Today we’re exploring the power of cognitive restructuring and ending anxiety by rewiring the brain. We’re sharing an excerpt from the audio book “Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry.” Thought patterns that are illogical or unhealthy can exacerbate anxiety or stress. Cognitive therapists focus on identifying and changing thoughts that are self-defeating or dysfunctional, particularly thoughts that lead to increased levels of anxiety or depression. This approach is known as cognitive restructuring. By changing your thoughts, you can establish new patterns of responding in the brain that become stable and lasting!

Authors of the best-selling audiobook “Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry” offer great advice about being mindful of your interpretations during stressful situations. Interpretations are often shaped by past experiences and expectations, so it sometimes takes practice to identify a more helpful way to interpret it. Having the ability to change your interpretations can often go a long way toward helping you to reduce anxiety.