All the credit for this post goes to Richard Wiseman and his latest book Rip It Up<\/a>. I\u2019m shamelessly borrowing from the book. And I highly recommend you to buy and read the book.<\/p>\n In “Rip It Up” Wiseman argues that, when it comes to emotions we\u2019ve put the cart before the horse. Both common sense and conventional wisdom state that behavior follows emotion. That is, you feel anxious and that causes jittery behavior. Or that being happy causes you to smile.<\/p>\n This conventional wisdom also says that behavior follows thoughts. Following this many self-help books claim that you can improve yourself by thinking \u2018better\u2019 thoughts. Want to be confident? Just think positively about yourself.<\/p>\n Some people believe this conventional theory of emotion is upside down. The first one to propose this was psychologist William James, over 100 years ago. James stated that emotions follow behavior, or that you feel happy because you are smiling. Modern psychology agrees that behavior causes emotion, but it\u2019s now believed that it\u2019s more of a two way street. So that you smile because you are happy, but you also become happier because you smile.<\/p>\n This upside down theory of emotions feels weird at the first blush. That said, it\u2019s been proven in several experiments, some of which you can try at home.<\/p>\n This As If principle is not limited to faking facial expressions. Singing and dancing are incompatible with negative emotions, except if you find yourself among the audience in a karaoke bar. Several studies have found that singing makes people happier. Same goes for dancing. Similarly walking with a \u2018spring in your step\u2019 makes you feel happier.<\/p>\n William James: \u201cImmobility will prevents emotion\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n But there\u2019s also a dark side to this As If theory, it predicts that limited mobility and facial expressions limits emotional experiences.<\/p>\n While the experiments I\u2019ve described so far don\u2019t conclusively prove that James\u2019 theory , I hope they are enough for you to open your mind to it.<\/p>\n Before we start talking about anxiety we have to talk psychologist Stanley Schachter and how he included body sensations to this As If theory of emotion.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with how the conventional wisdom sees things and contrast it to the As If theory.<\/p>\n The key difference here is that the conventional wisdom sees body sensations (sweating, stomach lurching) as responses to emotion, whereas the As If theory says it\u2019s the other way around. Little bit later I\u2019ll explain why this is important.<\/p>\n Schachter created a devious experiment to test the As If theory. Under a clever cover story he gave people adrenaline injections and then asked them to wait in an adjoining room. There was also a research assistant in the room, pretending to be another research subject.<\/p>\n The assistant played two roles, Mr. Happy and Mr. Angry. Mr. Happy was excitedly jumping around the room, doing hula-hoops and other ways behaving as he had the time of his life. Mr. Angry on the other hand became agitated when asked to fill a questionnaire with offending questions, such as inquiring about the number of extramarital affairs his mother had.<\/p>\n As expected, the people who had spent Mr. Happy felt strangely delighted. In contrast, the people who had seen Mr. Angry fuming about the questions felt significantly angrier.<\/p>\n This experience shows the role of context in emotions. In both cases the participants had the exact same physical reaction in the body. The adrenaline injection increased heart rate and caused sweating. But given different context, Mr. Angry vs. Mr. Happy, the brain interpreted the reaction differently and produced different emotions. Little bit later we\u2019ll see how this is relevant.<\/p>\n Now that we finally have enough theoretical understanding, we\u2019ll get to the meat of this post. How to deal with acne anxiety.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with how I think anxiety happens.<\/p>\n Here are some simple exercises and tips for diffusing anxiety and helping you to feel relaxed.<\/p>\n Reinterpret the physical reaction <\/strong><\/p>\n The next time you feel signs of anxiety, stop and think about it. Remind yourself that this is just a conditioned response from your body. You\u2019ve been through this thing so many times that your body has been conditioned to respond in a certain way.<\/p>\n Research on panic attack patients shows that just getting them to reinterpret the physical symptoms differently quells panic attack. Studies have found this approach more effective than relaxation therapy or drugs.<\/p>\n Learn to relax<\/strong><\/p>\n Relaxation is the antidote to anxiety, and acting as if you are relaxed helps you to feel relaxed. You need to teach yourself how your body feels when it\u2019s relaxed, and to learn how to relax it on command.<\/p>\n Here are some suggestions:<\/p>\n Here\u2019s also a video that guides you through a progressive muscle relaxation exercise.<\/p>\nConventional view of emotions \u2013 upside down<\/h2>\n
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Mr. Angry and Mr. Happy<\/h2>\n
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How to boot anxiety out of your life<\/h2>\n
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