Use relaxation, sleep, and exercise to reduce sympathetic nervous system activation.

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

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

Another approach is to deliberately engage the right hemisphere in an activity that’s incompatible with negative mood states. Listening

But beyond that, the more you deliberately direct your attention to other topics when you notice you’re focused on anxiety-igniting thoughts, the more you increase activity in new circuits and reduce activity in circuits focused on anxiety-producing topics or images.

The nucleus accumbens is a pleasure center in the brain that’s involved in hope, optimism, and the anticipation of rewards. It’s where the neurotransmitter dopamine is released, and studies have shown that when brain levels of dopamine are higher, negative expectations are reduced and optimism increases (Sharot et al. 2012).

You might be successful in interrupting a thought by specifically telling yourself “Stop!” This technique is called thought stopping.

To take charge of your life, identify triggers for anxiety in situations where anxiety or compulsions are blocking your goals, as discussed in chapter 7. Then target those triggers with exposure, as outlined in chapter 8, to reduce the limiting effects of anxiety.

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.