#1 Neuroscientist: How To Instantly Reduce Stress & Anxiety - Try This Trick Every Morning

Summary

The video script discusses strategies for managing stress and anxiety, emphasizing the importance of self-touch and deep connection with one's body to foster a sense of self-awareness. It suggests that by grounding ourselves in the present moment through breath and touch, we can better process emotions and alleviate the mental separation that often exacerbates stress. The speaker, a neuroscientist and doctor, also addresses the pitfalls of overthinking and the need to reconnect with our physical sensations to overcome anxiety and depression, advocating for practices that encourage mindfulness and emotional resilience.

Takeaways

• 🤲 The importance of self-touch and physical connection is emphasized as a means to reconnect with oneself and reduce feelings of being left behind.
• 💭 Stress often leads to a disconnection between the mind and body, resulting in a loss of sensation and a tendency to live in one's head rather than being present in the body.
• 🌪️ The speaker suggests that anxiety can be a form of an 'alarm' within the body, and by connecting with this sensation, one can address the root cause of anxiety.
• 🧠 Neuroscience supports the idea that the insular cortex plays a role in the connection between feelings and thoughts, and that body memories can be accessed to help process emotions.
• 🌞 Starting the day with practices like meditation and self-touch can help individuals connect with themselves and set a positive tone for the day.
• 🔄 The concept of 'Woo' is introduced to describe practices that may sound unconventional but are grounded in the idea of connecting with a 'younger version' of oneself within the body.
• 🚫 Overthinking and trying to rationalize emotions often fails to solve emotional problems and can lead to more discomfort and a cycle of worry.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Engaging in physical movement and breathwork can help to join the mind and body together, alleviating stress and fostering a sense of presence.
• 📵 Reducing social media use can help to mitigate the burnout of the dopamine system and allow for a more balanced approach to finding joy and motivation in life.
• 🌱 Reintroducing activities that were enjoyed in the past can help to rebuild a healthy dopamine response and rekindle a sense of joy and pleasure in life.
• 🌐 The loss of community and connection with others can lead to feelings of depression and a lack of joy, highlighting the importance of social interaction and shared experiences.

Q & A

What is the first step suggested for someone to reconnect with themselves and feel progress?

Self-touch, such as placing a hand over the chest, is suggested as a first step to reconnect with oneself and feel progress. This simple act can help individuals become more aware of their physical sensations and presence.

Why is touch considered important for human connection?

Touch is important for human connection because it is a fundamental way we are hardwired to connect with others. A lack of touch in childhood or adulthood can lead to a sense of disconnection.

How does stress often manifest in the body?

Stress often manifests as a separation of the mind and body, leading to a state where individuals become overly focused on their thoughts and lose awareness of their physical sensations.

What is the significance of staying present with uncomfortable sensations?

Staying present with uncomfortable sensations allows individuals to metabolize their feelings, such as sadness, instead of avoiding them or seeking distractions, which can lead to emotional healing.

What is the 'alarm sensation' in the body, and why is it important to connect with it?

The 'alarm sensation' is a feeling of anxiety or discomfort localized in a specific area of the body. Connecting with this sensation can help individuals access and process their underlying emotions and potentially address the root cause of their anxiety.

How does the insular cortex in the brain relate to body sensations and emotions?

The insular cortex in the brain acts as a mediator between feelings and thoughts, creating a 'way station' where individuals can feel and think simultaneously. It plays a role in creating body memories and metabolizing sensations, which can be particularly relevant in processing anxiety.

What is the connection between chronic anxiety and the separation of the adult self and the child self?

Chronic anxiety can be seen as a separation between the adult self and the child self, where the adult self avoids revisiting the child self's stored pain. Reconnecting the mind and body can help in metabolizing this pain and reducing anxiety.

Why is it a mistake to think that worrying can solve problems?

Worrying is a mistake because it doesn't solve problems; instead, it can worsen an individual's emotional state and keep them trapped in a cycle of stress and anxiety without addressing the underlying issues.

