I discovered this simple technique to release stress, anxiety, panic attacks at a Vagus Nerve Summit and instantly had to share it with you.
Havening, developed by Ronald Ruden, M.D., uses touch to create delta waves in the brain. Certain surfaces of our skin, such as the palms of our hands, have special nerve endings called Pacinian corpuscles, and if you put a light pressure on them, they generate delta waves. These calming brainwaves, can help soothe anxious feelings.
HOW DO DELTA WAVES CALM ANXIETY?
Havening, generates delta waves that have a positive effect on regions of the brain that are involved in creating emotionally charged memories and trauma. One of these brain regions is the amygdala, which plays a major role in recording the emotions of our experiences. When it comes to traumatic experiences, the amygdala encodes emotions in a different way, and they become what neuroscientists call “potentiated.” This means they get hard-wired into your brain where they stick like super glue.
In conversations with many clients, not only can life situations cause stress and anxiety (caring for a loved one, loss), but the coronavirus pandemic has created chronic stress, leaving many of us anxious, worried, depressed.
3 TYPES OF HAVENING TOUCH
1. Rub the palms of your hands together. Rub your hands together slowly as if you’re washing your hands.
2. Give yourself a hug. Place the palms of your hands on your opposite shoulders and rub them down your arms to your elbows.
3. “Wash” your face. Place your fingertips up high on your forehead just within your hairline and then let your fingers fall down your face to your chin.
3 COMMON FORMS OF HAVENING
There are many forms of havening, but 3 of the most common are called transpirational, affirmational, and event havening.
Transpirational Havening
If you feel anxiety from the day’s events, distressing news, or a desperate situation, transpirational havening can help. While you use one of the 3 touch techniques described above, talk about what you’re feeling. For example, as you stroke your arms in a downward motion, you may say something like, “I’m feeling so scared worried about our finances, and I’m feeling helpless.” As the touch produces delta brainwaves, the special nerve endings send signals to the amygdala that make it feel safe and secure. This helps take away the anxiety-producing effects of the words you are saying.
Affirmational Havening
Saying positive affirmations while practicing one of the havening touch techniques can be very powerful. This is due to the fact that havening mimics the sleep stage when your brain incorporates the memories of the day. Because of this, saying affirmations while havening puts those positive thoughts into the brain’s memory centers. Remember, your thoughts come first and then your body follows. So incorporating touch with the affirmations is like taking the power of positive thinking and supercharging it.
Not only are you loading up your brain with wonderful, powerful affirmations, but you’re also putting them into procedural/operational memory. so you can operationalize these powerful positive aspirational thoughts.
This can be very effective at resetting your anxiety levels. For example, during the day if you get anxious or frightened, think “safe, peaceful, calm” while you rub your hands or arms. This will help defuse your brain’s fear centers and promote soothing.