STOP MAKING PANIC A HABIT

PEOPLE who are anxious have practised making pictures and sounds in their minds that frighten them.

They’ve done it over-andover again, and so have built up neural networks in their brains that mean they can do it very well — they’ve made anxiety a habit.

Robert M. Sapolsky, a professor of biology and neurology, says in his book Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: ‘Essentially, we humans live well enough and long enough, and are smart enough, to generate all sorts of stressful events purely in our heads.’

He adds: ‘We can experience wildly strong emotions (provoking our bodies into an accompanying uproar) linked to mere thoughts.’

I used to wonder why some people get stressed while others don’t seem to care about anything. My conclusion is that both types of people are extremists. Constant anxiety is draining and the belief that it keeps you safe is a fallacy as oversurviving all day and experiencing emergencies that never happen stops you thinking with clarity.

But those who never worry also don’t see potential dangers, and so put themselves at risk, too.

There are a few lucky people whose default is that they don’t get upset about things but they still keep alert enough to spot trouble and deal with it.

Back in the 1980s, one of the pilots who taught me to fly was like that. Once, we were coming in to land in a Cessna and I forgot to put the flaps down. As I continued my descent, he calmly said, ‘We are going to die.’ I screamed, ‘Argh! Flaps!’ and disaster was averted.

I have found the highest achievers systematically evaluate risk and potential outcomes before making decisions until it becomes second nature. As a result, these people are functional, successful and happy.

So my objective is not just to make you free from anxiety, but also help you to become happier and even more functional.