What we call anxiety and stress is a set of physiological responses to a stimulus. Sometimes it is an unexpected shock, and sometimes the intensity is weaker but long lasting.

1. Respect biological instincts

Any biological organism reacts to the environment to adapt to it. For example, a gazelle eating with other gazelles in the middle of the savannah responds to stress by detecting an approaching lion. During the escape, the heart rate increases, respiratory capacity increases, pupils dilate, the number of lymphocytes (defense cells) increases and of course cortisol increases, etc. And when she gets to escape from the lion, she restores the normal state of her body.

On many occasions, human beings, after a stressful experience, are left to think, "He almost caught me"; or we continue to run “just in case” or any other option that continues to connect us to what we have experienced. By retaining the thought of the experience, our body continues to give a physiological response as if we are still in a stressful situation. Awareness of the origin of our physiological response is the first step towards regaining of our body balance. To release what caused us to respond to stress is just as important as not rebuilding that situation in the future. Stress has a biological purpose from only one point of view, the present.

2. Observe yourself

To respect the first point, we must understand that for our subconscious the real and imagined are equal. People can have a physiological response to stress just by imagining a situation. For example, if your daughter went out in the evening and said she would come by 2 in the morning, and now it's 4 o'clock and she hasn't come yet, she doesn't answer her cell phone and the last time she called was more than three hours ago, we start having the same physiological response as the gazelle in front of the lion.

By observing our thoughts, that is, our interpretations of what is happening, is necessary for us to understand that we are direct participants of our anxiety. Believing that our catastrophic thoughts are true, our body is activated to protect us. For this reason, when we have anxiety, the first thing we can do is to observe what we are saying to ourselves. Observe the communication circle without participating in it, like someone watching a conversation between two strangers. By listening to them without believing in their content, observe and see what you can recognize about yourself in that conversation.

3. Expand your awareness.

In the reality in which we live, the information we carry within us is constantly manifested. If it causes us stress or anxiety, it is because our ancestors have already experienced the same or similar situations in which their body needed that state of emergency to adjust. However, we live with the same reaction without being in the same situation like in the past.

Our response corresponds to the same emotion they experienced, although the scenario is completely different. This is not an inappropriate response, but does not correspond to our current situation and requires a modification of our response to stress. This can be noticed especially in those situations where we experience stress and react in an obviously disproportionate way.

For example: Our partner goes on a trip alone and we can’t avoid thinking that our relationship is in danger, we want him to come back, we think something could happen to him or we think he wants to leave us and go with someone else. In this case, it would be interesting to explore the relationships of our ancestors, what happened symbolically related to this situation.

It may be that the grandfather went to war and did not return, that he went with his mistress and left the grandmother alone with the children etc ... Our situation may be different but our physiological and mental response to stress is the same.

The information of our ancestors that is stored in the genes we inherited is never lost and can be transformed (Epigenetics).

The stress you feel, at what point in your family history could it have been helpful? After becoming aware, ask yourself if it is useful to you today? Use the benefits it gives you, and discard the rest with gratitude. Our internal dialogue is aligned with our state of health. What we constantly say to ourselves has to do with our beliefs and our values, which are equal to those in our family.

Bioneuroemoción® is a method for developing awareness of unity. Knowing the information that conditions our lives and that connects us with the people around us and with our ancestors, gives us peace. And that peace is the starting point for better anxiety and stress management.