Rewire Your Anxious Brain: Tools I Use in Therapy
Anxiety doesn’t always make sense. Sometimes it’s a flood of “what ifs” keeping you up at night. Other times it’s a racing heart or tight chest that seems to appear out of nowhere. The truth is, anxiety can come from different places in the brain — and that’s why one single strategy doesn’t always work.
When I read Rewire Your Anxious Brain, I loved how clearly it explained this: some anxiety comes from the cortex (the thinking brain), some from the amygdala (the alarm system), and sometimes both team up to throw you off balance. The good news? Once you know where your anxiety is coming from, you can choose tools that actually match.
Cortex Anxiety: The Overthinking Brain
Signs: constant worry, rumination, “what if” spirals.
Tools: journaling, thought records, cognitive reframing, asking “what’s in my control?”
Amygdala Anxiety: The Body’s Alarm
Signs: racing heart, sweating, panic, dread with no clear “reason.”
Tools: breathwork (long exhales, box breath), grounding with the senses, movement or stillness to signal safety.
Why the Difference Matters
If your anxiety is coming from your body’s alarm system, you can’t just “think” your way out of it. (Brains don’t love being told to calm down when they’re in full siren mode) And if your anxiety is thought-driven, all the deep breaths in the world may not untangle the story your mind is telling. Matching the right tool to the right type of anxiety is a game changer.
Tools I Often Use With Clients
Breathwork → calming the nervous system.
Guided Meditation → slowing down thought spirals.
Grounding → using the senses to anchor in the present.
Journaling → sorting through thought patterns.
Somatics - Tuning Inward → noticing what the body is saying.
A Playful Metaphor (because anxiety needs some levity too):
Think of anxiety like two roommates who live in your brain. Cortex Carl won’t stop talking — he’s pacing, making lists, catastrophizing. Amygdala Amy, on the other hand, doesn’t use words — she screams “FIRE!” every time someone burns toast. If you try to reason with Amy, she won’t hear you. If you try to calm Carl with deep breathing, he’ll keep chattering. The trick is knowing who’s talking and meeting them where they are.
Anxiety is overwhelming, but it isn’t unworkable. Once you understand whether your thinking brain, your alarm system, or both are involved, you can reach for the right tool. Therapy offers support in learning which tools work best for you — and more importantly, that you don’t have to face anxiety alone.