How to Calm Your Anxiety, From a Neuroscientist | The Way We Work?

Anxiety is like when you’re about to go on stage and your brain thinks it’s time for a big test, but instead of calm nerves, you get shaky hands and a racing heart.

Your brain has two main parts that help control how you feel: the thinking part, which is like your best friend who helps you solve problems, and the feeling part, which is like your little brother who gets excited when he sees something fun, but also scared when things get loud or sudden.

When anxiety hits, it’s like your little brother suddenly thinks there’s a monster under the bed. He starts shouting, "It’s coming!", and that makes you feel all jumpy too.

But here's the good news: just like you can calm your little brother by telling him, “It’s just the cat,” you can calm yourself by reminding your brain, “I’ve done this before.”

Try taking deep breaths, it’s like giving your brain a big hug. Or maybe count to 10 like when you’re waiting for your turn on the slide. That helps your thinking part remember that everything is okay.

So next time anxiety shows up, just say, “Hello, I know you’re here, but I’ve got this.”