The Simple Eye Trick That Can Instantly Shift You Out of Anxiety
Excerpt from Inside the Curious Mind by Jud Brewer MD PhD
Why This Works When Willpower Fails
Most anxiety management techniques rely on your prefrontal cortex—the part of your brain most associated with willpower. The problem? It’s the first part of your brain to go offline when you’re stressed or anxious. (See my previous article on “The Willpower Illusion” for more.)
This eye technique works differently. It taps into your brain’s ancient associative learning system. You don’t have to try to think your way out of anxiety; you’re using your body to signal to your brain that it’s time to shift gears.
Think of it as a direct message to your brain: “Hey, we’re in curiosity mode now, not threat mode.” The physical change in your eye position interrupts the anxiety feedback loop by changing the sensory information being sent to your brain.
Simple. Perhaps not easy at first, but simple.
The article has more about the trick and the science.
https://open.substack.com/pub/judbrewer/p/the-simple-eye-trick-that-can-instantly
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