Steps to Reduce Anxiety and Keep Your Mind Healthy

Mortgages, kids, job pressures: It's no secret that the older we get — and the more responsibilities we take on — the more we worry. Blame it on your brain: an October 2009 review in the international journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta shows that as we age, neurological shifts can increase cautiousness, anxiety and negative thinking while boosting levels of stress hormones. "This can happen to anyone and is part of normal aging," says Anthony Doran, a psychologist and professor of neuropsychology at Johns Hopkins University. "It's a result of the gradual breakdown of regenerative processes that occur in many tissues, including the brain." Roughly 20 percent of older adults experience Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) — excessive worry that interferes with daily life — compared with just 3 to 7 percent of the general population, according to the review. The actual percentage of older adults with GAD may be even higher, since the condition is often undiagnosed. Fortunately, you can fight back. Just as you can take steps to reduce your risk of cancer, you can combat anxiety and improve brain function. Here are four steps to keep your mind healthy, positive and ready for new adventures. Escape your comfort zone. Trying new activities may provoke anxiety, but it also creates positive neural connections. We use complex problem-solving skills when engaging in new experiences, scientists from the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania note, and novel tasks also stimulate curiosity and imagination. These benefits work together to push back negative thinking. Seek counseling. Confronting your fears can lessen anxiety. Researchers at UCLA found that people who discussed emotional stimuli experienced increased function in the prefrontal cortex, the brain region responsible for logic and reason, and reduced activity in the amygdala, the part of the brain where anxiety lives. The amygdala is like the dark, scary space under your bed where your fears hide. Effective counseling helps you reach under the bed, pull out something terrifying and confront it. One type of counseling to consider is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). A good therapist can also help determine if medication is needed to control anxiety. Have fun. When you do something you enjoy, time slips away. This phenomenon is called "flow," and people who experience it regularly develop positive traits such as increased concentration, self-esteem and performance, according to positive psychology research. So spend more time doing activities that bring you joy. It can keep your anxiety down and your mind sharp. Recognize choice. If something unfamiliar causes you to automatically worry, try a new approach. The Mayo Clinic highlights useful ways to change your automatic negative thinking, to help you assume that "the best is going to happen, not the worst." The first step in changing old thinking patterns is to become aware of your thoughts and take control over them. Meditation and mindfulness help slow down your thought processes so that you can examine your thoughts more closely and consider options. In his book Man's Search for Meaning, neurologist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl wrote: "Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." Use these tools to take control of anxiety so you can enjoy your own freedom and growth. Rachel Noble is a therapist and director of women's behavioral health for the Inova health system in Northern Virginia.

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4 Steps to Reduce Anxiety and Live a More Meaningful, Adventurous Life

Worrying too much hits adults of any age, but fight back by having fun, seeking counseling

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