plant the seeds for a calmer mind

As a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, I’ve been doing research for decades, and I’ve loved learning and discovering new things about the way our minds work. But I’d have to say that the single most interesting and important connection I’ve made is the link between anxiety and habits—why we learn to get anxious, and how even that becomes a habit.

Anxiety hides in our habits. It hides in our bodies, as we learn to disconnect from our feelings through myriad different behaviors. While psychologists and treatment specialists have identified several strategies for breaking harmful habits like anxiety, overeating, and procrastination, a therapy’s effectiveness often depends on one’s individual genetic makeup. Fortunately, modern science may have revealed how certain ancient practices can bring the old and new brain together to defeat these harmful habits, no matter whether you’ve won or lost the genetic lottery.

you may be asking. You’re not wrong, yet in a difference sense, our brain is more complex. What’s sometimes called our “old brain”—that is, the collection of brain structures that evolved early on in human existence—is set up to help us survive. In addition to reward-based learning