Two Pathways to Anxiety That You Can Learn to Manage More Effectively Today – Part II
In Part I of this two-part series we learned about what brain structures are involved with anxiety production. We discussed the “Bottoms Up” pathway that yields anxiety from the amygdala. We then discussed the “Top Down” pathway from the neocortex and especially the prefrontal cortex or front and top from part of your brain.
We also discussed the importance of working with a therapist who understands these different brain mechanism so that your counseling will be more effective.
We also reviewed facts about the amygdala or that part of your brain that produces the emotion of anxiety and fear among other emotional responses.
Importantly, we learned that the amygdala attaches emotional significance to certain objects which subsequently trigger the anxiety response. The objects can produce both positive or negative emotional reactions. For example, a person’s face could produce feelings of love or fear depending upon the person’s life experience with that face.
Further, the amygdala may be triggered by our other senses including smell, sounds, touch or taste.
In Part II we will discuss methods to tame the amygdala when the reaction of fear and anxiety are unwanted. Remember, the amygdala is basically our friend as it is there to protect us from danger. Unfortunately, it may also be activated when danger is not a real threat. We call that anxiety.
So, we know that the Flight/Fight/Freeze response is activated by the amygdala in reaction to a cue or trigger in the environment before it has time to process the information. In other words, it will react before you have time to “think.”
This is why you suddenly have the feeling of increased heart rate, a big jump in respiration, slowing of digestion (which can cause stomach distress), and increased blood flow and glucose (sugar) to your muscles.
Here is what happens when the amygdala is triggered:
Anxiety Reaction the the Left and Calmness on the Right
Your amygdala is your protector. It has some preprogramed fears such as loud noises or heights and others that are more readily learned. But, your life experiences can also determine what it responds to with fear.
You can train your amygdala to rewire the connects to your brain in a way that will minimize the unwanted reaction of fear to an object or perceptual sense in the environment.
Here is where the therapy comes in to play. When you work with a skill clinician, you can team up to retrain your brain. Your amygdala can learn to react differently to situations that cause your anxiety and interfere with your happiness.
As mentioned previously in Part I, your amygdala makes emotional memories. This is done by attaching emotional reactions to certain memories and not to others. Basically, it learns from your life experience.
However, the amygdala also makes mistakes in learning. It learns on the basis of pairing two things together. It does not think and is not logical like the neocortex we discussed in Part I.
The amygdala turns certain situations or objects into cues for the anxiety reaction pictured on the left above (sympathetic nervous system). The good news is that researchers have learned how to train the amygdala to stop responding to these cues. This is why working with a therapist who uses evidence-based methods is a wise choice.
The Amygdala Learns Through Experience
We now know that the amygdala learns by experience. When a cue is paired or associated with a negative experience that causes pain, discomfort or other bad response, the cue comes to be associated with the fear or anxiety response noted on the left in the picture above. The pain could be but is not necessarily a traumatic event.
Unfortunately, without the guidance of a skilled psychologist; worry, compulsive behavior or avoidance can be the trigger that reduces the anxiety and thus strengthens these less desirable pairing with anxiety and fear reduction. Worry and avoidance actually make the fear circuitry in the brain stronger over time.
Neuroplasticity is the key to change
Changing these pathways by making others stronger works over time to reduce the fear and anxiety triggers. How? By pairing interventions known to calm the amygdala. These would include:
· Yoga
· Diaphragmatic breathing
· Aerobic exercise
These are short-term methods to reduce the trigger and anxiety. They are good but only part of the picture. Rewiring the circuitry in the brain requires exposure to produce lasting change.
Relaxation methods have been shown in functional MRI (fMRI) studies to reduce the activation of the amygdala. Simple exercises like relaxed breathing, yoga, and exercise counteract the arousal noted in the picture above.
Studies have reported that slowed abdominal breathing after only 10 minutes lowers blood pressure, reduces heart rate and calms respiration. Exercise after only 20 minutes decreases anxiety in a measured way. Improving sleep through good hygiene methods also calms the amygdala. This is so important that it cannot be understated.
But, it is exposure to the feared triggers or cues that teaches the amygdala that the feared reaction is no longer needed. Exposure is required to produces neuroplasticity or change in the pathway to the amygdala.
New connections in the brain are only made when the circuitry to the amygdala is activated. Unfortunately, this means that a certain level of anxiety or discomfort is needed to make the changes permanent during the re-learning process.
Its’s like you need hot water to make espresso. You need to heat up the circuits in the brain to make the changes. Your psychologist can help you devise a plan to make this happen in a way that, while initially uncomfortable, results in lasting change.
When you avoid the triggers that cause the anxiety the amygdala is robbed of an opportunity to retrain. When a veteran avoids a crowded retail store which has become a cue for danger from a danger crowded market in Iraq, he or she robs himself or herself the opportunity to rewire the circuitry of the brain.
Avoidance is a Bad Idea
When you go toward the fear it shrinks. Avoidance of the triggers or cues preserves the circuitry associated with the anxiety and fear. But exposure and imagery practice can rewire the brain. Unfortunately, may therapists are reluctant to attempt exposure due to their own fears, and thus they miss an essential tool that accomplishes brain change.
Plus, there are new methods of exposure that make it less uncomfortable for the client. These include the lowered arousal methods noted above judiciously or hypnotic procedures such as the Rewind Technique which is often overlooked in the US.
Medication, on the other hand dulls the amygdala and prevents the relearning. And any benefit from medication(s) are eliminated when the medication is stopped. Thus, medication use is strengthened and reinforced. Rather we seek permanent change in the brain from the methods noted above that do rewire the brain. Medication does not rewire the brain.
If you want to learn more about how rewiring the brain can reduce and even eliminate unwanted anxiety, reach out for a FREE 20 minute, no obligation consultation. Fearless Mind Online Counseling is here to help.
Resources
Altman, D. The Mindfulness Code: Keys for Overcoming Stress, Anxiety, Fear, and Unhappiness. 2014)
Broocks, A., T. Meyer, C. Gleiter, U. Hillmer-Vogel, A. George et al., “Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Behavioral and Neuroendocrine Response to Meta-Chlorophenylpiperazine and to Ipsapirone in Untrained Health Subjects. 2001. Psychopharmacology 155:234-241.
Greenwood, B. N., P. V. Strong, A.B. Loughridge, H.E. Day, P. J. Clark, A. Mika, et al. 2012. “5-HT2C Receptors in the Basolateral Amygdala and Dorsal Striatum Are a Novel Target for the Anxiolytic and Antidepressant Effects of Exercise.” PLoS One 7:e46118.
Jerath, R., V. A. Barnes, D. Dillard-Wright, S. Jerath, and B. Hamilton. 2012. “Dynamic Change of Awareness During Meditation Techniques: Neural and Physiological Correlates.” Frontiers in Human Science 6:1-4.
Johnsgard, K. W. 2004. Conquering Depression and Anxiety Through Exercise. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.
Yoo, S. N. Gujar, P. Hu, F.A. Jolesz, & M. P. Walker, 2007. “The Human Emotional Brain Without Sleep: A Prefrontal Amygdala Disconnect.” Current Biology 17:877-878.