How to Master Your Monkey Mind: Overcome anxiety, increase confidence and regain control of your life

by Don MacPherson

In fact, the patents-clerk-turned-universe-changing-genius once said, ‘Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.’

Essentially, the Monkey causes a chemical imbalance.

When the Monkey is stressed and begins careering around inside the brain, the culprit is adrenalin. You could say that the Monkey is Chief Executive of Adrenalin Production, regardless of how much is required (if any). It is looking for a fire to put out, searching for an impending emergency, when in reality there almost never is one.

When we are anxious or stressed, our breath is one of the first functions that we lose control of. Our heart rate increases, our pulse quickens, our chest tightens, we might feel hotter –

Eminent brain scientists such as Jill Bolte Taylor suggest that it takes approximately ninety seconds for a negative thought (or any thought) to pass right through your body/system, no matter how ugly/strong/packed with emotion that thought is.

brain experts believe that you need to drown out unwanted persistent negative thoughts with positive ones by a ratio of 5:1, the reason being that negative ideas are stronger because of their frequently over-protective nature. So you have work to do – but don’t ‘try’, just crack on.

‘Kai’ = change ‘Zen’ = better

The Kaizen is the concept of continual, small improvements – finding an area of your life that you want to improve, and then taking positive steps every day, even if it is only in a tiny way.

your Monkey only has two jobs – the main one is to keep you safe, but it is also there to stop you from making an arse of yourself – and it will often go to great lengths to ‘carry out its duties’.

amount of exercise you do 9. Being calmer and less anxious, by living your life more in the present

When your mind and body are in complete harmony, concentration happens naturally without you having to think about it; when there is a mind–body disconnect for any reason, things can go very wrong, very quickly.

This is believed to be because sleep-deprived people have reduced levels of leptin (the chemical that makes you feel full) and increased levels of ghrelin (the hunger-stimulating hormone).’

Sleep hygiene is essentially loading the odds in your favour of getting good sleep. We all know the obvious ones, such as avoiding drinking caffeine later in the day (the exact cut-off point appears to be a personal thing, but no later than mid-afternoon seems wise). Alcohol

compared with something that persists and remains unresolved. For example, if you are anxious about a visit to the dentist tomorrow morning, you know that by tomorrow evening, all will be well again. On the other hand, a worry that has been dragging on for a while already, for which no resolution seems to be on the horizon (such as a chronic health concern or a persistent lack of financial security), is something else altogether. Even the root of the word ‘anxious’ comes from the Latin ‘anxius’, meaning to be worried about something uncertain happening in the future. In other words, it’s the ‘what ifs’ that plague so many of us. Unfortunately, our Monkey Mind doesn’t like dealing with any level of uncertainty. It demands answers right now and doesn’t want to know what you are going to do about it, but also when and how. Your Monkey can become increasingly agitated if no answer to the ‘what if’ is forthcoming, and the longer this impasse continues, the closer the Monkey gets to throwing a wobbler, sending your body a rush of unnecessary adrenalin until your appetite disappears, your sleep is destroyed and you feel trapped by constant Monkey Chatter. ‘Analysis paralysis’ has taken hold and, for now, decision-making is put on hold and your head is full to the brim of thoughts and questions. The Monkey is in charge of your life. Your brain is now burning itself out as the Monkey works overtime, desperately trying to find answers to the issues you are experiencing.

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