3 MIN TAPPING TO REDUCE ANXIETY

Why do we experience anxiety?

Anxiety is a completely normal human emotion to experience but it’s not always easy because it triggers the ancient fight / flight response, which can be a very visceral experience. From an evolutionary perspective anxiety keeps us alive, without it we would all be lemmings walking into the road so think of it as trying to keep you safe.

A key part of the brain to understand when starting to overcome anxiety is your amygdala. This is connected to your brains fear response and triggers the fight, flight, freeze response. The stress hormone cortisol starts to fill your body, adrenaline starts pumping around and your nervous system gets primed for action thinking that it needs to fight the perceived threat (muscles tense, heart beats faster, digestive system slows down). This is called the sympathetic nervous system.

This response was absolutely essential for survival back when we were cavemen and needed to fight sabre toothed tigers, but the problem is these days, our brains don’t know the difference between a real and perceived threat. Maybe you have to stand up and present in front off all your colleagues, you’ve just been given a really tight deadline at work, running late for a meeting, having to go into a new social situation - your nervous system will be going into that same high alert and thinking you’re about to get eaten.

Why is tapping so Effective at reducing anxiety?

Tapping is great at reducing anxiety because it engages your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and relaxation). Tapping on these specific meridian points sends a calming signal to your body and amygdala that you are safe. The rhythmic movement on your body is also really grounding and helps you to be deeply present in your body (another great way to reduce anxiety).

With tapping we always face the problem head on because when we say out loud how we are truly feeling it enables us to process our emotions and change how we feel.

Thinking about the thing that you are anxious about while physically tapping on these Tapping points sends calming signals to the brain. This ultimately rewires how we think and feel. Instead of triggering fight-or-flight mode, as usual, we send an opposing signal to the body letting it know that it is safe.

Using simple but powerful affirmations like “I am safe” while tapping is like speaking directly to your nervous system and amygdala - the perfect way to reduce anxiety.

Tapping to reduce anxiety

If you’re feeling anxious today remember that it is totally normal. Try this 3 minute tapping process to bring some much needed balance back into your body and mind.

For more support reducing anxiety, please get in touch kim@happyheads.me I would love to help xx

TAPPING TO RELEASE YOUR STRESS

WHAT IS STRESS?

"A state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation" World Health Organisation

Stress is a normal part of being a human being, it's a natural response that prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives. The problem is we live in such a fast paced digital world where people feel like they need to be switched on 24/7 so there are many things that can stress us out.

Endless access to world news, social media, busy jobs, the cost of living, parenting juggles, mobile phones, and the general day to day stress of life...it's easy to see how a normal amount of stress can quickly lead into chronic stress.

Stress can be brief, situational, and a positive force motivating performance, but if experienced over an extended period of time it can become chronic stress, which negatively impacts health and well-being.

WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING WHEN WE'RE STRESSED?

Anytime you feel stressed your amygdala (brains fear response that contributes to emotional processing) sends out a distress signal to your hypothalamus, which is like a mini control centre in your brain. Your hypothalamus then starts to send out stress hormones (adrenaline, cortisol, and norepinephrine) which then trigger the ancient fight or flight response. Your nervous system then gets your body gets ready for the perceived threat - muscles tense, heart rate quickens, breathing speeds up, digestive system slows down.

This response was designed to protect your body in an emergency by preparing you to react quickly. But when the stress response keeps firing, day after day, it could put your health at serious risk.

WHAT DAMAGE CAN STRESS DO TO YOUR BODY AND MIND?

Short doses of the stress response are ok as your nervous system has the time to go back to a place of rest and relaxation but when you're body is in a constant state of high alert the long term exposure to cortisol and other stress hormones can negatively impact nearly all of your body's process's.

This puts you at higher risk of many health problems, including:

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Digestive problems

• Headaches

• Muscle tension and pain

• Heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke.

• Sleep problems

• Weight gain

• Problems with memory and focus

HOW DO WE MANAGE STRESS?

Managing your stress levels is an essential way to look after both your mental and physical health but it's important to remember that life doesn't have to be completely free of stress for you to be able to effectively regulate your nervous system. We can't control what life throws at us, but you can control how you react.

Tapping

Tapping is a wonderful way to bring your nervous system back into balance anytime you feel stressed, try this 10 Min tapping sequence above and notice how it makes you feel with no judgement.

Pepare your Nervous System

The start of the day is really important to get your nervous system ready for the day. Set an alarm (something calming like a bird sound) to wake you up 10 mins earlier and do something that calms your mind. That could be a listening to a meditation, doing some tapping, some breathwork or moving your body like a short yoga sequence. If you’re a mum like me then THIS is how you can meditate in the morning.

Regulate your breathing

Take time throughout the day to bring your breath down into your belly. This is the best way to engage your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and relaxation) and THIS is how you do it:

Be mindful of how you use your phone

Mobile phones can be a big cause of stress and anxiety so be really mindful about how you use your phone throughout the day. Reduce the amount of time you spend on social media, stop reading the news, silence your notifications, don't feel like you need to reply to endless Whatsapp messages, never look at your phone first thing in the morning and last thing at night and physically put your phone away when you are doing another task or sat at the dinner table.

Create a sleep ritual

The end of the day is an important time to signal to your brain - it's time to switch off. Get off any screens at least 1 hour before bed and do something that calms your mind like tapping, meditation, hot bath, journalling, calming smells… When you improve your sleep, it's much easier to regulate your emotions (and stress response) the next day.

Regularly do these three things:
Release jaw, soften hands, relax shoulders.

Listen to this meditation to deeply anchor your mind in the present momet, reduce your stress levels and create a bubble of protection around yourself.