Adrenaline is at the center of anxiety. Most people experience a rush of adrenaline when they encounter an uncomfortable situation, such as speaking in front of others.
However some individuals translate that adrenaline into anxiety, while others accept it and transform the adrenaline into high performance. One way that people can deal more productively with anxiety is to recognize when adrenaline has been released, and to then take steps to control their response.
Biofeedback is one of the central concepts on addressing workplace anxiety. Through biofeedback, individuals connect their internal feelings with objective feedback.
One biofeedback technique is skin temperature measurement. Stress can cause the skin temperature on one’s hand to vary by as much as 25 degrees Fahrenheit.
When individuals are aware of their hand temperature, they have better insight into their stress levels. Negative stress typically manifests itself through cold, damp hands.
On the other hand, people almost never have a panic attack when their hands are dry and warm.
To connect a person’s specific emotionally state with hand temperature, there are three behaviors:
*Cold hands are a sign of stress, but not all stress is bad. If a person’s hands are cold, take time to evaluate whether the cause is good stress or bad stress.
*Pay attention to the emotions and thoughts that are associated with warm hands.
*Make the effort to correlate hand temperature with the emotional state and the feelings being experienced.
The “Five Step Adrenaline Control Technique” outlines a process for dealing with adrenaline and reducing anxiety.
Here are the following sequence of actions:
1. Start with realistic expectations. People must accept that adrenaline is a fact of life. Instead of getting upset when adrenaline is released, people should view this body chemical as fuel for success.
2. Accept the adrenaline. Adrenaline is the key to high performance. As a result, the authors’ suggest thinking, “Adrenaline is my source of power.”
3. Surf the adrenaline. High performers are able to harness the energy associated with adrenaline. They feel in control, and take advantage of the power that comes from the adrenaline surge.
4. Breathe deeply and fully. Deep breathing helps individuals stay in control of their anxiety. It is the foundation of self-regulation.
5. Say “My hands are warm.” This instruction, in combination with conscious breathing, helps maintain the blood flow in the body, including blood flow to extremities like the hands. canada viagra no prescription
Through this five step process, it is possible for people to integrate four elements: function, actions, thoughts, and emotions. The authors abbreviate these to the acronym F.A.T.E. By integrating and controlling F.A.T.E., people can begin to control their anxiety levels, and truly control their fate.