If you struggle with anxiety, you might wish you could get rid of it altogether. But your brain’s alarm system exists for a reason. The trouble is that the way we live today can set it off far more often than it should.
In this episode of Office Hours, I break down what anxiety actually is and what chronic anxiety does to your body. The key is understanding when anxiety is hurting us and when it can help us. I share three simple but powerful strategies to manage your anxiety and create more opportunities for happiness, adventure, and meaning in your life.
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Where to find Arthur Brooks:
• In-person Retreats: https://retreats.arthurbrooks.com/
• Newsletter: https://www.arthurbrooks.com/newsletter
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(07:36) What anxiety is
(12:07) Why we need anxiety and when it becomes too much
(16:00) Why anxiety is rising among young people
(17:08) What devices do to your brain
(23:05) Why trying to eliminate anxiety falls short
(26:36) Some positives of anxiety
(31:08) #1: Accept your anxiety
(33:37) #2: Reframe your anxiety
(36:01) #3: Lean into the source of your anxiety
(41:29) Q&A: Struggling with addiction as a Poet PANAS type
(44:57) Q&A: Modifying protocols for your health and lifestyle
(47:08) Q&A: The value of daydreaming
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Referenced:
• The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness: https://www.arthurbrooks.com/the-meaning-of-your-life
• Meaning Membership: https://hub.arthurbrooks.com/the-meaning-membership
• Arthur’s newsletter: https://www.arthurbrooks.com/newsletter
• The Happiness Scale: https://learn.arthurbrooks.com/the-happiness-scale
• The Pursuit of Happiness with Arthur Brooks: https://www.thefp.com/s/the-pursuit-of-happiness-with-arthur
• Marines on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81750378
• Søren Kierkegaard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard
• Surviving Anxiety: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/01/surviving_anxiety/355741
• Trends in anxiety among adults in the United States, 2008-2018: Rapid increases among young adults: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32905958
• ...References continued at: https://www.arthurbrooks.com/office-hours