How to Calm Your Anxiety, From a Neuroscientist | The Way We Work, a TED series

You know when you get that ambiguous email from your boss

Translator: Tiffany De Barros Rodríguez Reviewer: Servizo de Normalización Lingüística

Lembras a mensaxe ambigua que che enviou o teu xefe

and you start to feel sweaty palms

que che provocou suores frías

and that empty, freaked out sensation in your stomach?

e esa sensación de afogo?

Welcome back, anxiety.

Saúdos, ansiedade.

Most of us think of anxiety as a bad thing,

A maioría cre que é algo malo,

something to be avoided at all costs.

que hai que evitala custe o que custe.

But what if it weren't?

Mais e se non fose así?

What if you could take all of that energy racing around your brain and your body

E se se puidese aproveitar esa enerxía que corre por todo o corpo

and transform it into something helpful?

e transformala en algo beneficioso?

[Así funcionamos]

[The Way We Work]

Global anxiety levels,

Os niveis globais de ansiedade,

both the clinical kind and what I call the everyday kind,

tanto a clínica como a que eu chamo cotiá,

have increased tremendously in recent years.

medraron terriblemente nos últimos anos.

And many of us are noticing this at work.

Moitos estamos a reparar nisto no traballo.

We might think of anxiety as something

Gustaríanos deixar a ansiedade á marxe, se fose posible.

that we'd rather just leave on the side of the road if we could.

But anxiety is an important tool that arose during our evolution

Porén, é unha arma clave froito da nosa evolución

that we use to avoid danger.

que usamos para evitar o perigo.

It's essential for our survival.

É esencial para sobrevivirmos.

So how come we don't even feel vaguely protected by it?

Entón, por que non nos sentimos nin un chisco protexidos por ela?

It's because the volume of our individual and collective anxiety levels

Porque os nosos niveis de ansiedade individual e colectiva disparáronse,

has been turned way up too high,

and too much of even a potentially good thing like anxiety is bad.

e o exceso é malo, mesmo o de algo que podería ser bo, como a ansiedade.

So I would like to share two powerful, science-based tools

Vouvos ensinar dúas valiosas ferramentas, cientificamente probadas,

for turning down the volume on our anxiety

para reducir a nosa ansiedade,

and helping us get anxiety back to its helpful, protective state.

así como para que esta recobre o seu estado útil e protector.

And both of these tools begin by connecting with our bodies.

Ámbalas dúas ferramentas comezan por conectar co noso corpo.

Tool number one is breath work.

Ferramenta 1: exercicios de respiración.

It's just simple, deep breathing.

Consiste simplemente en respirar fondo.

Slowly inhale and exhale.

Inspirar e expirar amodo.

This can be one of the most immediate ways to calm anxiety,

Esta pode ser unha das formas para calmar a ansiedade axiña,

because deep breath directly activates

xa que respirar fondo activa

the natural de-stressing part of our nervous systems

o mecanismo de relaxación natural do noso sistema nervioso,

called the parasympathetic nervous system.

que se chama sistema nervioso parasimpático.

I recommend a boxed breathing approach,

Recomendo unha respiración equilibrada en catro tempos,

which is: inhale deeply on four counts,

que consiste en inspirar fondamente durante catro segundos,

hold at the top for four counts,

aguantar a respiración durante catro segundos,

exhale deeply on four counts

expirar durante catro segundos

and hold at the bottom for four counts.

e aguantar de novo a respiración catro segundos.

You can even do this in the middle of any anxiety-provoking conversation,

Pódese facer no medio dunha conversa que nos xere ansiedade,

and no one will even know.

sen que ninguén se decate.

Lots of people,

Moitas persoas,

from ancient monks to modern meditators,

dende os antigos monxes até os meditadores modernos,

have figured this tool out and use it all the time.

descubriron esta ferramenta e a empregan a miúdo.

Tool number two: moving your body.

Ferramenta 2: facer actividade física.

This one also has immediate positive effects on your mood state,

Esta tamén xera unha mellora inmediata do noso estado de ánimo,

but for a different reason.

pero por outro motivo.

Every time you move your body,

Cada vez que movemos o corpo,

you're releasing a whole bunch of beneficial neurochemicals

liberamos no noso cerebro unha morea de neuroquímicos beneficiosos.

in your brain.

These neurochemicals include dopamine,

Entre eles están a dopamina,

serotonin, noradrenaline and endorphins,

a serotonina, a noradrenalina e as endorfinas.

mood and reward-boosting neurochemicals

Estimulan o estado anímico e o sistema de recompensa

that work to both increase positive mood states

á vez que favorecen o bo humor

and decrease negative ones.

e diminúen o malo.

I like to say that every single time you move your body,

A min gústame dicir que, cada vez que nos movemos,

it's like giving yourself a wonderful bubble bath of neurochemicals

ofrecémoslle un baño escumoso de neuroquímicos

for your brain.

ao noso cerebro.

So when your boss's email comes in and your heart starts to race,

Entón, cando recibas esa mensaxe do teu xefe que te pon inquedo,

what exactly can you do?

que podes facer?

If you're in an office,

Se estás na oficina,

try taking a short walk around the block

proba a dar unha volta ao rueiro

or even to the supply closet for some sticky notes.

ou a ir ao armario do material buscar uns post-it.

