http://www.spinalcordinjury-paralysis.org/discussions/healing-the-mind-and/2012/12/06/what-do-you-do-when-you-worry I was worried, worried to the point of obsession.  Now, I have a clear mind.  My mom and I watched a program last night on the Super brain.  The show told how  to make the most of your mind.  Now I'm just giving snipettes of the program so don't quote me.  The dr. giving the lecture aid you should ask yourself, Who am I?  What am I? Why am I here?  The answers to these questions should give one pause.
In this lecture he stated when you are worried or upset just take three deep brathes to clear your brain.  I have been doing this all day and I'm happy to say I have not worried even once!  Who knew it was so simple? 
On remembering details he said to relate the item to something else.  It really works well when you can relte it to one of the senses.  This man also said that you can repair brain damage by making new path to replace the old.  This is something I have been trying to do since my traumatic brain injury in 1986.  Just remember that you are in control!]]> en-us Wed, 12 Dec 2012 21:17:35 GMT http://www.spinalcordinjury-paralysis.org/discussions/healing-the-mind-and/2012/12/06/what-do-you-do-when-you-worry?tr=213289#tr__213289 http://www.spinalcordinjury-paralysis.org/discussions/healing-the-mind-and/2012/12/06/what-do-you-do-when-you-worry?tr=213289#tr__213289
I am so happy you have found tools to help you manage your worrying brain. And for anyone who worries a great deal, the phrase "worrying brain" is exactly the right description. Our brains get caught up in an endless loop of worry and we cannot find our way out of that loop. One person described it to me as "a hamster on a wheel inside my head that's going so fast the hamster can't get off".

It's important to know that it is not the whole brain that's worrying, that's just the activity we are paying attention to. And the reason we pay attention to it is because worrying always gets attached to the emotion of fear or anxiety. And the greater our anxiety, the more we worry, the faster the hamster goes around.

So what can we do? Well the Dr. on Elisha's video was right on target when he said three breaths. It's not just taking those breaths because we do that anyway, it's paying attention to those breaths that changes everything. I would go further and suggest not only more breaths-even up to 20, but I would suggest paying very careful and detailed attention to each breath. Attending to where you feel each in breath, whether it is in the nostrils, the expanding chest or the belly. Same with the out breath.

All anxiety is about the future. All of it. When we change our attention to what is happening right now, we shift from that worrying brain to the experience of our breath-our lives. It's not a distraction, it's just refocusing our attention. And in the long run, this does much more than simply shift attention in any given moment. If we can make a habit out of this-even do it several times a day, we can actually begin to rewire our brains! It's not that we won't worry anymore because some worrying is inevitable with us humans. But we are less likely to get lost in that worrying brain. And when we do worry, we will become aware that the hamster is back on the wheel rather than thinking what is going on in our heads is the truth of our lives.

The only truth of our lives that we know for sure is what's happening right this minute.]]> Wed, 12 Dec 2012 21:17:35 GMT Dan Gottlieb