A little stress is actually good for the brain, explains HealthMaker Daniel Amen, MD, psychiatrist and brain imaging expert. In this video, he explains how too much anxiety and stress can be dangerous.
So, anxiety and stress are very interesting concepts because you need some, or you don't move. So, some is appropriate. Low levels are associated with incarceration which I just find endlessly fascinating people have lower heart rates, and lows sweat gland activity and low activity in their [xx] they go to jail, four times more than people who have more sweat gland activity and more anxiety.
When it's a problem, when it is causing suffering so that you end up self medicating with marijuana or alcohol, or gambling whatever it's devastating it's the number one cycatric illness in the world is the anxiety disorders, and so having regular stress management practice is critical whether it's exercise or music or player or meditation or one of my favorite one is the killing me exercise you know when you're feeling stressed write down what you're thinking, take it through this process to take the bad thoughts out of your head, or what we often do with our ADD kids, we call it four times, three times eight which's every morning two minutes, that's all it takes.
Take a breathe and take five seconds to breathe in. I mean really take a big breath, and then hold it for five seconds and then take five seconds to blow it out, and you do that eight times takes about two minutes, it's amazing how it has immediate relaxation response in the body.
Psychiatrist Daniel G. Amen, MD, is a brain imaging expert and the founder of Amen Clinics. He explains how 3D brain imaging is an important tool to help understand, diagnose and treat mental illness, behavior problems and brain injuries.
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