📖 Neuro Nook Recap: May 2025

Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion by Dr. Wendy Suzuki

💌 A note of love from the author, Dr. Wendy Suzuki, Ph.D.

“Good Anxiety has always been a book about how embracing all aspects of anxiety, including all the information it teaches us about ourselves, offers us a path to a more fulfilling, creative, less stressful life.

It is my hope that you can now see how anxiety can be a power, not a curse.

I also hope you can see that, from a scientific perspective, you have much more control over your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors than you may think.”

What’s This Book About❓

“We live in an age of anxiety. Like an omnipresent, noxious odor we've grown used to, anxiety has become a constant condition, a fact of life on this planet. From Global pandemics to crashing economies, to intense, daily family challenges, we all have plenty of justifiable reasons to feel anxious.

The Relentless 24-hour news cycle in the constant stream of social media just to add to this unease; we are surrounded by too much information to filter and too much stimulation to relax. The stress of daily living seems inescapable.

Is feeling anxious inevitable❓”

Dr. Wendy Suzuki’s definition of anxiety:

”The feeling of fear or worry associated with a state of uncertainty.”

Introduction

Anxiety is both a psychological and physical response to stress, and interestingly, the body doesn't distinguish between stress from real situations and stress from imagined ones.

Anxiety can actually be harnessed as a form of energy, which, when leveraged properly, can work in our favor.

The first level of anxiety occurs through the automatic processing of threats, a function that has been essential for survival.

However, as human society has evolved, our brains haven’t fully adapted to the complex social and emotional demands of modern life, making anxiety feel uncontrollable.

It's important to recognize that anxiety exists on a continuum, with everyday anxiety falling in the middle and clinical disorders at the extreme.

The key is learning to manage everyday anxiety, so it doesn't control us—
we can be in charge of it instead.

---

▶️ Video Recap (7 minutes)

What if you could transform your anxiety into something you can actually use during your work day❓

Neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki shares two evidence-based activities -- breathing and movement -- that can soothe your nervous system and fuel creativity and connection.

---

💭 Reflection Questions

Thoughts to consider about “good anxiety” in your life…

1. What’s a one-word description for when you feel anxious? (or short description- see the emotion wheel below as a possible starting point)

Our book club attendees shared the following words: paralyzed, racing, overwhelmed, avoidance, scared, all of the above…

2. Have you found yourself viewing anxiety as something to “avoid, get rid of, or dampen?”

3. When you are anxious or upset, how do you typically calm yourself? (Reflect on ‘what you do’?)

4. Which tools for building resilience do you think would help you?

Our book club attendees shared the following strategies: “turn-off”, breathwork, taking a long nap, slow breathing, affirmations, taking a bath, listening to music, gentle movement (Tai Chi), walking, EFT tapping, healing touch, engaging in a sound bath experience, and more!

The Breathing App was shared as one FREE resource to experiment with different breathing patterns, sound preferences, and length of practice. There are many options for breathing apps (Headspace, Calm), videos (Headspace on Netflix, simple YouTube search), and strategies to support breathwork.

It's important to try out different breathing techniques to find what works best for you. Some book club members shared that certain patterns don't feel right for them, which highlights how personal these tools can be. For example, using a longer exhale can be especially helpful for promoting relaxation during stressful moments.

---

Resource: The Emotion Wheel: What It Is and How to Use It

With so many emotions at play, how can one navigate the overwhelming landscape of feelings without getting lost❓

The answer lies in using an emotion wheel, a tool that helps individuals identify & articulate their feelings by categorizing emotions into core, nuanced variations.

American psychologist Dr. Robert Plutchik, after years of studying emotions, identified eight primary emotions that form the basis for all others: joy, sadness, acceptance, disgust, fear, anger, surprise, and anticipation (Pollack, 2016).

“We can update our emotional responses.
We can learn to emotionally regulate.
We can become better at managing and then channeling our anxiety.”

📘 5 Key Takeaways from the Book

1. Coping Mechanisms Reflect Our Relationship with Anxiety

Coping mechanisms are the behaviors we turn to—sometimes without even realizing it—to manage discomfort or distress. They can be helpful (adaptive) or harmful (maladaptive).

• Adaptive coping helps us move through stress in healthy, effective ways.

• Maladaptive coping may feel good in the moment but can create more problems over time, like avoidance or dependency.

How we cope often reveals our underlying relationship with anxiety—whether we tend to face it, avoid it, or try to control it.

2. Empathy & Compassion as Superpowers

Empathy and compassion are more than just emotional skills—they're strengths that help us manage anxiety and deepen our relationships.

When we're grounded in self-awareness and can regulate our emotions, we’re better equipped to understand others.

Mentalization—the ability to recognize and interpret our own and others' thoughts and feelings—supports strong social connections. In fact, asking for help and showing vulnerability are signs of emotional intelligence, not weakness.

3. Anxiety as a Creative Force

Anxiety is often misunderstood, but it can actually spark creativity. Emotional energy—especially the kind stirred by anxiety—can fuel meaningful work in writing, art, music, and more. Creative people tend to think more broadly and are often more open to outside-the-box ideas. Creativity isn’t just innate; it’s a skill we can practice. And in doing so, we can use it as a powerful tool to process our feelings and find new ways to cope.

