I did it.

I walked off the plank and floated down, down, down until a sea of bright white light enveloped me.

As I shared in my last Post (Part 1), I had let my anxiety and fear of “falling” into the abyss keep me from completing my son’s Virtual Reality game. Mentally ‘knowing’ that it was just a game and that I wasn’t actually walking off a real plank to my death wasn’t enough for me to override and manage my anxiety.

I had quit as a result of the physical feeling of terror and of thinking “What if…?”

I know that many of you reading this have found yourself in a similar situation (maybe not walking off a plank 20 stories high!) but, rather, a situation in which you believed that to continue would be dangerous, almost as if you were stepping off into the unknown.

Your ‘plank’ might have been a presentation that you must give, or an audition or interview that matters to you or simply a step forward in your life that feels scary and which you talk yourself out of.

This week, however, I re-visited my fear and played the game again.

I put on the VR headset, felt myself moving higher and higher on the virtual elevator until the doors opened wide and I was staring at the wooden plank high above the ground.

And yes, the birds were still flying around me as before!

Only this time, instead of letting fear make my choice, I implemented the following 3 steps in order to face my fear and move myself forward:

1) I utilized Focused Breathing (Focused Breathing Guidelines) to slow down my physical anxiety and get back in control of my shaky legs and holding of my breath.

2) I told myself it was time to go for it (Live Loud!) in order to stop the escalating overthinking that always will trigger more and more stress/anxiety.

3) I replaced “What if…” with “So what…I can do this” which quieted my negative, fear-inducing voice in my head. (Cut the Rope and Get Present)

As I shared in my last Post, that tiny part of your brain, the amygdala, can respond to any kind of stress, real or imagined, as if it’s a physical threat to you. It can take control of your brain while triggering your fight-or-flight response.

It can stop you dead in your tracks from going for things that really matter to you, yet that feel scary.

It doesn’t matter if the stressful situation is actually real or not (such as an imaginary wooden plank up in the sky). Our physical self doesn’t know the difference, as it simply takes that fear-inducing message from the brain and acts as if there is danger, doing everything it can to keep us ‘safe.’

Yet, by breathing in a deep, focused way and slowing down and re-focusing your thinking on what is actually true, the other parts of the brain regain control, allowing you to make better choices for yourself.

You can prevent or stop an amygdala ‘hijack’ by breathing, slowing down, and re-focusing your thoughts. This allows the other parts of your brain to regain control.

You can then choose the most appropriate way to respond to the stressful situation.

Practicing these techniques regularly can help prepare you for stressful situations.

Be aware everyday if your breathing feels focused, slow and deep, or is it beginning to escalate faster and faster.

Listen for negative, anxiety-inducing messages and tell them to shut up because “I have things that I want to accomplish.”

Finally, replace “What if” thinking with “So what” thinking – “I can do this because it’s important to me!”

I’m so glad I revisited my fear of walking the plank because it reminded me that the problem is almost always in my head. I can learn to control my fears and take more and more charge of my moving forward, even in times of anxiety.

If you struggle with anxiety, the good news is that the Panic to Peace Anxiety course is available NOW. It is an inexpensive 8-week course designed to help you understand and learn the principles and skills necessary to overcome anxiety. To learn more, click here.

The post Virtual Reality, the Amygdala and Anxiety (Part 2) first appeared on Dr. Nick Lazaris.