Next, spend some time brainstorming alternative interpretations for each anxiety-igniting interpretation you identified. If you play with this a bit, you can probably see how different interpretations could lead to a wide range of emotional responses.

Try it now: On a separate piece of paper, list several situations in which you feel anxiety. Then, for each, see if you can identify the interpretations that lead you to react in an anxious manner.

Seek out activities that engage the left hemisphere, such as watching amusing programs, reading thought-provoking articles, playing games, and exercise.

When you listen to music you enjoy, you directly engage your right hemisphere in positive emotional responding.

scientist John Lubbock (2004, 188) noted, “A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work.”

Keep the three elements in mind: event, interpretation, and resulting emotion.

Learn the skills of slowing your breathing and relaxing your muscles in order to turn off your sympathetic nervous system and activate your parasympathetic nervous system, as discussed in chapter 6.

Using distraction to change the channel can immediately reduce anxiety in a given situation.

Next, focus your attention on cortex-based strategies as needed. Review chapter 10 to remind yourself of the types of anxiety-igniting thoughts that are most problematic for you, and use the approaches described in chapter 11 to combat those thoughts. Practice monitoring and modifying your thoughts until you’re able to think in more productive