MY VIEW
LESSONS FOR LIFE
By Rev. Jennifer Brooks Nantucket Unitarian Universalist Church

This is the first column in a series. The information here is from the nonprofit research organization HeartMath® (www.heartmath.com). Research on trauma and the heart is the basis of stress reduction techniques taught in Dr. Robert Macy's trauma response certification course in psychological first aid (a course recognized by the International Red Cross). The specific source of the "Notice and Ease" technique described below is the book "Transforming Anxiety" by Doc Childre and Deborah Rozman (2006).

There is a documented "negativity bias" in the way people think. First, people tend to fill gaps in their information base with negative assumptions. Second, when the mind is not actively focused elsewhere, it tends to return to the most negative possible thoughts, worries, and anxieties. This tendency results in an emotional "churning" or "processing" (over and over) of negative feelings - increasing stress levels and damaging the body.

One way people can release and reduce emotional churning is the "Notice and Ease" technique (Steps 1 - 3) followed by the "Power of Neutral" (Steps 4-6).

Step 1. Notice that you are feeling a negative emotion, or that a worry is running constantly in the background and making you anxious or fearful.

Step 2. Try to name the feeling. "I am feeling anxious, afraid, worried" (and if you know what the feeling is about, name it, too).

Step 3. Once you have named the negative feeling, instead of thinking about it or its underlying cause, disengage from it and focus on your heart. Think to yourself: "Ease, ease."

Step 4. Breathe slowly and deeply. As you inhale and exhale, imagine air flowing through your heart ("heartbreathing"). Concentrate on your heart-breathing.

Step 5. Smile (this change in facial muscles creates positive feelings). If negative feelings or thoughts intrude, try to set them aside gently and re-focus on heart-breathing as you smile.

Step 6. Continue "heart-breathing" until your emotions are neutral: the negative feelings have ebbed and muscle tension has relaxed. You have "neutralized" the emotional charge. The "power of neutral": people make better decisions when they are not experiencing negative emotions.

Even if these exercises are not completely successful in releasing the negative emotion, the attempt to self-calm will make a difference. The more often you respond to negative feelings with the notice-and-ease technique, the more effective it becomes. If you are able to identify the underlying cause of the feeling, it may help to ask yourself, "Do I really want to keep draining my energy by stressing about this situation?"