Why do we experience anxiety?
Anxiety is a completely normal human emotion to experience but it’s not always easy because it triggers the ancient fight / flight response, which can be a very visceral experience. From an evolutionary perspective anxiety keeps us alive, without it we would all be lemmings walking into the road so think of it as trying to keep you safe.
A key part of the brain to understand when starting to overcome anxiety is your amygdala. This is connected to your brains fear response and triggers the fight, flight, freeze response. The stress hormone cortisol starts to fill your body, adrenaline starts pumping around and your nervous system gets primed for action thinking that it needs to fight the perceived threat (muscles tense, heart beats faster, digestive system slows down). This is called the sympathetic nervous system.
This response was absolutely essential for survival back when we were cavemen and needed to fight sabre toothed tigers, but the problem is these days, our brains don’t know the difference between a real and perceived threat. Maybe you have to stand up and present in front off all your colleagues, you’ve just been given a really tight deadline at work, running late for a meeting, having to go into a new social situation - your nervous system will be going into that same high alert and thinking you’re about to get eaten.
Why is tapping so Effective at reducing anxiety?
Tapping is great at reducing anxiety because it engages your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and relaxation). Tapping on these specific meridian points sends a calming signal to your body and amygdala that you are safe. The rhythmic movement on your body is also really grounding and helps you to be deeply present in your body (another great way to reduce anxiety).
With tapping we always face the problem head on because when we say out loud how we are truly feeling it enables us to process our emotions and change how we feel.
Using simple but powerful affirmations like “I am safe” while tapping is like speaking directly to your nervous system and amygdala - the perfect way to reduce anxiety.
Tapping to reduce anxiety
If you’re feeling anxious today remember that it is totally normal. Try this 3 minute tapping process to bring some much needed balance back into your body and mind.
For more support reducing anxiety, please get in touch kim@happyheads.me I would love to help xx