How can daily exercise and movement help in managing stress and anxiety?

Daily exercise and movement can help in managing stress and anxiety by joining the mind and body together, alleviating stress, and providing a means to process emotions directly through physical activity.

What is the impact of excessive social media use on an individual's dopamine system and motivation?

Excessive social media use can burn out an individual's dopamine system, leading to a lack of motivation and feelings of anhedonia, or the inability to feel pleasure in anything.

What are some strategies to reintroduce healthy dopamine levels and rekindle joy in life?

Strategies include taking breaks from social media, engaging in activities that were enjoyed in the past, and participating in social activities that foster a sense of connection and community.

Outlines

00:00

🤲 The Power of Self-Touch and Mindfulness

The speaker emphasizes the importance of self-touch and mindfulness as a means to reconnect with oneself and alleviate feelings of being left behind. They suggest that the lack of physical and emotional touch in modern life can lead to disconnection, and propose starting with simple acts like placing a hand on the chest to feel the sensation of touch. The speaker also discusses the concept of mental touch through deep conversations and connections with others. They highlight the need to stay present with emotions, even uncomfortable ones, rather than escaping through distractions like phone usage, which can exacerbate feelings of depression and anxiety.

05:02

🧠 Moving from the Head to the Body to Address Anxiety

This paragraph delves into the psychological habit of escaping into our thoughts to avoid physical discomfort, a pattern that can persist into adulthood. The speaker encourages making a conscious effort to move attention from the head to the body, where discomfort and stress are often stored. They describe the insular cortex's role in mediating feelings and sensations, suggesting that chronic anxiety might be linked to a 'younger version' of oneself manifesting in the body. Techniques such as hand placement over areas of alarm or discomfort are recommended to connect with and process these sensations, potentially leading to healing and a reduction in anxiety.

10:03

🚫 Avoiding the Pitfalls of Overthinking and Dopamine Exhaustion

The speaker addresses common mistakes people make in dealing with anxiety, such as overthinking and trying to rationalize feelings away, which can be ineffective and exacerbate discomfort. They argue that worry does not solve problems but instead drains one's physiological well-being. The speaker advocates for facing and metabolizing pain directly rather than avoiding it. They also touch on the negative effects of excessive dopamine stimulation from social media, which can lead to a burnout and a lack of motivation, suggesting that a break from such platforms might be beneficial.

15:03

🌱 Reconnecting with Life and Building Dopamine Healthily

In this paragraph, the speaker discusses the importance of re-engaging with life and rebuilding a healthy dopamine response. They suggest that people have become passive and unmotivated due to the constant pursuit of dopamine through social media and other immediate gratifications. To counteract this, the speaker recommends activities that promote presence and connection, such as meditation, walking, and engaging in activities that bring joy, similar to those enjoyed in childhood. They also warn against the dangers of losing the joy of life due to dopamine system burnout and suggest reconnecting with others and participating in community activities as a way to restore a sense of shared nervous system and well-being.

Keywords

💡Self-Touch

Self-Touch in the context of the video refers to the act of physically touching oneself, such as placing a hand over the chest, to connect with one's own body and sensations. It is presented as a fundamental method for reconnecting with oneself and is integral to the theme of self-awareness and emotional health. The script suggests that self-touch can help mitigate feelings of disconnection and stress by fostering a sense of bodily connection.

💡Continuum

The term 'Continuum' in the video represents the ongoing process of personal growth and development. It is used to describe the journey of self-improvement and the progression from feeling left behind to moving forward in one's emotional and mental well-being. The script implies that self-touch and other practices can help individuals feel like they are on this positive continuum.

💡Woo-Woo

'Woo-Woo' is a colloquial term often used to describe ideas or practices that are considered unconventional or spiritual. In the video, the speaker uses this term to acknowledge that some of their suggestions, like self-touch, might be perceived as 'out there' but emphasizes their importance for emotional and mental health.

💡Neuroscientist

A 'Neuroscientist' is a scientist who specializes in the study of the nervous system and brain function. The script mentions neuroscientists to lend credibility to the practices discussed, such as self-touch and the connection between touch and mental well-being.

