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Reducing Anxiety in the Midst of the Los Angeles Fires

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Artwork for the blog post Reducing Anxiety in the Midst of the Los Angeles Fires by Tom Drucker

Living in Southern California right now is, of course, extremely stressful.

So many have lost their homes to the wildfires. So many others are evacuated, are on high alert, and are supporting their loved ones. Watching television with its constant images of burned-out houses and distraught families is only exacerbating the stress.

These experiences and images all trigger our amygdala, and our body feels we are in danger. Then, the amygdala signals our hypothalamus which activates stress hormones which makes us agitated and more anxious. We experience the fight or flight response which overrides our logic and more deliberate thinking. Understanding this physiological process is the first step to reducing our emotional and physical stress, making us more productive and healthier.

Let’s learn how to deal with this anxiety, by learning how to impact the autonomic nervous system. This is the part of our nervous system that controls heart rate, breathing, and digestion, and prepares the body for action.

To relax ourselves, we need to activate our parasympathetic nervous system. Here are three simple life hacks that really work:

Laughter

Remember the saying, “laughter is the best medicine”? It turns out it’s true. I’m not suggesting we laugh in the face of tragedy. I am suggesting we take a break from tragedy to help calm ourselves and build our resilience. Laughing impacts our body in several ways: 

  • It helps us feel more relaxed by lowering our heart rate and blood pressure. This happens when stress hormones like cortisol, dopamine, and adrenaline are reduced. 
  • It releases endorphins which are natural chemicals which help reduce physical pain, elevate our mood, and promote feelings of pleasure and happiness.
  • Boosts our immune system and increases the number of antibodies which can help fight infections and diseases.
  • Laughter is a social behavior such as watching a comedy on TV with your spouse. Sharing a laugh with others strengthens our relationships and improves our overall sense of well-being.

Music

There’s a lyric from a song in the musical The King and I that clarifies the second hack. I whistle a happy tune, and every single time the happiness in the tune convinces me that I’m not afraid.” Doing this works.

  • Humming or singing out loud produces vibrations which stimulate the vagus nerve which plays an important part in calming down our bodies.
  • Listening to Mozart’s music is so calming to our nervous system that it’s been studied as a possible treatment for seizures.

Intentional Breathing

  • Deeply inhale through the nose into the diaphragm.
  • Hold this breath for a couple of seconds.
  • Exhale through the nose slowly to the count of 10.
  • Repeat 10 times to fully relax.
  • For variety, try exhaling through the mouth making an “ohm” sound which stimulates the vagus nerve which (as noted about) has a calming effect.

Being in Los Angeles during the fires, so much feels, and is, out of our control; however, what we can control is our reaction to anxiety. We can take conscious and intentional actions to mitigate our stress using the suggestions above.

I use science and skill to help leaders, teams, and individual contributors achieve their goals with less stress. It’s gratifying to see people discover their power to consciously switch from a fear-based to a growth-based mindset and create breakthrough results. My first career was as a Clinical Psychologist. I switched my PhD studies to the Anderson Business School at UCLA to research which attributes make leaders successful and how to create sustainable company-wide improvements. At Consultants in Corporate Innovation, I have worked with large companies like Google and Apple as well as small and mid-sized companies. I use my business experience and knowledge of neuroscience to help leaders, teams, and individuals to change their habits, transforming their lives forever. I also help sell family-owned companies as a Managing Director with the Janas Investment Bank.