With issues that must be accepted and lived through, imagery can connect us to other qualities, such as calmness, serenity, equanimity, humor, and compassion, that can make them more acceptable or at least more endurable.

If we imagine the brain as the hardware and the mind as the software of consciousness, using imagery would be like taking an old computer, adding a thousand times the memory, and upgrading to an operating system that connects it to the Internet and lets it process information at a blazing rate. Because imagery is the natural coding language of most

The first psychological reward of worry is that it gives us an illusion of control. Worrying about something can partially satisfy a sense that we are controlling or doing something about whatever is worrying us.

When a mother worries about her children, even when they are grown, it’s touching and normal to some degree. But if you are forty-five years old and your mother tells you to make sure to dress warmly because it’s cold outside, or greets you with a worried face and asks if you are feeling all right whenever you see her, it can have the opposite effe

When we are highly stressed, the emotional brain gets aroused, which in turn stimulates the thinking brain to work harder to resolve our concerns. We create a vicious cycle where the baseline brain activity is geared to a higher than normal level, with increasing vigilance, fear, stress, and anxiety. Over time this extra effort depletes our energy,

When we are responding to worry, the brain and body are preparing for action and using up nutrients at a high rate to stay alert. When we relax, our brains and bodies automatically repair, refresh, and renew themselves, replenishing depleted nutrients and strengthening our ability to cope.

When we become aware of our thoughts and feelings, we can make choices about which ones we focus on, which ones we energize, which ones we keep, and which ones we let go of or minimize.

There’s a good reason that the brain tends to focus on the negative and fearful. Worry is related to the brain’s most important function: to protect us from harm and keep us alive.

we are still prey animals underneath, cautious and vigilant, and highly dependent on one another for safety. That’s why our emotional brains so closely monitor our relationships to our families, friends, and associates. Threats to our personal or social well-being, real or imagined, send danger signals down through the oldest, most primitive part o