💡Dopamine Addiction

Dopamine Addiction in the video refers to the cycle of seeking pleasure and reward through activities that stimulate the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with the brain's reward system. The speaker suggests that an over-reliance on dopamine-driven activities can lead to a disconnection from one's body and a loss of awareness of bodily sensations.

💡Insular Cortex

The 'Insular Cortex' is a region of the brain involved in the integration of feelings and thoughts. The video discusses this part of the brain in relation to the experience of anxiety and the creation of body memories, emphasizing its role in the connection between physical sensations and emotional experiences.

💡Anxiety Alarm

'Anxiety Alarm' is a metaphor used in the video to describe the physical manifestation of anxiety in the body. The speaker encourages individuals to locate where they feel this 'alarm' within their body and to connect with it through self-touch as a way to address and process anxiety.

💡Metabolize Emotions

To 'Metabolize Emotions' in the video means to process and deal with emotional experiences rather than suppress or avoid them. The speaker suggests that staying present with uncomfortable sensations and emotions, such as sadness, can be a way to work through them and prevent them from causing further distress.

💡Mind-Body Connection

The 'Mind-Body Connection' is a central theme in the video, referring to the interplay between an individual's mental state and physical sensations. The speaker argues that reconnecting the mind with the body through practices like self-touch can help alleviate stress and anxiety by fostering a greater sense of presence and self-awareness.

💡Dopamine System

The 'Dopamine System' in the video refers to the brain's reward and pleasure system, which is influenced by the neurotransmitter dopamine. The speaker warns against over-stimulation of this system through excessive use of social media and other immediate gratification activities, which can lead to burnout and a diminished capacity for experiencing pleasure.

💡Anhedonia

Anhedonia is a psychological condition characterized by the inability to feel pleasure in activities that are usually enjoyable. In the video, anhedonia is mentioned as a potential consequence of overusing the dopamine system, leading to a loss of joy and motivation in life.

Highlights

Self-touch as a foundational practice for reconnecting with oneself and moving forward.

The importance of touch in human connection and its role in mitigating feelings of being left behind.

The concept of mental touch through deep personal conversations as a form of connection.

Breath and touch as starting points for managing stress and the separation of mind and body.

The idea of 'dopamine addiction' causing a disconnection from bodily sensations.

The recommendation of morning routines involving breath and self-touch for self-connection.

Anxiety as an 'alarm' in the body and the practice of locating and connecting with this sensation.

The role of the insular cortex in mediating feelings and the concept of body memories.

The potential manifestation of a younger self within the body for individuals with chronic anxiety.

Strategies for managing anxiety through physical sensation rather than overthinking.

The importance of staying present with emotions, even uncomfortable ones, to process feelings.

The pitfalls of constantly seeking the next dopamine hit and its impact on motivation and joy.

The recommendation to disconnect from social media to avoid dopamine system burnout.

The practice of matching breath and movement to alleviate stress and join mind and body.

The concept of an 'Elimination Diet' for dopamine to reintroduce healthy levels of pleasure in life.

The power of community and connection in preventing feelings of depression and separation.

The impact of social media on creating an 'us versus them' mentality and its effects on mental health.

The suggestion to reintroduce activities from childhood to rebuild joy and dopamine function.

