how to get the most out of your therapy sessions and be sure to take along my worksheet packet to really maximize what you get out of therapy.
Next week, let’s keep this convo about anxiety going by talking about four different classes of anxiety disorders. Knowing how different types of anxiety disorders are similar and different is helpful for understanding your own experience and communicating what you’re experiencing to your loved ones and your therapist. Don’t miss it.
Talk to you soon,
Dr. Finch
P.S. Remember, this is education, not treatment. Always consult with a psychologist or therapist about your mental health to determine what information and interventions are best for you. See the disclaimer for more details. Step 1: Identify a distressing feeling you’re having.
Hayden C. Finch, PhD, is a practicing psychologist based in Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas, dedicated to helping you master your mental health.