If you're working from home,

Se estás na casa,

put on two of your favorite songs

pon as túas dúas cancións favoritas

and dance around the living room like no one is watching.

e baila por toda a sala como se ninguén te vise.

Studies have shown that all it takes is ten minutes of walking

Algúns estudos probaron que tan só dez minutos de camiñada bastan

to get those mood-boosting effects.

para lograr esa mellora do estado de ánimo.

But be creative with your movement session.

Pero sé creativo durante as sesións de movemento:

Whether that's a quick session of power vacuuming a la Mrs. Doubtfire

unha sesión rápida de aspiradora coma a señora Doubtfire

when you’re stressed about a deadline

cando estás estresado por un prazo,

or doing a set of jumping jacks

saltar á corda

or getting off the elevator one floor early

ou saír do ascensor un piso antes

to do a power walk up that last flight of stairs

para subir o que queda a pé, con enerxía,

before an important meeting.

antes dunha reunión importante.

All of these possibilities will all help your anxiety levels come down.

Todo isto contribúe á redución dos niveis de ansiedade.

In fact, I tested this effect on my own NYU students.

Probei estes efectos nos meus alumnos da universidade de Nova York.

First, I had them take an anxiety assessment

Primeiro pasaron unha avaliación de ansiedade.

before leading them in a movement session

Logo, guieinos nunha sesión de exercicio

that included movements from kickbox and dance

onde fixeron movementos de boxeo, baile,

and yoga and martial arts

ioga e artes marciais,

together with positive spoken affirmations.

acompañados de afirmacións positivas ditas en voz alta.

Then I had them retake that same anxiety assessment again.

Logo, repetiron o mesmo test de ansiedade.

What happened?

Que ocorreu?

After our movement session,

Tras a sesión de exercicio,

their anxiety scores had decreased to normal levels.

a súa ansiedade diminuíu ata acadar niveis normais.

Now that's powerful, real-world example that you can use in your life today.

Velaí un exemplo efectivo que se pode usar acotío.

So make sure to incorporate these bursts of activity in your day,

Procura incorporar ao teu día estas doses de actividade,

and try one out next time you're feeling stress.

e proba algunha a próxima vez que sintas estrés.

It can really make your anxiety feel less all-consuming.

Isto pode aliviar a ansiedade.

Once you connect with your body

Unha vez conectes co teu corpo

and turn the volume down on your anxiety,

e baixes o teu nivel de ansiedade,

two important things will happen.

acontecerán dúas cousas importantes.

First, when that email comes in,

Primeiro: ao recibir esa mensaxe,

you'll be in a better position to evaluate

estarás en mellores condicións para valorar

what about it makes you anxious.

que é o que te inquieta.

Is it that you've taken on too much

Asumiches tarefas de máis

or that you feel insecure about a particular skill set?

ou ben sénteste inseguro sobre algunha habilidade en particular?

In other words,

Dito doutra forma,

you'll be able to use this emotion, anxiety,

poderás usar esa emoción, a ansiedade,

for exactly what it was evolved to do:

xusto para o que se concibiu:

warn you about potential dangers so you can become aware of them

para advertir de perigos potenciais a fin de concienciarse

and find ways to effectively and creatively address them

e topar a maneira de tratalos con eficacia e creatividade

in your everyday life.

no día a día.

Second, once you find the warning signals in your anxiety,

Segundo: cando percibas os sinais de alerta da túa ansiedade,

you'll be able to communicate with others.

poderás comunicárllelo aos demais.

You might seek out advice from a trusted colleague

Podes pedirlle consello a un colega de confianza

when that difficult issue arises.

cando xurda ese problema

Or you might even have a conversation with your boss

ou quizais ter unha conversa co teu xefe

about how to prioritize projects.

sobre que proxectos deben priorizarse.

Because you're no longer in fight-or-flight mode,

Ao deixar atrás o modo loita ou fuxida,

asking for that support won't feel nearly as threatening.

pedir axuda xa non parece tan ameazador.

And one of the best gifts of approaching your anxiety in this way

Un dos mellores galanos de afrontar a ansiedade deste modo

is that you will be able to notice those telltale signs of anxiety

é que poderás notar eses indicios de ansiedade nos demais,

in everyone else around you,

especially those forms of anxiety you're most familiar with.

sobre todo as mostras de ansiedade que che resulten máis familiares.

And what will that do?

En que te beneficiará iso?

That will allow you to give that person a smile or a kind word

Saberás cando dedicarlle a esa persoa un sorriso ou unhas palabras de ánimo

to help them through that moment.

para acompañala no proceso.

In other words,

Noutras palabras,

your own form of anxiety can boost your personal super power of empathy.

o teu tipo de ansiedade pode potenciar o teu superpoder de empatía.

And I can't think of anything we need in this world today

Non se me ocorre nada máis necesario no mundo actual

more than higher levels of empathy for one another.

que unha maior empatía mutua.

Your take-home in all of this?

Que podemos aprender de todo isto?

If you breathe,

Respira, móvete

move and take note of what your anxiety is signaling,

e toma nota do que che indica a túa ansiedade;

you'll feel more fulfilled,

así sentiraste máis realizado,

more creative, more connected

máis creativo, máis conectado

and less stressed overall.

e menos estresado en xeral.

And that's my wish for every one of us.

E iso é todo o que desexo para cada un de nós.