Transcripts

what's a good like first step for them

to take to be able to come back to

themselves and be able to feel like

they're on this this Continuum moving

forward so that they can not feel so

Left Behind yeah I mean as woo as it

sounds I just think self-touch you know

just putting your hand over your chest

just sort of getting into that sensation

of touch which I don't think we get

enough of when we're young I don't think

we get enough touch when we're adults

and touch is one of those things that we

are are hardwired to connect with and if

you don't get enough touch you know and

and this can be in a way mental touch as

well like personal connection

conversations with friends like deep

conversations connection that kind of

stuff I mean but I would start with kind

of just you know breath and touch as woo

as that sounds and I know people as from

a neuroscientist and and a doctor they

want something that's a little more uh

you know maybe sexy in a way but I think

it's just really getting into sensation

because a lot of stress is basically a

separation of your mind and your body we

go up into our heads and we start

getting this dopam mean addiction and we

lose that sense of our body and then

time goes by it feels like man it's like

two months have gone by I haven't really

noticed you know it's just not being in

your body it's not being in that sense

of sensation and making the intention to

stay with sensation even even and

especially if that sensation is

uncomfortable you know if you feel sad

or whatever it's okay to feel sad you

don't have to run and and you know go to

your phone all the time you know it's

just it's just being able to to

metabolize that feeling and and being

able to stay in it and and it's hard you

know when you get into depression and

anxiety that's a pathological

perseverance in it but in general it

just kind of doesn't allow us to stay uh

we don't allow ourselves to stay present

in any emotion good bad or IND because

we're so used to what's next what's next

what's next you mentioned the importance

of touch and putting our hand over our

heart and his woo woo and is maybe Odd

as it may sound to somebody a lot of

times people will take quiet time like

first thing in the morning and connect

to their breath connect to themselves is

this what you would recommend like doing

this like first thing in the morning

yeah yeah I mean I A lot of people do

meditation and that kind of thing but I

think we miss we totally miss this

aspect of self-touch you know one of the

things that I work on with the people

people that you know I'm an anxiety

specialist that struggle with anxiety

it's like where is this alarm I call

anxiety alarm because that's what I

believe it is where's this alarm in your

body and some people say what's up in my

throat or in my chest or in my belly or

whatever it's like okay what does it

feel like well it's kind of hot it's

kind of sharp it feels like a pressure

uh feels like a pain it's like okay can

you put your hand over that area can you

connect with it because to go another

step into Woo is I believe a lot of

people that have chronic anxiety have a

younger version of themselves that

manifest in their body so for me it's in

my solar plexus and there's a lot of

Neuroscience behind this you know like

the the insular cortex in the brain sort

of mediates this sort of top down bottom

up kind of part it's kind of like the

way station where we feel and think at

the same place and I think that we

create these body memories these

implicit memories unconscious memories

that are mediated by this part of the

brain and the amydala but the insula is

one of of those things that it's kind of

like where do you feel something in your

body your insulin is kind of what

metabolizes that it's like oh I feel

when I when you get a break when you get

broken up with or or something you're

going through a breakup the insula

creates that feeling of Heartache in

your chest so one of my my work is to

try and like can we access that insular

cortex when you are feeling anxious can

we can we change the sensation can we

accept the sensation can we put our hand

over can we connect with it because I

think that that is the younger version

of us and I realized it does sound woo

and as a medical doctor a neuroscientist

I want to have a seizure sometimes when

I talk about this stuff but it's really

important to connect with our with

ourselves through self-touch that we

don't do it's not like Med meditation is

pretty common yoga is pretty common um

but it's really getting that sensation

and connecting with that sensation

because you know the alarm sensation in

your body could well be that younger

vers version of you trying to get your

attention is there any kind of um like

protocol you would recommend to somebody

who's feeling like anxious in the moment

they're feeling a bit trapped um is it

just putting their hand over their heart

and breathing is there like the not I

know we talked about like the nostril

breathing and the exhale I think the

last time nostril stuff yeah you came on

um like how how do we blend those things

together well it's getting out of your

head really because I think what happens

with stress is we try and think our way

out of a feeling problem doesn't work it

just doesn't work but we it doesn't stop

us from trying to do that I mean I think

as children we the only place we had to

go if if our parents weren't you know

there for us in a way was our heads

because staying in your body was just

