How to Turn off the Fight/Flight/Freeze Response: Anxiety Skills #4

When the fight/flight/freeze response kicks in, the thinking part of your brain shuts down. Trying to force yourself to calm down rarely works. That's because your brain is meant to default to ancient survival responses like the fight/flight/freeze response.
In this video, I give an overview of how you can turn off that fight/flight/freeze response by using grounding activities to turn on your parasympathetic nervous system.

Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC, and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.

About Me:
I’m Emma McAdam. I’m a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and I have worked in various settings of change and growth since 2004. My experience includes juvenile corrections, adventure therapy programs, wilderness therapy programs, an eating disorder treatment center, a residential treatment center, and I currently work in an outpatient therapy clinic.

In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.

Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC
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[mlkfbkk]

This is the channel I have been looking for. A well explained straight to the point exercise on decreasing anxiety. Great job!

I'm practicing this for myself. As I can almost never behave in a social environment, and miss so many great opportunities.

[WellBalancedWallet]

So happy that mental health is getting so much attention, nowadays. I hope this video can help millions, anxiety affects us all.

[mildmanneredmercifulmouse]

Something that helps me manage my mental well being is having a morning routine.
Get out of bed quickly.
Full body dry-brush towards heart.
Cold shower.
Brush teeth.
Thank God for being alive.
Key word being "routine", and realise that we create ourselves and that we have the internal power to transform our mind set.
Another thing that i think is the biggest thing missing in our lives is Sacred Ceremony. With spiritual intention and prayer incorporated in our daily life, we have a much better chance of making it through the day with good results.

[Love_To_Be_Love]

Thanks you so much for helping me get out of survival mode 🙏🏽

[Psychgo]

This is gold. Thanks for making these!

[dinourbani]

i have been suffering from general anxiety for over 30 years. power of prayer.... i came across your channel. i started studying your information yesterday and putting the info into practice. i am already feeling alot better. thank you

[jasonsands]

Emma’s voice is grounding. It’s so soothing.

[GWsavedMYlife]

A reason why telling yourself "don't be anxious" does not work, is that the brain doesn't recognize the negation. It's like "don't think of a pink elephant". The picture you get from this is a pink elephant.

[irishelk]

It’s said in Zen, at least that’s where I got it from, that our resistance to our anxiety or negative thoughts is what results in most of the suffering. I also learned to balance a negative thought with a positive one. But to be honest if I’m having lots of negative thoughts it’s usually because I’m sitting around my house all day, no exercise, no hobbies, not talking to anybody, not getting out and about.

[energyhealing]

Whenever I have a fight with someone telling me what to do and me not feeling worthy and enough I also start feeling ungrounded and anxious. It’s whenever we are around people who tell us what to do or are manipulative. From here I start worrying about future and past and unable to move forward . Love to everyone going through those things too✨❤️

[jewel]

Just the title made me realize why I'm just sitting on the couch during the pandemic. I want to clean and sanitize but i feel like I don't want to move. Like I can't move. That must be the freeze response to anxiety. Wow! Thank you. I didn't know there was a term for it. I still feel that way but it's good to understand why.

[marykissel]

I love the way you get to the point without a lot of mindless chatter and give PRACTICAL suggestions and techniques to ground ourselves. Straightforward and to the point is VERY much appreciated

[nikakozar]

Not only are your videos immensely helpful (honestly, they've kind of changed my perspective on everything and have been a great addition to my healing process I'm doing in real life therapy), your voice is also very soothing which helps a lot when trying to calm down!

[maryann]

Totally been waiting for videos like this for years! Short but thorough and extremely affective! I suffer from anxiety and PTSD and these videos are so extremely helpful and work!
Thank You!

[instagamrr]

Oh my god, this video is life changing. I’ve been trying to ‘think myself calm’ by forcing myself to calm down with my brain, which you’re right - absolutely hasn’t been working. Even watching this video while searching for help, I almost couldn’t calm down enough to watch it - my heart just started beating so fast, because there’s nothing more scary about this feeling than actually trying to confront it.

I never thought of this as a fear response, but it is. I’m terrified of things falling apart. The bottom up approach makes so much sense, I am so, so glad I found this video!

[starros]

Your work is invaluable, Emma. Not only does it help me, but I will be using it to help elderly seniors during these extraordinary times.

[KenDBerryMD]

Everyone forgets about the Freeze part of the F, F, or F response!

[Mia-fvuh]

I have been struggling with PTSD and have been stuck in extreme fight or flight for years. Understanding the science behind our fight or flight response has helped me so much to move forward thank you for your videos!

[JennyG.COW]

Thank you for simplifying what depression and anxiety is for me. I know there's probably other, more "professional" definitions out there that I'm sure you have used, but it's nice to have someone like you who helps break them down to their core. 😊❤️

[lamaelcharif]

I really appreciate how you thoroughly explain this.
My therapist keeps telling me to plant my feet into the ground and breathe.
But when I understand the mechanism of this, it makes much more sense and I am more willing to practice this.
Thank you, thank you, thank you