Do you have PTSD, anxiety, stress, or panic attacks? In this anxiety management skill, I teach you how to decrease stress and anxiety by using a "bottom-up" approach-using your body to calm your mind. I basically teach you how to hack your nervous system and use your peripheral vision to trigger the calming parasympathetic response. This is a technique from polyvagal theory. Many of us have experienced tunnel vision when undergoing extreme stress or fear, and that's a natural, physiological response to danger. When our Sympathetic nervous system is turned on during the fight, flight or freeze-tunnel vision is a natural reaction. However most people don't know that we have a degree of control over our tunnel vision, our field of view, by actively softening our gaze, turning on our peripheral vision we can trigger our nervous system to calm down. This tool can be used as a coping skill for anxiety, a resource for PTSD, a grounding exercise, or a way to manage chronic stress.

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Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC, and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.

About Me:
I’m Emma McAdam. I’m a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and I have worked in various settings of change and growth since 2004. My experience includes juvenile corrections, adventure therapy programs, wilderness therapy programs, an eating disorder treatment center, a residential treatment center, and I currently work in an outpatient therapy clinic.

In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.
And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe

If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services.
Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC
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