too painful like that's where the that's

where all pain is stored so you go up

into your head you start overthinking

you start becoming hypervigilant that

kind of thing and it's a habit that we

take into adulthood that we don't even

realize that we've been caught our head

for 10 20 30 40 50 years sometimes so

it's like can you make the conscious

intention to move out of your head

because your worries aren't aren't going

to solve anything in fact they're just

going to make you more uncomfortable can

you take the opposite choice and go into

your body rather than trying to stay in

your head now your body is probably

going to be uncomfortable because this

is where you store all the old alarm so

initially it may feel more uh

uncomfortable to go into your body but I

think there is this kind of overwhelming

sense that when you put your hand over

the area where you feel your stress in

your body there is this sense of

connection that's there and it

immediately helps people and it's like

okay I'm on the right track here I'm on

the right track with this this sensation

and tracking this in my body and slowing

it down too like our minds go so quickly

our mind goes so fast that it just

outruns our body most of the time and

it's like can you slow your mind down

enough so that can actually join up with

your body because one of the things I

say about anxiety chronic anxiety is

that it's a separation of your adult

self and your child self because the

adult in you doesn't want to go back to

the child because that's where all all

our pain is stored and it's a separation

from our mind from our body so when we

connect our mind and our body back

together again we actually create this

fertile ground to actually metabolize

the trauma metabolize the sadness

metabolize the pain rather than just

going into our head which basically just

suspends it it's the the pain is in

suspended animation as soon as you go

into your head you never actually make a

dent in that pain because you're too

busy up in your head the if the issue is

you know stuck in your body and you're

woring around hypervigilant in your mind

all the time that part of your body

never gets dealt with and that pain

never gets never gets uh any sort of air

time never gets any connection so of

course it's not going to heal and it's

probably just going to get

worse what would you say the biggest

mistakes people make that might not be

so obvious maybe these are subtle that

you know throughout the week actually

increase their anxiety well just

thinking more just just believing

unconsciously that you're G to solve

this problem you know if you're worried

about your son or your daughter or your

mom or your dad or whatever worrying

about it isn't going to do anything in

fact it's just going to it's just going

to drag your physiology into the gutter

but if you can learn how to sort of go

into your body and allow that that

sensation to be there that discomfort

about like my my I had did a podcast

about my oldest dog Buddha you know he's

kind of failing so he may not last

another six months or so so it's one of

those things where can I go into that

sensation in my body of what it's going

to be like to lose him and can I stay

with it can I can I actually metabolize

it rather than just overthink and go

well you know he's still doing okay he's

still doing well you know he'll probably

be okay that kind of stuff like we know

that we're just worrying and we know

that the worry doesn't actually solve

anything it just suspends things in in

suspended animation and the pain is

still there so go at the pain directly

allow the pain to be there metabolize

the pain and a lot of people who have

like um uh partner relative parent

whatever with a cancer diagnosis they do

a lot of The Grieving before the person

actually passes and this is what I'm

talking about it's just basically

metabolizing The Angst that you're

feeling

rather than going up into your head and

trying to explain why you should feel

better right other than overthinking

things or thinking that you can think

your way out of a problem or think your

way into a solution is there anything

that people should be doing that they're

not doing maybe like daily exercise

movement um certain ways movement for

sure like I think even like I have this

little practice that I do sometimes and

I just basically move my hand in my

breath it's not it looks a bit taish and

that kind of stuff but it's basically I

just make it up and anytime that you

match your breath and your movement

together you start joining your mind and

your body together so it starts

alleviating your stress right away and

when you move into your body and out of

your head you're starting to get to the

the root cause of the problem instead of

just unfortunately we're wired to

believe that worry unconsciously believe

that worry is helpful and it basically

just traps Us in more worry so the more

you can go into the sensation

specifically of your body even if it

hurts the more you can start actually

processing and metabolizing the

underlying cause of this problem in the

first place as opposed to just trying to

numb it by you know

overthinking on the other side of this

is people can become I think passive

because we know we're talking about how

to like not suppress but mitigate stress

mitigate anxiety and on the other side

of all this there's people that are

feeling you know unmotivated unable to

focus lazy if you will

and so how can people do the opposite if

they're like trying to

upregulate their nervous system a bit to