4. Anxiety’s Superpowers Show Up Differently for Everyone

Not all the “superpowers” of anxiety—like empathy, intuition, or creativity—show up the same way in everyone. You may find that certain strengths come more naturally to you, while others take time and intention to develop. That’s normal. The goal isn’t to master them all, but to recognize which ones are already present and which ones you might want to grow.

5. Listen to What Anxiety is Telling You

Anxiety is often loud—but within it are subtle, meaningful messages. Rather than pushing it away, try resting with it. Pay attention to what it's suggesting, not just on the surface, but in the quieter cues of your emotional experience. There’s often insight in the nuance—wisdom that can guide your next step if you're willing to pause and listen.

---

🎯 Practical Applications

🔎 How To Use Anxiety to Boost Attention

Good anxiety improves attention if you can:

• Decrease distractions

• Meditate to improve focus and alertness

• Exercise stimulates both calmness and alertness

• Transform an anxiety-laden ’what-it-list’ into a productive, goal-directed to-do list

🔎 Create a “What-If List” to Navigate Goals and Obstacles (147-148)

This simple, structured strategy helps you move forward with clarity—even when doubts or uncertainties arise:(aka anxious thoughts):

1. Step 1: Define Your Goal
   Start by clearly stating your goal and what you want to achieve. Be honest about your fears or worries that may come up as you work toward it.
   

2. Step 2: List the “What-Ifs”
   Write down every “what if…” that comes to mind—these are potential obstacles, challenges, or uncertainties that could prevent you from reaching your goal.
   

3. Step 3: Brainstorm Possible Actions
   For each “what if,” list one or more actions you could take to address or prepare for that scenario. Simply thinking through options is often the first productive step forward.
   

4. Step 4: Take Action & Track Progress
   Begin working through the actions. Check them off as you complete them—this builds momentum and confidence.
   

5. Step 5: Update the List
   As you move forward, rewrite your list to reflect progress, new insights, or refined strategies.

---

Top Practical Tools & Brain Skills to Help Manage Anxiety

Anxiety shows up in many forms—and so should the tools we use to manage it. From mindset shifts to sensory grounding, creative outlets, and social connection, this list offers a variety of evidence-informed strategies to help you work with anxiety, not against it.

🧠 Mindset & Mental Shifts

• Transform your negative self-talk

• Practice optimism

• Practice positive self-tweeting

• Stretch and strengthen your mindset

• Self-appreciation

• Fake it till you make it

• Recast your ‘what-if list’ (keep reading for more information)

• Choose wisely

• Write a new story

• Delve into anxiety

• Discover your roots

• Celebrate your wins

---

🌿 Body-Based & Sensory Strategies

• Hack your sleep

• Fuel your brain

• Exercise your way to calm

• Olfactory relaxation

• It’s time for a massage

• Hug it out

• Laugh out loud

• Focus your attention with body writing

• Sticky meditation

---

🌟 Creative Expression & Joy

• Create new microflow moments

• Practice Joy Conditioning

• Deliberate Creativity

• Lucid dreaming

• Write a new story

---

🌎 Connection & Environment

• Reach out

• Immerse yourself in nature (Note that 10 10-minute walk significantly reduces feelings of anxiety and depression)

• Change your environment

• Modify the situation

---

🎯 Focus & Productivity

• Focus on focus

• Divert your attention to something positive

• Push your limits

• Practice makes perfect

Not every tool will work for everyone, every time—and that’s okay. The goal is to explore, practice, and personalize these strategies so you can build a supportive toolbox that meets you where you are and helps you move forward with confidence.

---

💬 Closing Takeaways

Heather: “This shift from ‘bad’ to ‘good anxiety’ accelerates focus and productivity, boosts performance, creates compassion, and fosters more creativity. These are some of the superpowers that come from learning how to channel good anxiety, making it infinitely more valuable than bad anxiety or even no anxiety at all!”

Krystal: ”Just to be clear, all anxiety-provoking situations will engage your stress response, but the act of exercising those responses helps inoculate you from future stress/anxiety responses. It is as if you were teaching yourself that you can survive these situations, and the better you get at first feeling that anxiety and then acting to mitigate the stress response, the better you will manage in the future. In a sense, this gives you the opportunity to retrain your stress response with every anxiety-provoking situation that you encounter as long as you are aware of your options and tools to flip that bad anxiety response to a good one.” (pg 66)

---

✍️ Brain Health Rx:

Practice activist mindset reframing. → When anxiety shows up, pause for 60 seconds and name the sensation. Ask what signal it carries, then choose one constructive response. This builds regulation and agency.

---

📅 Mark You Calendars: Upcoming Neuro Nook Meetings

Join me at the Virtual Brain Health Center with Brain Health Mentors for the upcoming Neuro Nook Book Club discussions, where we explore thought-provoking books that deepen our understanding of brain health and wellness.

Here’s what’s coming up:

Thursday, June 5, 2025 **LIVE AUTHOR APPEARANCE**
📖 The MIND Diet: 2nd Edition: A Scientific Approach to Enhancing Brain Function and Helping Prevent Alzheimer's and Dementia, Fully Updated by Maggie Moon, MS, RD |

Taking care of yourself doesn’t just mean focusing on your body—it also means looking after your brain. The MIND Diet, 2nd Edition uses approachable and easy-to-understand language to explain the science behind how you can improve your brain health through nutrition and lifestyle habits

In brain health & wellness,
- Krystal

---