Anxiety Reactions and Techniques to Stop Racing Thoughts

What happens to you when you feel anxious? Youracing thoughts or actions you were performing just
may find that you are having heart palpitations, sweatybefore you heard or saw the word "STOP".
palms, feel flushed, or are suffering from racingThe key here is that you just shut down that cyclical
thoughts. You may even think that you are having apattern of thoughts even for a second as you
heart attack if the anxiety is overwhelming. Manypondered the word "STOP". As you go back to
people in my practice ask me how to stop thatwhatever you were doing just before imagining the
seemingly un-ending road of fear and panic. It seemsword "STOP", you are still training yourself to be more
as though once you start on that road, it is difficult toin control. What we know about anxiety is that the
pull off it.premise is one of fear. Fear is about feeling out of
This is quite understandable if you understand thecontrol of what will happen to us. However, once you
biology of anxiety. Anxiety served as a protectiveemploy the thought stopping technique, you were in
purpose for us during the times of the saber-toothedcontrol of stopping your racing thoughts, even for a
tiger. These animals lived roughly about 33.7 million tosecond.
9,000 years ago and were quite deadly to humans.The thought stopping technique is as easy as what I
Humans developed an anxiety reaction to thesedescribed above. It is a way to interrupt your racing
animals to protect them from being eaten. This isthought patterns. Now if you find yourself going back
known as the fight or flight syndrome and it is ato your intruding thoughts, imagine the word "STOP"
primitive reaction that we have developed to protectagain. Imagine a stop sign or repeat the word out loud
us. However, we are no longer in danger of theover and over. Again, you may find yourself going
saber-toothed tiger, but our well developed anxietyback to your racing thoughts, but this time you shut
reactions are still present. They serve a useful purposethat process down for a few seconds. Every time
in times of real imminent danger. But many people findyou do this, you are re-training your brain to interrupt
that they are suffering from anxiety that is not relatedthe seemingly un-ending cycle of racing thoughts that
to real imminent harm.are creating a lot of your anxiety symptoms.
Now you ask, "How do we stop those racing thoughtsThought stopping techniques are very useful tools to
and adrenaline-like feelings so that we can stophelp you when you feel that your thoughts are out of
worrying and be more productive?" Well one of thecontrol. If you are still struggling with anxiety to the point
tools you can use is called the thought-stoppingthat you are not being productive in your life, you
technique. It is quite simple and many people laughshould have a full psychological and medical evaluation
when they first hear it, but it really does work.to see if there is another reason for your anxiety.
Imagine a stop sign. It is red and white and has eightSome people need medications and others need
sides. In the middle of that octagonal shaped sign is theon-going psychotherapy or both.
word "STOP". Now imagine that word "STOP" beingWhat ever it is that you choose to do, you need to
said out loud to you by either you or someone else, ortake back the control in your life and understand that
printed on a piece of paper right in front of you. Usuallythere are some processes that you do have control
you will stop what you are doing or thinking even for aover. Thought stopping techniques will help you begin
second and wonder, "What do I have to stop for?",to put yourself back on that road of control.
"What is going on?" Then you may go back to your