be able to Prime themselves to take

action well this is hard but get off

social media for one you know it just

it's just you burned out your dopamine

system you know we have this place in

our brain called the ventral t area that

makes dopamine one of them and uh it

squirts dopamine onto the nucleus

accumbens which is basically our

motivation Center and if you create way

too much dopamine all the time you you

drop the bar or actually you raise the

bar and what's going to excite you so if

you're always EXC you know excited

excited excited excited excited all the

time uh when you drop into a normal

Baseline State it's going to feel pretty

pretty lonely and bereft in there so a

lot of what happens I think is that we

get so wrapped up in this dopamine

driven society that we forget about the

sort of the more serotonin the more here

and now kind of like the more awareness

the more presence and if you don't spend

a lot of time in presence you're

probably not going to want to spend a

lot more time in presence and you just

keep going at this dopamine cycle and

you can only go at it for so long until

it just starts to burn you out and you

just feel and this is what what I'm

seeing a lot in people this this thing

called anhedonia which is this I don't

feel pleasure in

anything because they burned out their

dopamine system right so you can start

building it back up again by doing

things like you know cold plunges you

know putting your putting your body in

this sort of stressful thing where you

know you can kind of

recirculate some of the the um the the

isness of life like the feeling life

even if it's uncomfortable so I think we

spend so much time avoiding discomfort

and in through distraction specifically

with social media is that we never

really get a chance to feel anything

anymore because we're always looking for

the next hit and after a while you burn

out that dopamine system and then you

won't feel motivation for anything and

then that's that's a dangerous place to

be in because um there's not a whole lot

of ways out of that other than

doing the exact opposite which is maybe

getting into some meditation going for

walks staying away from kind of like

that immediate gratification all the

time and just retraining that system to

build up you know the the sense of life

again because that's what I'm seeing

with so many people is that they don't

really have this joy in life I don't see

too many people that feel Joy in life

anymore so do you think that the only

solution to this is is similar to an

Elimination Diet where you completely

detox yourself from dopamine for a

period of time and then start to

reintroduce start to reintroduce it into

your life in a way that's healthy yeah

or you know just you know what do you

like what did you like when you were a

kid like did you like you know playing

Road hockey did you like riding your

bike like what is it that you like to do

when you were younger and you're

probably still like to do those things

now so start with things that you you

know that you liked in the past and

start reintroducing them you know start

going on a bike ride you know every

couple of days or whatever getting out

of that mold of being in the house being

separate from other people you know

connecting with other people I mean we

used to have you know 70s and 80 we used

to have clubs you know car clubs and and

clubs and people would join and and and

meet together and now because we're

so we have everything we we kind of

desire in a way in in on a computer

screen why would we go to the house you

know movie theaters aren't doing well

anymore like all these things that used

to get people out and and get them

feeling together and feeling connected

you know I always get reminded of those

um those starlings you know when you see

those thousands of Starlings and they're

all moving in One Direction it looks

like a big cloud you know there there is

this neural net that we believe forms

from bird to bird and they all move in

the same thing they're all sharing one

nervous system and I think on some level

too this is what happens with like

soccer hooliganism and you know and and

football games and basketball games when

crowds just go nuts is that there's this

wiring that occurs between human beings

that we can't explain but it's very

powerful and if we lose that if we lose

that connection with other people we

become depressed and you know what you

and I have talked about before is we

develop this us and them mentality where

we only feel good when we're making them

feel bad when we're insulting them and

this is what this is what social media

is doing this is why people will go on

and just insult somebody someone who

says like here's my flower arrangement

that did I did today and it's like why

do you use roses you know like you're an

idiot to use Ro like where where is this

coming from and it's coming from the

fact that that people feel separate from

other people and and it becomes

ultimately because you feel separate

from yourself and when you're SP from

yourself you're always looking for

something to make yourself feel better

and usually the first thing you look for

is like dopamine driven it's not you

don't sort of look like oh okay I'll

just go down and watch the sunset make

myself feel better that way it's like

I'll go on social media or I'll go do

something that kind of you know involves

a screen or involves a phone and and

eventually that kind of creates this

internal separateness within us that

just makes us really unhappy